Riot Platforms sold $289.5 million worth of bitcoin during the first quarter of 2026, according to its Q1 production and operations update published Thursday.
The company offloaded 3,778 BTC at an average price of $76,626 per coin.
By the end of the quarter, Riot held 15,680 BTC — worth roughly $1.1 billion — including 5,802 restricted bitcoin pledged as collateral.
Miners broadly trimming holdings
Riot’s sale fits a wider pattern among public bitcoin mining companies liquidating portions of their reserves.
In March, MARA sold 15,133 BTC for around $1.1 billion to strengthen its balance sheet amid a broader shift toward AI compute infrastructure.
Core Scientific also sold 1,900 BTC in January following a similar AI pivot, and said at the time it planned to sell its entire bitcoin holdings during Q1.
While Riot is also expanding into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, the company did not specify the reason behind its own sales.
Production dips, hashrate climbs
Riot mined 1,473 BTC in Q1 2026, a 4% decline from the 1,530 BTC it produced in Q1 2025.
Despite the lower output, operational capacity grew — deployed hashrate reached 42.5 EH/s by quarter’s end, up 26% year-over-year, while average operating hashrate rose 23% to 36.4 EH/s.
Record revenue in 2025
The Q1 results follow a strong 2025 for Riot, which posted record annual revenue of $647.4 million — a 71.8% increase from $376.7 million the prior year.
The company has not yet commented further on the rationale behind its Q1 bitcoin sales.
