Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has settled a $200 million loan with Coinbase, unlocking 5,821 bitcoin previously held as collateral. Valued at approximately $84,800 per coin, these assets are presently worth about $494 million.
Riot now exercises unrestricted control over this reserve. Simultaneously, the company is investing substantial capital to convert its facilities in Texas into artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.
What Riot’s Bitcoin-Backed Coinbase Loan Repayment Freed
Structured similarly to a pawn transaction, the credit facility required Riot to deposit Bitcoin, USDC (a digital token pegged to the dollar), and cash with Coinbase Custody as security.
According to an 8-K form filed on Friday, Riot discharged the principal and interest on September 21. US-listed corporations must submit an 8-K report following significant corporate events. Coinbase’s security interest in the collateral expired on that exact date, and Riot incurred no prepayment penalties.
The newly freed digital assets accounted for slightly more than half of the 11,380 Bitcoin that Riot owned as of June 30. Nonetheless, the regulatory filing omits details regarding how Riot secured the funds or what its intentions are for the coins.
Why Riot’s Locked Bitcoin Kept Changing
Prior to clearing the debt, unencumbered holdings stood at just 5,559 coins, according to Riot’s June quarterly report. Assuming the total balance remains unchanged, the repayment effectively doubles that available pool.
The volume of restricted coins fluctuated in tandem with Bitcoin’s market valuation. Because each coin covers a smaller portion of the debt during a price downturn, Riot was forced to pledge additional assets.
This dynamic played out in February. A market correction compelled Riot to deposit an extra 1,825 coins, raising its total collateral from 3,977 units at the close of 2025 to 5,802, as detailed in its annual report.
Conversely, the mechanism operated in reverse during rallies. When valuations increased, the loan terms permitted Riot to request the release of certain coins without making a principal payment, though Coinbase retained final authority over the calculations.
Instead of partial releases, Riot paid off the entire $200 million balance seven months ahead of the maturity date slated for April 2027. The agreement featured a fixed interest rate of 6.15%.
Riot Has Been Selling More Bitcoin Than It Mines
Recent disclosures indicate that Riot has engaged in significant liquidation. Its production update reveals that during the first quarter, the firm mined 1,473 Bitcoin while offloading 3,778 units for $289.5 million.
This trend of drawdowns persisted into the next period. Riot’s reserves dropped from 15,680 down to 11,380 coins throughout the second quarter, despite the production of an additional 1,587 coins. BeInCrypto noted in August that these liquidations were partially financing the miner’s push into AI infrastructure.
That infrastructure expansion is substantial. In August, Riot entered into a 20-year, $9.1 billion lease agreement encompassing 191 megawatts of computing power at its Rockdale, Texas, facility. The counterparty is identified exclusively as a premier frontier AI laboratory.
Additional financial backing is already secured, however. Second-quarter filings show that Morgan Stanley extended a $573 million interim credit facility for early-stage development, while preparations for a permanent credit backstop are underway.
Simultaneously, the price of Bitcoin has appreciated since June 30, a date when the pledged coins carried a valuation of $340.7 million.
Trading activity closed out Friday with RIOT shares down 2% at $23. While the equity declined roughly 3% over a five-day span, it retains a year-to-date gain of approximately 82%.
Whether the newly liberated bitcoin remains on the balance sheet will be clarified in Riot’s upcoming quarterly report.