Riot Platforms Stock Drops After First Sale of Bitcoin in 15 Months

Key Takeaways

• Riot sold 475 BTC in April, its first major sale since January 2024, abandoning its long-held HODL approach.
• Bitcoin output fell 13% month-over-month, and the average operating hash rate slipped by 3%.
• The stock dropped in New York following the BTC sale news.

Riot Platforms has broken with tradition , offloading millions in Bitcoin as financial strain begins to show.

Amid tightening margins and post-halving headwinds, the miner’s latest move signals a strategic shift that could ripple across the industry.

Riot Sells $44 Million Worth of Bitcoin

Riot Platforms offloaded 475 BTC in April, marking a notable departure from its previous commitment to holding all mined bitcoin. This is the miner’s first significant monthly sale since January 2024.

In its latest production report, Riot revealed it sold every one of the 463 BTC mined during April, plus an additional 12 BTC from its existing reserves.

Though Riot generated $38.8 million in proceeds at an average price of $81,731 per BTC, this shifted away from its previous HODL strategy, raising questions about its liquidity positioning.

The decision reflects mounting pressure on mining margins, especially following the recent halving event. Riot also recently secured a $100 million credit line from Coinbase, backed by Bitcoin, underscoring its strategy to diversify financing options amid tighter market conditions.

Despite the sale, the company retained a sizable 19,211 BTC on its books as of April 30.

Stock Drops Following News

Riot Platforms’ stock fell 5.5% in regular New York trading following news of its Bitcoin sale, closing at $7.90. It regained ground during the after-hours activity, rising by 0.8%, but the broader picture remains bleak.

Unlike its crypto-sector peers, which saw gains in April, RIOT slipped 2.2% last month.

The downtrend extends into 2025, with shares tumbling 22% year-to-date, making it one of the weaker performers among publicly traded crypto companies.

The company reported first-quarter results last week that disappointed the market despite revenue of $161.4 million, more than doubling year over year with a 103% increase.

In fact, despite the revenue surge, the mining firm posted a net loss of $296.4 million, reversing a $211.8 million profit from the same period last year.

This translates to a loss of $0.90 per share, compared to earnings of $0.82 per share in the first quarter of 2024.

BTC Production Slows From March

Riot Platforms faced several operational setbacks in April 2025, with key performance metrics showing notable declines compared to the previous month.

Most significantly, Bitcoin production fell by 13% month-over-month, dropping from 533 BTC in March to 463 BTC in April. Average daily output mirrored this decline, falling by 10% to 15.4 BTC per day.

The company’s average operating hash rate also slipped by 3%, decreasing from 30.3 EH/s to 29.3 EH/s, indicating a slight dip in mining efficiency. Meanwhile, despite holding steady at 33.7 EH/s in deployed hash rate, the stagnation suggests a pause in scaling operations.

While year-over-year figures show growth, particularly in hash rate and Bitcoin holdings, the short-term performance highlights operational pressures.