Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms sold 10,599 BTC in the third quarter as it redirected funds toward data center development, according to the company's November 4 report. The company also secured a 15-year AI infrastructure lease valued at approximately $28 billion.
Bitcoin Holdings Drop 79%
Riot's Bitcoin holdings fell from 11,380 BTC in June to 2,418 BTC in September, a 79% decline. The drop resulted from quarterly Bitcoin sales surpassing the company's mining output. During the quarter, Riot mined 1,637 BTC while selling 10,599 BTC.
Since the beginning of 2026, the company has sold around $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin, totaling 20,264 coins. The majority of those funds were used to build data centers as Riot's operations diversified from mining. By the end of September, the firm held $748.2 million in cash and $202 million in Bitcoin assets.
Quarterly Profit Falls as Mining Revenue Declines
The shift toward data centers comes as Riot's Bitcoin mining revenue faces pressure from lower cryptocurrency prices. Mining revenue decreased by nearly 28% to $116 million in the third quarter, down from $160.8 million for the same period the previous year.
Total revenue increased 1% to $181.4 million, supported by growth in other business segments. Data center operations contributed $18.4 million, and engineering contributed $47 million.
Despite the revenue boost, net income dropped to $4.03 million compared to $104.5 million in the same quarter of last year. In addition to electricity, another factor in Riot's cost reduction was lowering its average Bitcoin mining cost to $39,265, down from $46,324.
Wall Street had previously taken notice of the company's growth and increased use of artificial intelligence in infrastructure. In August, JPMorgan raised its RIOT stock price target after Riot announced another major data center agreement.
$28 Billion AI Data Center Agreement
The new Riot agreement applies to 910 megawatts of IT capacity at the Riot campus in Corsicana, Texas. The unnamed AI lab will lease the infrastructure for 15 years, at an average cost of roughly $1.8 billion per year.
According to CEO Jason Les, the deal is the largest lease in Riot's history. It follows an earlier $9.1 billion AI data center project at Rockdale for 191 megawatts over 20 years.
With the new contract, Riot has now leased 1,151 megawatts of capacity, representing approximately $38 billion in long-term contracted revenue. These are payments expected during the lease term, not payments that have already been received.
The total estimated capital cost for the Corsicana project is $5.5 billion, with deliveries expected for construction in 2027 and 2028. Riot is targeting delivery of the initial 400 megawatts in September 2027 and an additional 200 megawatts in January 2028. The remaining 310 megawatts are scheduled for July 2028, and Riot currently does not expect to issue equity to fund the projects.
At press time, RIOT stock was trading at $15.49, up 14% on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's 18.41% rally following the company's $28 billion AI data center deal.
