I noticed an interesting pattern in the mining market — major players like Riot are literally dumping Bitcoin. In the first quarter, they sold 3,778 BTC ( and received $289.5 million ), even though they only mined 1,473 BTC during the same period. That is, they sold 2.6 times more than they produced. This isn't typical treasury management — it's clearly something more.

The first thing that came to mind — maybe financial problems? But no, the data suggests the opposite. The company reduced energy costs by 21% to 3 cents per kWh and simultaneously increased hash rate by 26% to 42.5 EH/s. Plus, they earned $21 million from energy credits — twice as much as a year ago. It seems Riot is actively reinvesting in infrastructure and colocation equipment, rather than just selling to survive.

It turns out I’m not alone in this observation — the same week, MARA, Genius Group, and Nakamoto Holdings together sold 15,501 BTC. Genius completely liquidated its entire reserve. This is a coordinated move, and the reason appears to be rising energy costs. I heard a comment from a developer that the geopolitical situation has increased pressure on miners’ margins, and less efficient operators are starting to shut down. This benefits survivors like Riot by reducing mining difficulty.

Another factor putting pressure on demand is that Bitcoin ETFs recorded an inflow of $1.32 billion in March, so institutional demand partially offsets miners’ supply. But if the price doesn’t return above $77K and strengthen, Riot’s treasury could fall to 14,000 BTC within two quarters at the current pace. For now, this looks like a rational reinvestment strategy amid volatility, rather than a panic sell-off.