Riot Platforms Pawns $1.8B Bitcoin Stash to Secure $100M Loan from Coinbase

The mining giant turns hodling into high finance—because why sell when you can borrow against your digital gold? Coinbase plays bank, proving crypto’s favorite pastime isn’t trading... it’s creative collateralization. Another day, another nine-figure bet that Bitcoin won’t crash (or else those loan officers get a fire sale).

Bitcoin miners face headwinds

While Riot explores new funding options, the broader mining industry faces serious challenges. A recent Bitwise report outlines two major issues confronting miners, especially those in the US.

According to the report, US tariffs on mining equipment imported from Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia have significantly increased hardware costs. These import duties range from 24% to 46%, making upgrades costly and cutting profit margins.

At the same time, mining difficulty, a measure of how hard it is to mine a block, has surged to record highs. As a result, hashprice, a key indicator of miner earnings, has dropped to around $48, down from over $60 earlier in the year.

Adding to the challenge, investor focus is gradually moving elsewhere. The rising popularity of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate treasury holdings firms like Strategy and Metaplanet, which offer simpler exposure to the top crypto, has resulted in waning interest in BTC mining stocks.