Riot Platforms sells 4,300 BTC to fund AI data center expansion

Riot Platforms sold 4,300 BTC in the second quarter, cutting its treasury to 11,380 coins as the miner redirects proceeds toward AI data center infrastructure.

"Riot has now executed leases totaling 241 megawatts of capacity, representing approximately $9.8 billion of long-term, contracted revenue with two of the most important companies in the AI ecosystem," CEO Jason Les said in the company's second-quarter earnings statement.

The sale, tracked by BitcoinTreasuries, leaves Riot with 11,380 BTC worth close to $666 million at the June 30 closing price of $58,527, with 5,821 coins pledged as collateral. Mining revenue fell 19.3 percent year over year to $113.7 million even as output rose to 1,587 BTC from 1,426 BTC. The average cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, reached $49,912, while the fully loaded cost hit $90,631 — equal to 126.5 percent of the $71,667 production value per coin.

The drawdown reflects a broader shift: miners that once accumulated Bitcoin are becoming net sellers, directing proceeds into AI infrastructure leases rather than new mining rigs. Riot's $9.1 billion lease with Anthropic covering 191 megawatts at its Rockdale, Texas campus — worth up to $16.1 billion with extensions — sent RIOT up 4.33 percent Monday, while Cipher Mining gained 5.39 percent, TeraWulf rose 3.40 percent, and Hut 8 added 3.39 percent. Bitcoin slipped 0.49 percent over the same stretch, stuck in the $62,000-$65,000 range.

Total revenue rose 14 percent year over year to $174.2 million, helped by the Data Center segment generating $23.2 million — split between $4.9 million in operating lease revenue and $18.3 million in tenant fit-out services — following delivery of an initial 25 megawatts to AMD. Engineering revenue jumped to $37.3 million from $10.6 million a year earlier.

H.C. Wainwright raised its Riot price target to $40 from $25 on the Anthropic news, and Needham lifted its target to $30. Both cited contracted megawatts rather than Bitcoin output, a sign that analysts now value miner stocks on AI lease contracts, not the ledger.

The company ended the quarter with more than $1.2 billion in total liquid assets, including $548.9 million in cash, of which $77.5 million remains restricted. Riot hosted a conference call on August 10 to walk investors through the results.

For Bitcoin, the trend carries implications beyond Riot. Marathon Digital and Core Scientific have also sold portions of their reserves in recent months to cover rising energy costs and equipment upgrades. Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows of 966 BTC as BlackRock and Fidelity shifted focus to Ethereum inflows, adding to supply-side pressure. If miners continue to liquidate output to fund AI buildouts, the sector becomes a persistent source of selling pressure on BTC even as mining revenue holds up.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.