Riot frees $494 million in Bitcoin after Coinbase loan payoff

Riot Platforms repaid a $200 million Coinbase loan and released 5,821 bitcoin that had secured the debt. The bitcoin was worth roughly $494 million at today's price of about $84,800. Riot cleared the debt and interest on September 21, according to an 8-K filed Friday. Coinbase's claim on the pledged assets ended the same day. Riot paid no early repayment fee. The collateral also included USDC and cash. The released bitcoin represented just over half of the 11,380 bitcoin Riot held on June 30. Riot now controls the released bitcoin without restriction. The filing does not say how Riot raised the cash or what it plans for the coins. Riot's June quarterly report showed that 5,559 bitcoin were free to use before the repayment. If Riot's holdings have not changed since then, the repayment roughly doubles that pool. Riot added 1,825 bitcoin to its pledge in February after a price decline. The pledge rose from 3,977 bitcoin at the end of 2025 to 5,802 bitcoin. The loan agreement allowed Riot to request the return of some bitcoin when prices rose without repaying the debt. Coinbase had the final say on the calculation. Riot repaid the full loan seven months before its April 2027 due date. The loan carried a fixed 6.15% interest rate. Riot sold 3,778 bitcoin for $289.5 million in the first quarter. Riot mined 1,473 bitcoin during that quarter. Riot's holdings fell from 15,680 bitcoin to 11,380 bitcoin in the second quarter. Riot mined 1,587 bitcoin during the second quarter. Riot signed a 20-year, $9.1 billion lease for 191 megawatts of computing capacity at its Rockdale, Texas, campus in August. The tenant is described only as a leading frontier AI lab. Morgan Stanley provided a $573 million interim loan for early construction. Riot is finalizing a longer-term credit backstop. The pledged bitcoin was worth $340.7 million on June 30. RIOT shares closed Friday at $23 after falling 2%. The stock fell about 3% over five days and remained up roughly 82% this year. Riot's next quarterly report will show whether the released bitcoin stayed on its books.