Riot Platforms Bitcoin sale Selling millions of Bitcoin as financial pressure builds and post-halving issues affect its operations, Riot Platforms has taken an unexpected step. The company’s choice to sell off its April output points to a strategic turnaround with wider consequences for the crypto mining industry.
Riot Dumps April 475 BTC
Changing from its long-standing HODL strategy, Riot Platforms sold 475 BTC in April—the most notable monthly sale since January 2024. This covers an extra 12 BTC from current reserves and all 463 BTC mined in April.
The sales brought in $38.8 million in profits at an average price of $81,731 per Bitcoin. This action points to a significant change in liquidity strategy, particularly considering the mining company’s declining profitability following Bitcoin’s most recent halving.
Supported by its Riot Platforms Bitcoin sale assets, Riot recently obtained a $100 million credit line from Coinbase to negotiate these tightening circumstances. This indicates that Riot’s financing approach is becoming more diverse, even if part of its BTC reserves remain intact. On April 30, the corporation still showed 19,211 BTC on its balance sheet.
Riot Stock Slides Against Revenue Increase
The market responded right away to Riot’s Bitcoin sale. Regular New York Stock Exchange trading caused shares to decline 5.5%. Closing at $7.90, this represents. Though after-hours trading showed a slight comeback in the stock, gaining 0.8%, the general picture is still somewhat negative.
Riot’s shares dropped 2.2% during the month, unlike other crypto equities that rose in April. With shares down 22% year-to-date, Riot falls among the underperformers in the publicly traded crypto market as the declining trend continues into 2025.
To further investor worries, Riot’s first-quarter results let down the market. The company reported a net loss of $296.4 million, even though its 103% year-over-year revenue increase amounted to $161.4 million. That’s a dramatic turn from the $211.8 million profit in Q1 2024, which results in a loss of $0.90 per share against earnings of $0.82 per share a year previous.
Slower Bitcoin Production: Efficiency Slips
April also saw a drop in operational performance. Month over month, Riot’s Bitcoin output dropped 13% from 533 BTC in March to 463 BTC. Daily output fell 10% from last month to 15.4 BTC.
The miner’s average operating hash rate dropped 3% from 30.3 EH/s to 29.3 EH/s. Although the applied hash rate remained constant at 33.7 EH/s, the lack of increase points to a stop in expansion efforts. Though the hash rate and BTC reserves have increased year over year, these transient indicators nonetheless show continuous operating difficulties.
Summary
Sales of 475 BTC in April 2025 brought in $38.8 million—a significant departure from its usual HODL approach. This comprised 12 BTC from reserves and 463 BTC mined in April, sold for an average price of $81,731 per Bitcoin. The action seeks to improve liquidity and reflects mounting financial distress since Bitcoin halved. Although Riot has obtained a $100 million credit line from Coinbase, it still reserves 19,211 BTC.
Riot claimed a $296.4 million net loss in Q1 2025, a sharp contrast to a $211.8 million profit in Q1 2024, despite a 103% year-over-year revenue rise to $161.4 million. After the announcement, shares fell 5.5%; year-to-date, they are down 22%.
Operationally, the hash rate slid marginally, and Bitcoin output fell 13% from March (533 BTC to 463 BTC). These metrics point to continuous difficulties with profitability and efficiency for Riot and more general pressures in the crypto mining industry.
