Riot Platforms (RIOT), a publicly traded Bitcoin mining company that develops and operates large-scale data centers, stepped up its Bitcoin sales at the end of the year, offloading 1,818 BTC ($161.6 million) in November and 383 BTC ($37 million) in November. This sale reduced Riot’s Bitcoin balance to 18,005 BTC by the end of 2025.
Coin sales by Bitcoin miners can occur for a variety of reasons, but Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, suggested that funding for the company’s AI buildout could be a factor. He noted that the sale amount “represents nearly the entire amount of capital investment Riot has induced for the initial 112MW core/shell build in Corsicana, targeted for completion in Q1 2027. In other words, one winter’s BTC sales are equivalent to financing phase 1 of the AI Data Center Pivot.”
Siegel added that AI trading and Bitcoin are increasingly being linked, arguing that miners have become the biggest sellers of BTC as they fund AI-related capital investments, especially when credit conditions are tight. This could be one of the many reasons why Bitcoin will fall during 2025.
On Tuesday, Riot shares fell 2% as the price of Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $92,500.
