Riot Platforms sold 10,599 BTC in Q3, reducing holdings by 79% to fund data center expansion, while securing a $28B AI data center contract.
Macro & Markets ·
Riot Platforms divested nearly 79% of its Bitcoin holdings in the third quarter, selling 10,599 BTC and reducing its position from 11,380 coins at end-June to 2,418 by end-September. The company liquidated approximately 20,264 BTC across the first nine months of 2024 for roughly $1.5 billion, channeling proceeds into data center development. Third-quarter results showed revenue of $181 million, marginally up year-over-year, though mining-specific revenue fell 28% to $116 million.
The pivot reflects a strategic shift toward infrastructure over direct mining. Riot secured a 15-year lease with an unnamed AI laboratory for 910 megawatts of IT capacity valued at approximately $28 billion initially, adding to an existing portfolio of 1,151 megawatts under long-term contract generating roughly $38 billion in projected revenue. Net income of $4.03 million in Q3 compares with $104 million in the prior year period, signaling margin compression amid the reallocation.
Whether the asset sales fully offset capital requirements for data center buildout, or whether Riot will maintain its scaled-back mining operations as a secondary revenue stream, remains unclear from available disclosures.