Three months after divesting its auto financing unit to focus on Bitcoin mining, Chinese conglomerate Cango (CANG) has significantly ramped up crypto production, indicating that its acquisition of Bitmain mining rigs is enhancing its capacity amid intensifying industry competition.

Cango produced 650.5 Bitcoin (BTC) in July, a sharp increase from 450 BTC in June, according to data from Farside Investors. Farside also noted it has added Cango to its miner dashboard while removing Hut 8 due to a lack of monthly production disclosures. 

As Cointelegraph reported, Cango mined a combined 954.5 BTC in April and May — the first two months following its full transition into Bitcoin mining.

Cango now holds 4,529.7 BTC, worth approximately $512 million, placing it among the top 20 publicly traded Bitcoin holders. Industry data shows that it’s approaching the ranks of companies like GameStop and ProCap BTC.

The surge in production follows Cango’s $256 million purchase of mining rigs from Bitmain, securing 32 exahashes per second (EH/s) of hashrate. The deal, announced last November as part of a broader $400 million investment strategy, marked Cango’s official pivot from auto financing to Bitcoin mining.

The company’s shift was part of a broader diversification strategy aimed at capitalizing on the growth of digital assets. Cango said it leveraged its existing infrastructure and experience in digital asset management to drive its pivot into Bitcoin mining.

Related: Bitcoin mining difficulty hits ATH, but is projected to drop in August

Cango’s pivot puts China in the crypto spotlight

Despite a recent dip in its share price and negative year-to-date performance, Cango’s stock has rallied 158% over the past 12 months. Much of that momentum began last fall, when the company announced its push into Bitcoin mining.

Before its crypto transition, Cango was primarily known as a Chinese automotive financing platform, providing consumer loans and facilitating online vehicle exports. The company went public in 2018.

Notably, Cango remains headquartered in China, a country with a complex and often restrictive stance on cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin mining was effectively banned in China in mid-2021. 

As Galaxy Research reported at the time, government restrictions on the mainland drove hashrate to neighboring countries like Kazakhstan, as well as to North America, as part of a more strategic shift in mining production. 

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