Riot Platforms (RIOT), a leading Bitcoin (BTC) mining and digital infrastructure company, revealed that it sold 3,778 Bitcoin during the first quarter of 2026.
According to the firm’s production and operations update, the move generated $289.5 million in net proceeds at an average price of $76,626 per coin.
Miners and Firms Dump Bitcoin Holdings
The sale reduced the miner’s total holdings to 15,680 BTC as of March 31, down 18% from 19,223 BTC a year earlier. Notably, according to the blockchain intelligence platform Arkham, Riot sold another 500 BTC in early April, further reducing its holdings.
Meanwhile, in Q1, the miner also produced 1,473 BTC. This represented a 4% decline from the same period in 2025.
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Riot’s liquidation is not an isolated event. MARA Holdings sold 15,133 BTC for around $1.1 billion.
Genius Group liquidated its entire 84.15 BTC treasury on April 1, while Nakamoto Holdings trimmed its reserves by approximately 284 BTC in March for about $20 million.
Bitcoin Demand Shrinks, But Buying Has Not Stopped
On-chain data reflects mounting pressure across the broader market. Analytics firm CryptoQuant reported that Bitcoin’s apparent demand fell to negative 63,000 coins as of late March.
However, buying has not disappeared entirely. Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) purchased 44,377 BTC in March alone, representing 94% of all public-company acquisitions that month.
Meanwhile, Tokyo-listed Metaplanet acquired 5,075 BTC for approximately $398 million during Q1. The acquisition pushed its total holdings to 40,177 BTC.
The gap between aggressive institutional accumulators and firms liquidating under pressure highlights a market where demand is not absent but increasingly concentrated in fewer hands.
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