Colorado-based Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms announced on Thursday that it sold 3,778 Bitcoin during the first quarter of 2026. Reports on the proceeds vary, with The Block citing a total of $290 million, while Decrypt estimates the figure at over $250 million. The average sale price for the holdings exceeded $76,000 per coin.
Following these sales, Riot Platforms' total Bitcoin holdings have fallen to 15,680. At the current market price of $66,844, the remaining reserves are valued at approximately $1.04 billion. This marks the second consecutive quarter the company has liquidated Bitcoin to raise capital; between November and December of last year, the firm generated nearly $200 million through similar operations.
Miners Pivot to AI Computing
Riot Platforms' move reflects a broader trend in the Bitcoin mining industry: repurposing computing power and electrical capacity away from cryptocurrency mining and toward artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. While company representatives declined to comment on the specific use of this quarter's funds, CEO Jason Les has previously emphasized that the company is undergoing a strategic evolution.
"2025 marks a turning point for Riot, as a strategic evolution of our business fundamentally changes our future trajectory," Les stated in early March. "By unlocking our massive power portfolio of nearly 2 gigawatts for high-demand data center infrastructure, we are driving significant shareholder value."
Riot Platforms aims to dedicate its entire power portfolio to data center development. This strategic shift has garnered support from activist investor Starboard Value, which believes the move could boost the company's valuation by as much as $21 billion. Within the competitive landscape, other miners like MARA recently sold $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin to fund their own AI transitions, while Bitfarms has even announced plans to divest from its Bitcoin mining operations entirely to focus on AI.
Despite market volatility, Riot Platforms shares rose 2.47% on Thursday to close at $12.86, though the stock remains down more than 33% over the past six months. During the same period, the price of Bitcoin has fallen 47% from its all-time high of $126,080.
