Riot Platforms, a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company, announced Thursday that it sold 3,778 Bitcoin during the first quarter of the year, generating proceeds exceeding $250 million. The sales were executed at an average price of more than $76,000 per coin. The firm’s total Bitcoin holdings fell to 15,680 BTC by the end of Q1, a stash currently valued at approximately $1.04 billion based on a market price of $66,844.
The Colorado-based company has now offloaded Bitcoin in back-to-back quarters, having previously raised close to $200 million from cryptocurrency sales in November and December. At the time of those earlier sales, observers speculated the proceeds would be directed toward capital expenditures tied to an expansion into artificial intelligence. CEO Jason Les confirmed that the earlier 2025 sales were intended to “fund ongoing growth and operations.”
Riot’s most recent strategic business update indicates that those operations are increasingly centered on AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. In a statement issued in early March, Les described 2025 as a turning point for the company. “By unlocking our large, nearly two-gigawatt power portfolio for high-demand data center infrastructure, we are driving significant shareholder value,” he said. The firm stated that its long-term objective is to fully redirect its power portfolio toward data center development.
Riot is not alone in making this transition. Publicly traded miner Bitfarms recently announced it was severing ties with Bitcoin entirely to concentrate on AI. Meanwhile, rival mining firm MARA sold $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin to help finance its own shift into the AI sector. The broader trend reflects a widespread strategic realignment among publicly listed Bitcoin miners.
Adding pressure to Riot’s pivot is activist investor Starboard Value, which recently urged the company to pursue its AI strategy with a “renewed sense of urgency.” Starboard suggested the opportunity could add as much as $21 billion to Riot’s overall valuation if the company moves decisively. A representative for Riot did not respond to a request for comment regarding how the latest proceeds from Bitcoin sales would be deployed.
Riot’s share price closed up 2.47% on Thursday, with shares recently trading at $12.86. Despite the single-day gain, the stock has declined more than 33% over the past six months, a period during which Bitcoin itself has dropped 47% from its all-time high of $126,080.
Originally reported by Decrypt.
