Publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies sold more BTC in the first quarter of 2026 than in all four quarters of 2025, as trading conditions tighten for the mining industry.
Publicly traded BTC miners including MARA, CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific and Bitdeer have collectively sold over 32,000 BTC in the first quarter of 2026, according to at TheEnergyMag.
Q1 sales surpassed the 20,000 BTC sold in Q2 2020 during the crypto bear market triggered by the collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystemsetting a “new record” for BTC miner sales in a single quarter, TheMinerMag said.
The sales come as the hash price, i.e. computing cost and a critical metric for miner profitability, is at record highs below $35 per petahash/second per day (PH/s), according to data of the hash index.
This $35 PH/s level is the break-even point for many Bitcoin miners, especially those using older mining machines, and the current hash price of around $33 PH/s per day sits at around 20% of the mining industry in unprofitable territory.
The strong BTC sales come as the mining industry grapples with increased competition. represented by a rising hashratethe total computing power spent by miners to secure the network, reduced block rewards, and macroeconomic headwinds.
Related: Bitcoin miners face tougher path to halving in 2028
BTC Held by Miners Is Falling Long Term as Treasury Firms Flourish
The Bitcoin Miner Reserve, a metric that tracks all BTC held by miners, has been gradually declining since 2023, according to CryptoQuant.
Bitcoin miners collectively held over 1.86 million BTC at the end of 2023, but only held around 1.8 million BTC at the time of publication.
Miners periodically sell some of their BTC to cover operating expenses, but the combination of falling cryptocurrency prices and rising energy costs has forced some miners to dump coins they would have held in their company’s treasury.
“We expect further capitulation by higher-cost operators in the first half of 2026, unless the BTC price recovers materially,” asset manager CoinShares said in its Q1 2026 Bitcoin Mining report. Report.
Bitcoin cash companies, like Strategy, which is a regular buyer of the larger crypto, stand in stark contrast to the miner sell-off.
Michael Saylor, co-founder of the largest Bitcoin treasury company, reported earlier this week that The strategy is to acquire more BTCas the price pulled back from the local high of over $73,000 hit this week.
“Think bigger”, Saylor said on Sunday, while sharing Strategy’s BTC purchase history chart, which has become synonymous with impending BTC acquisitions.
Review: Bitcoin Mining Industry ‘Will Die in 2 Years’: Bit Digital CEO
