Riot Platforms (RIOT), a publicly traded bitcoin mining company that develops and operates large-scale data centers, increased its bitcoin sales at the end of the year, dumping 1,818 BTC ($161.6 million) and 383 BTC ($37 million) in November. The sales reduced Riot’s bitcoin balance to 18,005 BTC by the end of 2025.
While coin sales by bitcoin miners may occur for a variety of reasons, Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, suggested that funding for the company’s AI development could be at stake. The amount sold, he noted, is “roughly the entire capex Riot has guided for the first 112 MW core/shell build at Corsicana, which is targeted for completion in the first quarter of 2027. In other words, one winter of BTC sales is equivalent to funding Phase 1 of the AI data center pivot.”
Sigel added that AI and bitcoin trading are increasingly linked, arguing that miners have been among the largest marginal sellers of BTC as they finance AI-related capital spending, especially as credit conditions tighten. It could be one of the many reasons for bitcoin’s decline during 2025.
Riot shares fell 2% on Tuesday along with a 1.2% decline in the price of bitcoin to $92,500.
