Copyright fool
As of 2:15 p.m. ET, crypto mining equipment maker Canaan (CAN 13.46%) is once again on the decline, down 12% from yesterday's close. In the broader crypto mining-related sector, Canaan is among the largest decliners since yesterday's close, and this move now brings the company to a one-year decline. Notably, this move also pushes CAN stock toward penny stock territory once gain, with the company's stock price currently hovering right around the $1 level at the time of writing. Let's dive into what is driving this continued downward pressure for Canaan, and why this stock is seeing still-elevated volatility, even when compared to already-volatile cryptocurrencies right now. Crypto, AI, data centers all getting hit right now Among the most profitable trades for investors in the stock or digital asset market over the past few years has been companies closely tethered to the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. For companies in the semiconductor, data center, or crypto realm that benefit from the perception that demand will continue to increase indefinitely, that's been the winning bet for investors to make. As a key provider of next-generation crypto mining machines, since Canaan has benefited not only from the rise in speculative assets driven by what some are now calling a bubble around AI and data centers, but because the company also operates within this segment of the market (providing compute capacity for noncrypto initiatives), it's kind of a double-edged sword that's hit this name of late. Coupled with the fact that companies like Canaan (who still earn the vast majority of their revenue from mining Bitcoin) tend to swing to the upside and downside in more volatile fashion when Bitcoin is on the move (due to the leverage on these companies' balance sheets), today's 5% move lower in the price of Bitcoin is playing very negatively into the narrative around Canaan. Can things turn around? We'll have to see how the macro environment, and investors more broadly, view recent earnings from crypto mining-adjacent stocks in the coming weeks. For now, it does appear that many investors are taking a risk-off approach to such stocks, with the pervasive view that valuations have neared levels where a wait-and-see approach is best.
