Riot Platforms said in its unaudited Q1 2026 production and operations update that it sold 3,778 bitcoin during the quarter, generating $289.5 million in net proceeds at an average price of $76,626 per BTC. The Texas-based miner and data center developer said the sales were part of routine treasury management aimed at maintaining fiat liquidity for operating needs and capital expenditures.
Bitcoin sales topped quarterly production
During the first quarter, Riot produced 1,473 BTC, meaning the company sold more than 2.5 times the amount it mined. Its bitcoin holdings stood at 15,680 BTC at the end of the quarter, down 18% from 19,223 BTC a year earlier. Of that total, 5,802 BTC were classified as restricted.
Riot has regularly converted part of its mined bitcoin into cash to cover electricity bills, hardware purchases, and site development. The Q1 2026 sales came after roughly $200 million in bitcoin liquidations in late 2025, which helped fund the company’s AI data center project in Corsicana, Texas.
Hashrate expanded even as output slipped
Operating data showed a mixed quarter. Bitcoin production fell 4% year over year, but deployed hashrate rose to 42.5 EH/s by quarter end, up from 33.7 EH/s in Q1 2025, an increase of 26%. Average operating hashrate for the quarter reached 36.4 EH/s, up 23% from the prior-year period.
Fleet efficiency also improved. Riot reported 20.2 J/TH, compared with 21.0 J/TH a year earlier, showing lower energy use per unit of hashrate. For listed mining companies, that metric is closely tied to margin performance.
Power costs moved lower while power credits jumped
Riot said its all-in power cost fell from 3.8 cents per kilowatt-hour in Q1 2025 to 3.0 cents in Q1 2026, a decline of 21%. Total power credits climbed to $21 million, up from $7.8 million in the year-ago quarter, a gain of 171%. The increase was driven by broader participation in demand-response programs at the company’s Texas and Kentucky facilities.
Shares rose modestly as investors awaited full results
RIOT shares were up about 1.5% on Thursday, while several mining peers traded lower. The report said analysts generally viewed the quarter’s bitcoin sales as a liquidity decision rather than distressed selling. Riot is expected to release full Q1 2026 financial results later in April, including the income statement effect of the bitcoin sales.
The quarter’s update showed Riot using its bitcoin treasury as a funding source for infrastructure growth across its sites, with spending focused on mining operations, power strategy, and the buildout of HPC and AI data center capacity.