Riot cashes out $289M in BTC amid energy-driven miner sell-offs

Major Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms announced a significant liquidation of its Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter of 2026. This is one of the largest sales by a public miner amid tightening industry conditions.

According to Riot’s most recent operational update, the firm sold 3,778 Bitcoin during Q1 2026, generating $289.5 million in net proceeds at an average realized price of around $76,626 per coin.

This latest sell-off puts the miner in the company of other firms that have been liquidating their holdings. MARA Holdings, Genius Group, and Nakamoto Holdings just recently sold a joint total of 15,501 Bitcoin, with the bulk of those coins coming from MARA. Empery Digital also pocketed $24.7 million after offloading 370 BTC at a mean price of $66,632. Some analysts have attributed the sell-offs to rising energy costs.

Stadelmann says high energy costs caused miners to sell their holdings

According to the operational report issued Thursday, Riot produced 1,473 Bitcoin in the first quarter. However, at an average of 16.4 BTC per day, mining output fell slightly despite a significant 26% jump in the firm’s hash rate to 42.5 exahashes per second. Riot also saw a 4% year-over-year dip in its mining output.

Overall, the Riot’s Bitcoin reserves have dropped 18% to 15,680 BTC by quarter-end, with 5,802 of those locked. At a $68,000 price point, the treasury is roughly $1.07 billion, down from 19,223 BTC a year ago. Miners have been increasingly offloading their Bitcoin to finance a strategic shift toward AI data centers, a trend within the industry that has really taken off since the end of March.

Market analysts also attribute Riot’s and other miners’ decisions to sell down Bitcoin stocks to ongoing cost pressures in the mining sector, especially rising energy expenses. Higher power prices, intensified by geopolitical tensions and supply shocks, have elevated the break‑even cost for mining operations, forcing some operators to shutter less efficient rigs or monetize holdings to fund day‑to‑day operations. Blockchain expert and Compance co-founder Kadan Stadelmann has pointed to the Middle East war as a catalyst for higher energy costs, forcing miners to sell their holdings.

He commented, “Miners are selling off Bitcoin due to increasing energy costs, highlighted by the ongoing oil price shock, which represents one of the main costs of mining Bitcoin. As energy costs rise, the miners are forced to sell off their Bitcoin in an attempt to cover their operational costs.” 

Following the February escalation of the Middle East conflict, oil prices have risen, while cryptocurrencies and the broader market have fallen. Higher oil prices are driving weaker miners out of the network, a trend Stadelmann believes will only intensify, leaving the field to larger entities. Nonetheless, he stated that this reduction in activity will lower the network’s hash rate, making it more efficient and profitable for the remaining participants to mine. On the other hand, he suggested that if power becomes cheaper and Bitcoin becomes more expensive, less competitive miners may make a comeback.

CoinShares says Q42025 was a difficult time for miners

According to the financial services company CoinShares, Q4 2025 represented the most difficult stretch for the mining industry following the 2024 halving. Data shared by Head of Research James Butterfill showed that the weighted-average production cost per Bitcoin for listed miners reached approximately $79,995 in the quarter.

He also noted that hashprice declined to roughly $36–$38 per PH/s/day and then bottomed out near $28–$30 in the first quarter of 2026, indicating that miners should brace for more hardship. 

In their report, CoinShares also made several projections about Bitcoin and its mining operations. Butterfill contended that the token could bounce back to a $100,000 price point, which would likely push the hashprice to roughly $37 per PH/s/day, or as high as $59 if the asset reaches $126,000. However, he argued that if BTC continues to trade lower than $80,000 for much longer, the hashprice could plummet further.

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