Riot, MARA and Nakamoto divest huge Bitcoin holdings in the first quarter

Bitcoin sales by Riot, MARA and Nakamoto demonstrate how major holders are managing treasury assets in the current volatile climate.

In the first quarter of 2026, three major companies had massive Bitcoin sales, which appears to be a significant change in their treasury strategies.

With the financial market as a whole reeling from geopolitical unrest, Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings, and Nakamoto collectively offloaded over 19,000 BTC in the first three months of the year.

Riot platforms

The first is Riot Platforms, which reportedly sold $289.5 million worth of Bitcoin in the first quarter of 2026. The company sold 3,778 BTC at an average of $76,626 per coin. At the end of March, Riot held 15,680 BTC, including 5,802 coins pledged as collateral. While there is no explanation yet as to why Bitcoin is selling, it is important to note that the company has been expanding into AI and high-performance computing.

The company mined 1,473 BTC in the first quarter of 2026, slightly less than the 1,530 BTC mined in the first quarter of 2025. Overall, in 2025, Riot reported a record annual revenue of $647.4 million, an increase of almost 72% from the previous year’s $376.7 million.

Commenting on the 2025 performance, its CEO and director, Jason Les, said:

“2025 marked a pivotal year for Riot, defined by a strategic evolution of our business that transformed our future trajectory. With proven development expertise, a world-class asset base of readily available power in key data center markets, and more than $1.9 billion in liquidity, we are uniquely equipped to aggressively scale our infrastructure footprint.”

MARA Securities in portfolio

Meanwhile, MARA Holdings sold a much larger amount of Bitcoin. Between March 4 and 25, MARA sold 15,133 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion. The company said the sales were part of a strategic adjustment to its balance sheet. The majority of the proceeds were used to repurchase approximately $1 billion of 0% convertible senior notes due 2030 and 2031.

The latest move represents a departure from the company’s HODL strategy. MARA also cut around 15% of its workforce during the period as part of a broader transformation.

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Nakamoto

Nakamoto, on the other hand, sold around 284 BTC in March and ended up making around $20 million, or an average of $70,422 per coin. The company previously acquired 5,342 BTC since August 2025 at an average price of $118,171 per BTC. The sale reflects a decrease compared to the acquisition price.

Nakamoto described the sale as part of liquidity and capital management, which aims to support operations, reinvest in businesses and cover working capital for recent acquisitions such as BTC Inc. and UTXO Management GP, LLC. Despite the sales, the company claimed that Bitcoin remains a long-term cash asset.