Riot Platforms Sells Bitcoin Holdings, Reports Q1 2026 Production Dip

Riot Platforms liquidated a substantial portion of its bitcoin reserves in the first three months of 2026, selling 3,778 bitcoin for net proceeds of $289.5 million at an average price of roughly $76,626 per coin. The sales pushed the Castle Rock-tied company's total holdings down 18% to approximately 15,680 bitcoin at quarter's end, compared to 19,223 in the prior period.

The sell-off coincided with a modest production decline. Riot mined 1,473 bitcoin in Q1 2026, a 4% drop from the 1,530 it produced during the same period in 2025. The company's April 2 operational update, issued as unaudited estimates, noted that deployed hash rate, or total installed capacity, actually grew to 42.5 exahashes per second (EH/s), while operating hash rate reached 36.4 EH/s.

The gap between those two figures suggests capacity still ramping or temporarily offline, which means output could climb in subsequent quarters even as Q1 production trailed the year-ago period.

Power economics featured prominently in the disclosure. Riot reported approximately $21.0 million in demand-response and other power credits, pulling its all-in power cost to roughly 3.0 cents per kilowatt-hour. That number carries particular weight in Douglas County, where the scale of energy consumption tied to mining and data-center facilities directly shapes utility planning, permitting discussions and land-use decisions at the county level.

At 3.0 cents per kilowatt-hour all-in, Riot's power costs remain competitive by industry standards, a figure that could support further capacity expansion in the region even as quarterly bitcoin output edges lower.

Riot also signaled continued growth through upcoming investor conference appearances and open positions listed on its careers page at the time of the release. Hiring activity and infrastructure investment are closely watched indicators in the Castle Rock area and the broader Denver technology corridor, sitting alongside production numbers as signals of the company's long-term trajectory.

Full audited results are expected later in the reporting cycle, with detailed tables available in the company's investor materials.