Author：Xu Surfing

Riot Platforms (RIOT) said it sold $289.5 million worth of bitcoin (BTC) during the first quarter of 2026.

According to its Q1 production and operations update published on Thursday, Riot sold 3,778 BTC at an average price of $76,626 per bitcoin. By the end of the quarter, Riot held 15,680 BTC ($1.1 billion), including 5,802 restricted bitcoin pledged as collateral.

This development aligns with other major bitcoin mining companies selling substantial amounts of their holdings in recent months. 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 shift, and said at the time it planned to sell all of its bitcoin holdings in Q1.

While Riot is also expanding into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, it did not explain the specific reason behind the bitcoin sales. The Block has reached out to the company for further comment.

Production slows

Beyond the sale, Riot reported a slight decrease in bitcoin production compared to the same period last year. In Q1 2026, Riot mined 1,473 BTC, a 4% decrease from 1,530 BTC in Q1 2025.

Despite the lower output, Riot's operational capacity expanded. The company’s deployed hashrate reached 42.5 EH/s by the end of the quarter, up 26% from the prior year, while the average operating hashrate rose 23% to 36.4 EH/s. 

The Q1 results follow Riot's record annual revenue in 2025, reaching $647.4 million. This is an increase of 71.8% from the previous year's $376.7 million.