Public Bitcoin miners have sold more than 32,000 BTC in the first quarter of 2026, exceeding total net sales across every quarter of 2025 and setting a new industry record, according to data analyzed by TheEnergyMag.
Several major publicly traded miners, including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, Cango, Core Scientific, and Bitdeer, have collectively offloaded the record amount, according to a report published by TheEnergyMag on Thursday. The figure exceeds the roughly 20,000 BTC that public miners liquidated in the second quarter of 2022, at the height of the Terra-Luna collapse.
A Sharp Reversal From Accumulation Era
The reversal is striking. Just over a year ago, miners were accumulating aggressively, ending 2024 with a net addition of 17,593 BTC and pushing combined reserves above 100,000 BTC. The shift comes as hashprice, a key metric measuring expected mining revenue per unit of computing power, hovers in the low $30/PH/s range, near all-time lows.
According to CoinShares’ Q1 2026 Mining Report, the weighted average cash cost for publicly listed miners to produce one Bitcoin rose to approximately $79,995 in the fourth quarter of 2025. With Bitcoin trading between $68,000 and $70,000 during much of the quarter, producers have been operating at a sizable loss per coin mined.
Treasury Liquidations Intensify
Individual company sales paint a pointed picture. Core Scientific sold roughly 1,900 BTC, worth about $175 million, in January and announced plans to substantially liquidate all remaining holdings during Q1 2026. Bitdeer reduced its treasury to zero in February. Riot Platforms sold 3,778 BTC in Q1, generating nearly $289.5 million in proceeds, according to Coinpedia.
Even Marathon Digital, the largest public holder at 53,822 BTC, expanded its policy in its March 10-K filing to authorize sales from its entire balance sheet reserve. The move was partly driven by pressure on its $350 million Bitcoin-backed credit facility, where the loan-to-value ratio climbed to 87% as prices slid toward $68,000.
Pivot to AI Reshapes Sector
The capital raised from BTC sales is largely being redirected toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. CoinShares reported that the publicly listed mining sector has announced more than $70 billion in cumulative AI and HPC contracts, with analysts forecasting that listed miners could derive up to 70% of their revenue from AI by year-end 2026.
Hut 8 stated in its fourth-quarter earnings call that Bitcoin is “no longer a long-term strategic focus,” with exposure set to decline over time, according to CoinDesk. TeraWulf has secured $12.8 billion in contracted HPC revenue, while CoreWeave’s expanded deal with Core Scientific alone is worth $10.2 billion over 12 years.
CoinShares forecasts the network hashrate will reach 1.8 zetahashes by the end of 2026, but that projection depends on Bitcoin recovering to $100,000 by year-end. A sustained move below $70,000 could trigger broader miner capitulation, paradoxically benefiting survivors by lowering difficulty.
