Riot Platforms Sells $289.5M Worth of Bitcoin Amid Rising Miner Pressure
Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin miner, has sold off a significant portion of its holdings in the first quarter of 2026. According to the company's Q1 operational update, Riot Platforms sold 3,778 Bitcoin between January and March, generating $289.5 million at an average sale price of $76,626.
This sale is part of a broader trend of Bitcoin liquidations among miners and crypto firms. In the past week alone, MARA Holdings, Genius Group, and Nakamoto Holdings collectively sold 15,501 Bitcoin, with MARA accounting for the largest portion of that total.
Kadan Stadelmann, blockchain developer and co-founder of AI company Compance, attributes the selling wave to rising energy costs tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict. '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,' he said.
The pressure on miners has pushed less efficient operators offline, reducing overall network activity. Bitcoin mining difficulty dropped from around 145 trillion to 133 trillion on March 20, while the hash rate fell from 1,160 exahash at the start of the month to roughly 990 exahash as of Friday.