Riot Sells More Than 20,000 Bitcoin as AI Data-Centre Contracts Reach $38B

TL;DR: Riot Platforms says it sold 20,264 BTC in the first nine months of 2026, raising about $1.5 billion primarily for data-centre development. Its latest quarterly release puts long-term contracted data-centre revenue at around $38 billion, underlining how far the miner’s business model is shifting. Riot Platforms has made a striking choice with its Bitcoin holdings: sell a substantial amount of the asset it mines to finance the infrastructure it hopes will deliver future revenue. That strategy is clearer than ever in its third-quarter results, released November 4. In its earnings filing, Riot said it sold 20,264 Bitcoin year to date for approximately $1.5 billion, mainly to fund data-centre construction. The company also announced a 15-year powered-land lease for 910 critical IT megawatts at its Corsicana campus, representing about $28 billion of contractual value over the initial term. Mining remains substantial, but contracts tell the new story Riot recorded $181.4 million in third-quarter revenue, barely above the comparable quarter a year earlier. Bitcoin mining contributed $116 million, down from $160.8 million, even though production increased to 1,637 BTC from 1,406 BTC....