Riot Platforms (RIOT), a publicly traded company specializing in bitcoin mining and the operation of extensive data centers, has increased its bitcoin sales as the year comes to a close. In November alone, they sold off 1,818 BTC for approximately $161.6 million and an additional 383 BTC valued at around $37 million. As a result of these transactions, Riot’s total bitcoin holdings dwindled to 18,005 BTC by the end of 2025.
There are various motivations behind why bitcoin miners might sell their coins. Matthew Sigel, who leads digital assets research at VanEck, proposed that funding for Riot’s artificial intelligence expansion could be influencing these sales. He pointed out that the volume sold is “approximately equivalent to the entire capital expenditure Riot has projected for its initial core/shell construction phase at Corsicana,” which aims for completion in Q1 of 2027. Essentially, this suggests that one season’s worth of BTC sales is financing Phase 1 of their transition towards AI data centers.
Sigel further emphasized that there is an increasing correlation between AI investments and bitcoin activities; he argued that miners have become some of the most significant marginal sellers of BTC as they finance capital expenditures related to AI—particularly during periods when credit conditions are more stringent. This trend may contribute to Bitcoin’s downturn throughout 2025.
On Tuesday, shares in Riot fell by 2%, coinciding with a slight decline in Bitcoin’s price which dropped by 1.2% to settle at $92,500.