Publicly traded Bitcoin (BTC) mining companies sold more BTC in Q1 2026 than in all four quarters of 2025 as business conditions tighten for the industry.
Companies including Marathon Digital (MARA), CleanSpark, Riot, Cango, Core Scientific and Bitdeer collectively sold more than 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, according to TheEnergyMag. That quarterly total surpassed the roughly 20,000 BTC sold in Q2 2022 during the bear market triggered by the collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem, setting a new record for miner sales in a single quarter, TheMinerMag reported.
The heavy sell-off coincides with a record-low hashprice — the revenue per unit of hashpower that miners earn — which sits under $35 per petahash/second per day (PH/s). Hashrate Index data places current hashprice around $33 PH/s per day, roughly the breakeven for many miners, especially those using older machines. At this level, an estimated 20% of the mining industry is operating unprofitably.
Miners face mounting pressure from a rising hashrate (increased competition for block rewards), declining block rewards over time, and macroeconomic headwinds. As a result, some miners are liquidating BTC to cover operating costs, including higher energy expenses.
The Bitcoin Miner Reserve, tracking BTC held by miners, has been gradually declining since 2023. Miners collectively held over 1.86 million BTC at the end of 2023 and around 1.8 million BTC at the time of publication, per CryptoQuant.
Asset manager CoinShares warned in its Q1 2026 Bitcoin Mining Report that further capitulation among higher-cost operators is likely in H1 2026 unless BTC’s price recovers materially.
By contrast, Bitcoin treasury companies continue to accumulate. Strategy — the largest corporate holder of BTC — has been a regular buyer. Michael Saylor, co-founder of Strategy, signaled recent purchases as BTC retraced from a local high above $73,000, sharing the company’s purchase-history chart and urging investors to “Think bigger.”
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