Canaan Inc. Enters 180-Day Grace Period to Regain Nasdaq Compliance - Can the Bitcoin Miner Bounce Back?
Another crypto player hits a regulatory speed bump. Canaan Inc., the ASIC mining rig manufacturer, just got slapped with a Nasdaq deficiency notice—now racing against a 180-day clock to get its stock price back above a buck.
The Compliance Countdown Begins
Nasdaq's rulebook is clear: trade below $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days, and you're in the penalty box. Canaan's grace period gives it until mid-2026 to execute a reverse stock split or find another way to lift its share price. It's a common play in volatile sectors—where stock charts sometimes look more like EKG readouts.
Market Mechanics vs. Mining Momentum
The notice is purely administrative—a function of share price, not operational health. But it casts a shadow. For a company whose fortunes are tied to Bitcoin's hash rate and hardware cycles, it's a stark reminder that Wall Street's compliance algorithms don't care about your hashing power. You either play by the exchange's rules, or you get delisted—another ticker destined for the financial graveyard, right next to those 'disruptive' blockchain ETFs that promised the moon.
All eyes are on Canaan's next move. A reverse split can fix the stock price, but it doesn't fix demand for miners in a post-halving landscape. The real test isn't Nasdaq's compliance team—it's whether the market still believes in the pickaxe seller during a gold rush that's getting increasingly corporate.
What does the Nasdaq’s letter mean for Canaan Inc.?
For now, the Nasdaq notification letter has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the company’s securities on Nasdaq, which means there is still time to undo the damage.
Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), Canaan gets a 180-calendar-day compliance period, or until July 13, 2026, to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement. For this to happen, the closing bid price of the company’s (American Depositary Shares) ADSs must meet or exceed US$1.00 per share for at least 10 consecutive business days during the 180-calendar-day compliance period.
Should Canaan fail to achieve this by July 13, 2026, it could get additional time, but that depends on the determination of the staff at Nasdaq.
To qualify for such a thing, Canaan will need to submit, no later than the expiration date, an online transfer application accompanied by a non-refundable $5,000 application fee.
The company will also have to meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and provide written notice of its intention to fix the issue during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split if necessary.
During the review process that will follow, Nasdaq staff will determine whether the company has the ability to fix the problem. If they express a lack of faith in its ability to do so, or in the event the company does not submit the transfer application or make the required representation, Nasdaq reserves the right to delist Canaan’s stock.
What is Canaan doing to maintain Nasdaw status?
On January 16, 2026, Canaan Inc. confirmed that it received the written notice of non-compliance from Nasdaq. According to the company, this was because the bid price of its ADSs had fallen below $1.00 and remained that way for up to 30 consecutive business days, which violates the exchange’s Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).
Experts have noted that this sort of minimum bid price notice is not uncommon among stocks on the lower end of the price spectrum, especially in sectors as volatile as crypto mining, where share prices are known to be heavily influenced by the volatile price swings associated with Bitcoin, hardware demand and broader market sentiment.
According to recent reports, Canaan’s stock has been trading beneath the $1 mark for quite some time, and as of January 16, it is priced at around $0.78, down over 3% from its previous close. It is also down significantly over the past year, so it is no surprise it has received the written notice of non-compliance from Nasdaq.
For now, the company will keep an eye on the closing bid price of its ADSs and is expected to do everything in its power to regain compliance. However, until Nasdaq staff determines that the delisting will happen, the company’s ADSs will remain listed on the Nasdaq Global Market, unaffected by the current drama.
In response to the notice, the company has shared plans to keep a close eye on the situation while considering options to address it. Many other companies have been in similar positions before and were able to regain compliance, though some of them had to resort to reverse splits.
If it is eventually delisted, trading could become restricted to over-the-counter deals, which ultimately reduces liquidity and visibility, something most companies cannot afford.
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