Mining company Riot Platforms sold 3,778 BTC for $289.5 million in the first quarter of 2026. The average selling price was $76,626 per coin.
During the quarter, the firm mined 1,473 BTC, which is a 4% decrease compared to the same period in 2025 (1,530 BTC). The company still holds 15,680 BTC valued at $1.1 billion.
Despite the drop in mining output, Riot's capabilities have expanded. The deployed hashrate increased by 26% year-over-year to 42.5 EH/s. The average operational metric rose by 23%, reaching 36.4 EH/s.
Source: Riot.
Shift to AI
The company is accelerating its pivot towards supporting infrastructure for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. Riot aims to monetize its extensive energy resources in Texas, moving beyond traditional mining.
In January, the firm sold 1,080 BTC. The $96 million raised was used to purchase 200 acres of land on its site in Rockdale.
The miner also signed a ten-year licensing agreement with Advanced Micro Devices to provide 25 MW of capacity, with the potential to expand to 200 MW. This deal is expected to generate around $311 million in contract revenue over the first decade.
Riot is not the only mining company utilizing its crypto reserves to enter the AI market. Amid falling prices, the trend of repurposing equipment is gaining traction, as mining digital gold becomes less profitable at current prices.
Previously, analysts from CoinShares concluded that up to 20% of miners are already operating at a loss. For the industry to return to stable profitability, Bitcoin needs to trade at no less than $100,000. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is priced at approximately $66,900.
Hourly chart of BTC/USDT on Binance. Source: TradingView.
Recall that in March, experts from Wintermute declared the traditional Bitcoin mining model outdated.