Two leading publicly traded bitcoin mining enterprises shared their third-quarter performance metrics on Wednesday, taking the opportunity to acknowledge that they have been liquidating the very digital asset they were originally formed to hoard.
Riot Platforms has parted with 20,264 BTC throughout the current year yielding approximately $1.5 billion, while Hut 8 has unloaded 3,102 BTC starting in July to support $250 million worth of stock buybacks.
These liquidations fulfill distinct objectives. Riot is financing data center development, whereas Hut 8 is purchasing its own equities. Riot concluded September possessing 2,418 BTC, valued around $202 million based on the ending quarterly valuation of $83,554. It held 18,005 at the beginning of the year.
Hut 8 disclosed holding roughly 16,787 BTC distributed across the parent entity and its majority-controlled American Bitcoin as of September 30, totaling $1.4 billion, with $697.4 million of that sum belonging directly to Hut 8 prior to October liquidations decreasing the parent organization’s stake.
Riot: the treasury becomes a construction budget
Riot’s selling activity has remained consistent across the entire year. It sold 3,778 bitcoin during the initial quarter, roughly 2.5 times its output, followed by 4,300 in the second and an additional 12,186 in the third. The generated capital financed data center construction and the complete payoff of a $200 million Coinbase credit arrangement, which freed all encumbered coins. The company issued no new equity in 2026.
The motivation emerged alongside the financial numbers. Riot executed a 15-year triple-net agreement with an anonymous “Frontier AI Lab” covering the entirety of its Corsicana, Texas facility, representing 910 MW of vital IT workload capacity, valued at roughly $28 billion throughout the primary duration alongside $1.8 billion in annual baseline rent.
When combined with its AMD agreement and an earlier Rockdale contract involving the same counterparty, Riot has committed 1,151 MW for approximately $38 billion. Chief Executive Officer Jason Les indicated anticipated net operating earnings surpassing $2 billion annually upon full realization, according to the corporate statement.
The financial architecture restricts Riot’s cash outlays. Capital expenditures stand near $6 million per MW, which is half of a standard Tier 3 buildout; Riot contributes $2 million from that figure for site preparation and electricity, while the partner finances the balance, subject to reimbursement via non-recourse project financing following each phase completion. Handover spans from September 2027 through July 2028.
Mining operations proceed concurrently in the background. Riot minted 1,637 BTC during the period at a baseline expense of $39,265 before accounting for depreciation, although mining turnover declined 28% to $116 million as the mean valuation shifted downward to $70,855 compared to $114,361 twelve months prior.
Overall revenue reached $181.4 million, remaining steady year over year, with data center and engineering proceeds compensating for the variance.
Hut 8: bitcoin out, shares in
Hut 8’s disposals were directed toward investors rather than contractors. It disposed of roughly 954 bitcoin generating $74.8 million during the quarter alongside about 2,148 BTC yielding $175.4 million throughout October, retiring 3.3 million shares for a combined $250 million expenditure.
On November 2, the board elevated the share repurchase limit to $1 billion. CEO Asher Genoot stated that investors “now own a larger share of a growing platform following share repurchases funded with Bitcoin from our balance sheet.”
The business asserts its data centers will not require that reserve pool. Hut 8 finalized a $1.07 billion senior secured revolving credit facility, left untouched at the quarter’s close, and anticipates River Bend and Beacon Point to secure financing at the individual project level omitting parent equity or recourse liabilities.
Beacon Point’s customer doubled its commitment through a secondary 352 MW agreement, elevating the contracted worth across that campus to approximately $19.6 billion and across the total enterprise footprint to $26.6 billion.
Hut 8 also agreed to acquire two energized West Texas locations featuring up to 230 MW stemming from Chapter 11 proceedings for up to $180 million.
The period’s net earnings of $189.5 million relied upon $413.8 million in digital asset appreciation, primarily consisting of unrealized gains. Turnover contracted to $71.1 million from $83.5 million as the firm divested its legacy cloud division and transitioned mining operations into American Bitcoin, the Trump-affiliated enterprise where Hut 8 maintains a controlling interest. Adjusted EBITDA, which now excludes mark-to-market bitcoin valuations, registered at $33 million.
Hut 8’s equity valuation tumbled 17% intraday while Riot’s shares advanced approximately 13%.
Originally published at https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/riot-and-hut-8-sell-thousands-of-bitcoin.
