Is the decline in computing power forcing mining companies to sell? Riot sells 1,820 Bitcoins in December, setting a new record

Amid the ongoing pressure on Bitcoin hash rate and mining profits, US-listed mining company Riot Platforms significantly accelerated its Bitcoin sell-off in December, setting the largest single-month Bitcoin liquidation record since its establishment. The latest monthly production report shows that Riot is clearly shifting from a “long-term holding” strategy to a liquidity-focused defensive approach.

According to the announcement, Riot mined a total of 460 Bitcoins in December, holding 18,005 Bitcoins by the end of the month. At the end of November, the company’s disclosed Bitcoin holdings were still as high as 19,368 Bitcoins. This means Riot sold approximately 1,820 Bitcoins in December, with the sell-off amounting to nearly four times its monthly production, moving beyond just selling newly mined Bitcoins to actively reducing its inventory.

The company disclosed that the average transaction price for this sell-off was approximately $88,900, raising about $160 million in cash. This move marks Riot’s official transition to a net Bitcoin seller, reducing its Bitcoin reserves by over 1,300 Bitcoins month-over-month.

This shift contrasts sharply with Riot’s strategy in previous cycles. For most of 2024, Riot chose to retain 100% of its Bitcoin production, and even at the end of the year, it financed an additional approximately 5,700 Bitcoins through convertible bonds, pushing its Bitcoin holdings to over 19,000 at the beginning of 2025.

However, since April 2025, as Bitcoin halving reduced block rewards, network hash rate continued to climb, and the hash price fell to cycle lows, Riot began selling most of its monthly production to maintain operational cash flow. But prior to this, the scale of sales usually did not exceed the monthly mining output, and the December operation clearly broke this pattern.

Meanwhile, Riot has also taken steps on the financing side. The company recently adjusted its at-the-market (ATM) stock issuance plan, replacing the remaining approximately $150 million quota with a new issuance plan. The new ATM mechanism allows for a maximum issuance of $500 million in stock, significantly enhancing external financing flexibility.

Overall, Riot’s large-scale Bitcoin sell-off in December reflects a shift from the “HODL narrative” to a cash flow priority strategy amid high hash rates and compressed mining profits. This change may have a lasting impact on subsequent miner behavior and market supply structure.