MARA and Riot sold $4.54 billion of bitcoin in 2026 to fund AI data centers; Jefferies upgraded Riot to Buy
MARA and Riot, 56% of this year's corporate bitcoin sales between them, are liquidating the treasuries that made them to fund gas plants and AI data centers whose revenue is still a fraction of the spend. Jefferies upgraded Riot to Buy the same day the tally landed.
Vincent Jiangthree-minute read
Two miners, more than half the selling
MARA once promised+9.94% — MARA once promised, up 9.94 percent today to keep every bitcoin it mined; in the six weeks after September 30 it sold 13,597 of them, part of a liquidation that has pulled 108,247 bitcoin, about $8.08 billion, out of listed-company treasuries this year 145. Fourteen public companies sold through November 10, on-chain tracker Lookonchain counted, and two miners did the bulk: MARA Holdings, 40,581 coins at an average $74,446 for $3.03 billion; Riot Platforms+3.23% — Riot Platforms, up 3.23 percent today, 20,264 at $73,231 for $1.51 billion 16. The tally mixes confirmed sales with estimated wallet flows 67.
MARA and Riot sold more bitcoin in 2026 than the other twelve listed sellers combined
Two miners out-sold the other twelve public companies combined
Data
| Value | |
|---|---|
| MARA Holdings | 40,581 BTC |
| Riot Platforms | 20,264 BTC |
| Bitdeer | 10,553 BTC |
| Cango | 7,001 BTC |
| CleanSpark | 5,715 BTC |
| Core Scientific | 3,374 BTC |
The coins became the construction loan
MARA's November 9 letter shows where the money went 456. The post-quarter coins sold at an average $81,039, against roughly $74,000 in the market this week 456. Of the proceeds, $750 million repaid loans taken in August against its bitcoin to help buy the Long Ridge gas plant in Ohio, freeing 17,477 coins held as collateral 456.
Sales continue, the letter says, for AI infrastructure, convertible-note puts exercisable next year, and a $500 million buyback 4. Riot's proceeds went to its data-center build: it ended September with 2,418 bitcoin worth about $202 million, down from 18,005 in January, and expects to sell substantially all the bitcoin it mines 137.
MARA and Riot began 2026 with 71,827 bitcoin between them; nine months later, 36,430
Riot's treasury fell 87% in nine months; MARA's fell 37%
- Start of 2026
- September 30, 2026
Data
| Start of 2026 | September 30, 2026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| MARA | 53,822 BTC | 34,012 BTC | -36.8% |
| Riot | 18,005 BTC | 2,418 BTC | -86.6% |
$5.11 billion of concrete, $341 million of AI revenue
BlocksBridge Consulting counted nine public miners spending $5.11 billion on capital assets in the first half of 2026 against $341.2 million of AI and high-performance-computing revenue 1. MARA's third-quarter revenue fell 35% to $164.2 million; its $632.1 million of net income rested on an $885.3 million paper gain on the coins now being sold 45.
Wall Street upgraded the landlord
The same day the tally landed, Jefferies lifted Riot to Buy, target $28 from $13, on a Corsicana lease it says yields an average 33% a year at half the usual capital cost 2. All 23 analysts covering the stock sit at buy or better 2.
The tenant named in the filing is Anthropic$350B — Anthropic, private, latest valuation $350B, the AI lab behind Claude, counterparty on 1,101 of Riot's 1,151 contracted megawatts; the other 50 sit with AMD+2.21% — AMD, up 2.21 percent today 3. If project financing falls short, Riot owes Anthropic rent credits at 12% interest on up to $3.6 billion 3. The upgrade prices the lease; the filings price the treasury.
This is not a pivot, says MARA
Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel wrote "This is not a pivot away from bitcoin," with MARA holding 1.9 gigawatts of power and a path toward 4.8 5. Jefferies'−2.31% — Jefferies, down 2.31 percent as of its last quote economics are real: capital cost halved and delivery risk shifted to the tenant 23. The leases still have to be funded, and the funding so far is the coins.
What to watch
Whether MARA signs the two data-center leases it targets by year-end, on timing it says could slip into 2027 45. Whether Riot raises non-recourse debt before first delivery in June 2027, or the 12% clause activates 3. And the treasury itself: an implied 20,400 coins left at MARA, and at Riot, $202 million of bitcoin against a $5.5 billion build 34.
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