Public companies sell $8.08 billion in Bitcoin in 2026

MARA was the largest seller, offloading 40,581 BTC valued at about $3.03 billion. Riot Platforms sold 20,264 BTC worth $1.51 billion, while Bitdeer Technologies ranked third with 10,553 BTC valued at $787 million. Lookonchain estimated average sale prices of $74,446 for MARA and $73,231 for Riot.

Other sizable sellers included Cango, with 7,001 BTC worth $522 million, and CleanSpark, with 5,715 BTC valued at $426 million. Core Scientific sold 3,374 BTC, Empery Digital 3,170 BTC, and Keel, formerly Bitfarms, 3,169 BTC. Hut 8 Mining and HIVE Digital sold 3,102 BTC and 3,056 BTC, respectively. IREN, Cipher Digital, Sequans and KULR each reported sales between 1,097 BTC and 2,774 BTC.

The sales came as miners invest in data centers and artificial intelligence infrastructure. An August analysis by BlocksBridge Consulting found that nine public miners spent $5.11 billion on capital assets in the first half of 2026, while reported AI and high-performance computing revenue totaled $341.2 million.

MARA disclosed in a November 9 shareholder letter that it sold about 26,984 BTC for $1.9 billion in the first nine months of 2026. After September, it sold another 13,597 BTC at an average price of about $81,039, raising $1.1 billion. The company used $750 million to repay Bitcoin-backed loans, releasing 17,477 BTC held as collateral. MARA said its total debt has fallen by $1.4 billion, or 37%, since the start of the year. It plans to keep monetizing Bitcoin to meet financial needs, including AI infrastructure investment, possible share repurchases and debt obligations.

Riot sold 20,264 BTC in the first nine months of 2026, raising about $1.5 billion, primarily to finance data center development. At the end of September, it held 2,418 BTC valued at about $202 million and had $748.2 million in cash, including restricted funds. Its projects include a $9.1 billion data center agreement for 191 megawatts at Rockdale, Texas, and a separate 15-year lease for 910 megawatts at Corsicana. Riot has reported about $38 billion in expected revenue over the initial terms of its contracted data center agreements. Keel Infrastructure, meanwhile, halted US Bitcoin mining operations in June as it redirected power resources toward AI and high-performance computing.