Headline: Public miners have offloaded $8.08B in BTC this year — MARA and Riot account for more than half, Lookonchain says Publicly listed companies have sold roughly 108,247 BTC — about $8.08 billion — so far in 2026, with two major miners, Marathon Digital (MARA) and Riot Platforms, responsible for roughly 56% of the total, blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain reports. Key figures - Total sold (as of Nov. 10, 2026): 108,247 BTC (~$8.08 billion) across 14 public companies. - MARA: 40,581 BTC (~$3.03 billion); average sale price reported ~$74,446. - Riot Platforms: 20,264 BTC (~$1.51 billion); average sale price reported ~$73,231. - Bitdeer Technologies: 10,553 BTC (~$787 million). - Other notable sellers: Cango 7,001 BTC ($522M); CleanSpark 5,715 BTC ($426M); Core Scientific 3,374 BTC ($252M); Empery Digital 3,170 BTC; Keel (formerly Bitfarms) 3,169 BTC; Hut 8 3,102 BTC; HIVE Digital 3,056 BTC. Smaller reported sales from IREN, Cipher Digital, Sequans and KULR ranged from about 1,097 BTC to 2,774 BTC. Why miners are selling Lookonchain’s tally comes amid a broader shift in strategy by several miners: instead of primarily holding mined BTC, many public miners are monetizing coins to fund large capital projects — notably data-center expansions, AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure — and to shore up balance sheets. MARA’s sales and uses of proceeds Marathon has been the largest seller this year. In its Q3 shareholder letter (Nov. 9), MARA said it sold about 26,984 BTC for $1.9 billion during the first nine months of 2026, then sold another 13,597 BTC after September at an average of ~ $81,039, generating roughly $1.1 billion. MARA used $750 million of those proceeds to repay Bitcoin-backed loans, freeing 17,477 BTC that had been held as collateral. The company has reduced total debt by about $1.4 billion (37%) since the start of 2026 and has shifted its Bitcoin policy: after permitting sales of newly mined coins in 2025, it expanded the policy in 2026 to include balance-sheet holdings. MARA says it will continue monetizing BTC to fund AI infrastructure, potential share buybacks and upcoming debt obligations, and to support its expansion into energy and data centers (including the acquisition of Long Ridge). Riot’s monetization for data centers Riot has pursued a similar path, selling 20,264 BTC during the first nine months of the year for roughly $1.5 billion to help finance its data-center growth. At the end of September Riot reported holding 2,418 BTC (about $202 million) and $748.2 million in cash (including restricted funds). The company is executing large-scale deals, including a $9.1 billion data-center agreement for 191 MW at Rockdale, Texas, and a 15-year, 910 MW lease at Corsicana — together tied to roughly $38 billion in expected revenue from contracted data-center agreements over initial terms. Capital spending and AI pivot An August BlocksBridge Consulting analysis (previously reported by crypto.news) found nine public miners spent $5.11 billion on capital assets in H1 2026, while reported AI and HPC revenue across those miners totaled $341.2 million. The data underline a trend: miners are redeploying capital and power capacity toward higher-margin AI and data-center businesses. Keel and others pivoting away from U.S. mining Keel Infrastructure (formerly Bitfarms) illustrates that pivot: it shuttered U.S. Bitcoin mining operations in June to redirect its American power portfolio toward AI and HPC. Keel reported selling 1,085 BTC for about $75 million by August; its Q2 revenue fell about 50% year-over-year to $30.4 million. What this means for the market The year’s large-scale BTC sales by public miners reflect strategic reorientation: converting crypto holdings into cash to finance capital-intensive expansions in data centers, AI and energy, while reducing leverage. For Bitcoin markets, concentrated selling by large miners can add supply pressure at times, but firms argue proceeds are being invested into long-term growth areas that could diversify and stabilize revenue streams beyond Bitcoin price exposure. Source: Lookonchain analytics; company disclosures (MARA, Riot); BlocksBridge Consulting analysis. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news