Riot sold 3,778 bitcoins in the first quarter, cashing out nearly $300 million, with its holdings down 18% year over year

Gate News article: Bitcoin mining company Riot Platforms sold 3,778 bitcoins in the first quarter of 2026, cashing out about $289.5 million, with an average selling price of $76,626. After this reduction, its bitcoin holdings fell to 15,680 coins, down about 18% from a year earlier. On-chain data shows that the company further sold another 500 bitcoins in early April, continuing the down-inventory trend.

From the production side, Riot mined 1,473 bitcoins in the first quarter, down 4% year over year. Against the backdrop of slower output combined with market volatility, funding pressure for miners has risen. Similar actions are not isolated. MARA Holdings sold 15,133 bitcoins in the same period, amounting to about $1.1 billion; Genius Group has already cleared its bitcoin reserves, and Nakamoto Holdings also reduced its holdings by about 284 bitcoins in March. Miners and enterprises collectively adjusting their asset structures reflects growing needs for short-term cash flow and balance-sheet management.

On-chain data further reveals changes on the demand side. CryptoQuant’s report shows that as of the end of March, bitcoin’s apparent demand fell to negative 63,000 coins, indicating that overall market buying momentum has weakened. However, capital has not fully exited. Strategy bought 44,377 bitcoins in March alone, accounting for 94% of the total purchases made by listed companies; Japanese listed firm Metaplanet also increased its holdings by 5,075 bitcoins in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 40,177 coins.

The current market shows characteristics of structural divergence: on one side, mining companies and some firms are choosing to reduce holdings due to operating pressure; on the other, a few institutions are continuing to accumulate. This trend toward concentration suggests that bitcoin demand has not disappeared, but has shifted toward participants with stronger financial capacity. In the short term, bitcoin’s price movement will still be driven by the interplay between supply releases and institutional absorption.