Bitcoin miners add $1.78B selling pressure as AI compute/power pivot accelerates (CoinShares).
Bitcoin has fallen 27% since the start of 2026 to just under $64,000, with public miners now adding another source of selling pressure alongside ETF outflows and treasury sales. According to Blockware Intelligence, publicly listed miners held 127,000 BTC at the start of the year but now hold just 99,000 BTC—a decline representing approximately 28,000 BTC sold, worth roughly $1.78 billion at current prices. The sales occurred as Bitcoin underperformed major assets, including the S&P 500 Index.
US-listed spot crypto ETFs have recorded more than $4.4 billion in net outflows, according to SoSoValue. Long-dormant holders and digital-asset treasury companies have added further supply pressure. Blockware noted that early-year miner sales remain an underdiscussed factor in Bitcoin's weak 2026 performance. Although miner sales trail ETF outflows in magnitude, steady selling matters significantly when market demand weakens.
Public miners now face an average Bitcoin production cost of approximately $74,300—a level above Bitcoin's current market price, putting considerable pressure on operating margins. Mining difficulty has declined about 18% from its November peak, marking the longest stretch of declining hashrate. Despite margin pressure, this easing competition benefits remaining miners, who now earn approximately 18% more Bitcoin than they did ten months earlier.
As competition eases, the industry's economics may reshape fundamentally as some large operators reduce mining activity. The question remains whether miner selling will persist as a major market pressure if Bitcoin remains below average production costs.
Reflecting this shift, Riot Platforms has agreed to a $9 billion, 20-year compute deal with Anthropic, according to CNBC's David Faber. The agreement covers 191 megawatts at Riot's Rockdale, Texas campus and could generate $9.1 billion over its initial term. Revenue could reach approximately $16.1 billion if both sides extend the agreement through two additional five-year periods.
Riot also maintains an existing agreement with Advanced Micro Devices. Compass Point analyst Michael Donovan noted that the two-tenant campus now carries $9.8 billion in contracted data center revenue. Increasingly, investors view listed Bitcoin miners as digital infrastructure owners rather than pure Bitcoin producers. Their power capacity, data centers, and energy contracts now support this transition.
The shift from mining to AI infrastructure began taking shape during the 2022 crypto downturn, when lower Bitcoin prices, intensifying competition, and halving-driven reward reductions squeezed margins until mining became unprofitable. Bitcoin's 2026 decline has coincided with significant headwinds: 28,000 BTC in public miner sales, more than $4.4 billion in ETF outflows, and average mining costs above spot prices. Yet lower difficulty has improved economics for remaining miners, while major operators like Riot are clearly positioning themselves as AI infrastructure providers.