Public Bitcoin Miners Sell Over 15,000 BTC as Core Scientific, MARA and Others Pivot to AI Infrastructure

Treasury Liquidations Accelerate as Mining Margins Compress and Data Center Strategies Take Priority

TL;DR

• Public miners have sold more than 15,000 BTC as capital shifts from treasury holdings to AI infrastructure.
• Core Scientific reduced holdings from 2,537 BTC to about 630 BTC after selling roughly 1,900 BTC for $175 million.
• MARA holds 53,822 BTC but updated its policy to allow opportunistic buying and selling.

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Publicly traded Bitcoin miners are accelerating treasury sales and revising long-standing holding strategies as they redirect capital toward artificial intelligence infrastructure, with more than 15,000 BTC already sold across the sector in early 2026. The shift comes as Bitcoin trades around $66,000, roughly 50% below its October all-time high, according to COIN360 data tracking the broader crypto price index and overall crypto price movements within the coin market cap rankings.

Mining executives who once championed a strict “HODL” approach are now prioritizing liquidity to fund data center retrofits and high-performance computing buildouts. Mining profit margins that reached as high as 90% during the 2021 bull market have compressed amid higher energy costs, tougher competition and lower crypto price levels. Several of the top 10 publicly listed miners are either actively selling Bitcoin or formally revising treasury policies to permit sales.

Core Scientific disclosed plans to sell substantially all of its Bitcoin holdings during 2026, with most sales expected in the first quarter. The company reported holding 2,537 BTC as of Dec. 31, 2025, carried at an average cost basis of $101,639 per coin. January transactions reduced that balance by approximately 1,900 BTC for proceeds of about $175 million, leaving around 630 BTC on hand.

Management described its legacy mining business as “essentially in runoff,” maintaining certain operations only to satisfy power commitments while redirecting infrastructure toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads. Core Scientific ended 2025 with roughly $530 million in liquidity and referenced as much as $4 billion in potential financing tied to a 590-megawatt contract aligned with AI capacity deployment. Fourth-quarter revenue totaled $79.8 million, compared with expectations of about $122 million, while the company posted a loss of $0.42 per share against a projected $0.08 loss.

MARA Holdings revised its digital asset policy in its latest Form 10-K, stating it “may hold Bitcoin for long-term investment purposes and may also buy or sell Bitcoin from time to time, subject to market conditions and our capital allocation priorities.” The company held 53,822 BTC valued at approximately $4.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. Roughly 28% of that balance was deployed in structured arrangements, including 9,377 BTC lent to counterparties generating $32.1 million in interest income and 5,938 BTC pledged to support a $350 million credit facility.

Riot Platforms has treated Bitcoin as a funding mechanism rather than a passive reserve, selling all monthly production and liquidating balance sheet holdings, including nearly 1,100 BTC to finance its Rockdale acquisition. The company sold $200 million worth of Bitcoin during the final two months of 2025 and currently holds 18,005 BTC compared with a peak of 19,368 coins.

Cipher Digital, formerly Cipher Mining, characterized 2025 as a transformative year as it pivoted toward high-performance computing infrastructure. The company divested its 49% stake in three mining joint ventures for roughly $40 million in stock and now holds 1,500 BTC, down from an all-time high of 2,284 BTC.

Bitdeer Technologies reduced its Bitcoin holdings to zero to fund AI data center expansion, marking a drop from its prior peak of 2,470 BTC. Bitfarms reported holding 1,827 BTC compared with a peak of 3,301 BTC, with Chief Executive Ben Gagnon stating, “We are no longer a Bitcoin company.”

Hut 8 said on its fourth-quarter earnings call that Bitcoin is no longer a long-term strategic focus, maintaining 13,696 BTC while also holding an equity stake in American Bitcoin, which controls 6,039 BTC. TeraWulf reported holding 15 BTC, while IREN disclosed zero Bitcoin holdings. CleanSpark continues to manage 13,513 BTC and has described its approach as monetizing production, layering covered calls and exploring Bitcoin-backed credit facilities as non-dilutive financing mechanisms.

Shares of several mining companies declined between about 5% and 6% following earnings releases and treasury policy updates, as investors assessed the impact of potential balance sheet sales alongside broader crypto price volatility captured by the crypto price index.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.