Riot Platforms Offloads $161M in Bitcoin Amid Mining Profit Squeeze

Bitcoin miners face the music as margins compress—Riot just cashed out big.

When the going gets tough, the tough sell BTC. Riot Platforms just dumped $161 million worth of Bitcoin holdings, signaling storm clouds for mining profitability. The move reeks of pragmatic survivalism—or desperate balance sheet gymnastics, depending who you ask.

Mining math turns ugly

Hashrate growth meets halving economics, and suddenly those shiny ASICs look like boat anchors. Riot’s fire sale exposes what every miner knows but won’t say aloud: when dollar-denominated liabilities come due, HODLing becomes a luxury.

Wall Street’s crypto tourists always forget mining is a business, not a religion. Today’s lesson? Even true believers keep exit liquidity handy—especially when their CFO needs to hit quarterly targets.

Riot Platforms Sells Over $160 Million in Bitcoin Amid Mining Headwinds

Riot Platforms operates large-scale Bitcoin mining facilities in, with additional engineering and manufacturing operations in. Bitcoin mining involves validating transactions and adding new blocks to the blockchain using specialized high-performance computing equipment, with miners rewarded in newly issued BTC.

However, industry conditions have grown increasingly challenging. Reduced block rewards and rising operational costs have eroded margins, prompting miners to liquidate holdings to support operations.

A key metric reflecting these pressures is, which measures the revenue miners earn per unit of computing power. Hash price is influenced by Bitcoin’s market price, network difficulty, block subsidies, and transaction fees. Over the past three months, hash price has fallen sharply, aligning with Riot’s decision to execute its largest-ever monthly BTC sale.

China Launches Review of $2 Billion AI Acquisition Over Bitcoin Links

Separately, Chinese authorities are reportedly scrutinizing ainvolving U.S. tech company Meta and artificial intelligence platform, according to the Financial Times.

China reviews Meta’s $2bn purchase of AI start-up Manus
Chinese officials are reviewing Meta’s $2bn acquisition of AI platform Manus for potential export control violations, assessing whether relocating Manus’s staff and technology to Singapore required a Chinese export… https://t.co/GQSL2wuFzE pic.twitter.com/sBmRLNpLft

— CN Wire (@Sino_Market) January 7, 2026

China’s Ministry of Commerce has launched an initial review of the deal, reportedly due to concerns surrounding. The transaction has drawn attention under China’s export control framework, particularly as Manus is said to have relocated personnel and technology operations to.

The review is examining whether such transfers require export licenses under Chinese law. Sources cited by the report note that the investigation remains in its early stages and may not escalate into a formal enforcement action.

Bitcoin Holdings Under Regulatory Spotlight

Blockchain analytics data indicates that Manus foundercurrently holds, valued at approximately, according to Arkham Intelligence. While the amount is relatively small, the disclosure underscores how Bitcoin ownership can attract regulatory scrutiny in jurisdictions with strict crypto policies.

China has maintained one of the world’s toughest stances on cryptocurrencies, including bans on Bitcoin trading and mining. The latest review highlights the ongoing tension between global technology investment, digital assets, and national regulatory frameworks.

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