The early signs of a bear phase often emerge when miners start capitulating as patience begins to fade.
Q1 2026 reflects this dynamic clearly. From a technical standpoint, Bitcoin [BTC] closed the quarter down 22%, marking its weakest Q1 performance in almost eight years, ending the period near $68k.
Notably, miner positioning during the quarter reinforced the broader bearish structure.
As the chart below shows, several major public miners sold more than 32,000 BTC in Q1 2026, according to data analyzed by TheEnergyMag.
The dataset remains incomplete, with some reports still pending. And yet, miner selling has already “exceeded” total net sales across all of 2025, setting a new industry record.
What’s more, the 32k BTC liquidated in Q1 alone has surpassed the 20k BTC sold in Q2 2022 during the Terra-Luna fallout. In short, Q1 reflected clear bearish pressure on Bitcoin, with miner distribution playing a key role.
Fast forward to Q2, Bitcoin is already up 10%, reducing the immediate risk of miner capitulation.
However, on-chain data hasn’t fully confirmed this shift yet. Key metrics show Bitcoin’s miner price hovering around $69k, meaning profitability margins remain tight.
At the same time, additional supply pressure is coming from large government holders. Bhutan has sold $18.4 million worth of BTC, while the U.S. government’s $606k BTC sell-off adds another layer of distribution, keeping upside momentum in check.
Against this backdrop, ruling out another round of miner selling may be premature. From a technical lens, Bitcoin is trading only about 7% above the miner price, a thin cushion given the ongoing government distribution.
This raises a key question: Could a Q1-style miner sell-off setup be forming again in Q2?
Corporate miner selling keep Bitcoin in a distribution-heavy setup
The real pressure from miner capitulation doesn’t typically come from individual miners.
Instead, the impact comes from publicly listed mining companies that collectively hold sizable BTC treasuries.
The logic is simple: Unlike smaller miners, corporate Bitcoin miners function at scale, meaning their treasury sales introduce steady supply into the market rather than one-off sell orders.
The result? Miner capitulation becomes less about declining hash rate and more about balance-sheet stress. A recent CryptoQuant report highlights this ongoing trend.
As the chart below shows, miner reserves have steadily declined during the current cycle, dropping from roughly 1.862 million BTC to about 1.801 million BTC, a net sell-off of nearly 61k BTC.
Interestingly, much of this pressure is being driven by large Bitcoin mining firms.
According to CryptoQuant data, Riot Platforms has reduced holdings by 4,026 BTC, Marathon Digital by 13,210 BTC, and Core Scientific by 1,992 BTC.
Technically, that accounts for over 30% of the 61k BTC sold, reinforcing the view that corporate miners are driving most of the distribution pressure.
Add to this tightening profitability and continued government BTC sales, and the broader supply-side pressure becomes even more evident.
Together, these factors suggest Bitcoin is still operating in a distribution-heavy phase rather than a clear accumulation setup, potentially carrying Q1’s sell-off pressure into Q2 and signaling a potentially bearish quarter for Bitcoin.
Final Summary
- Miner selling exceeded 32k BTC in Q1, marking the largest quarterly distribution on record and signaling strong bearish pressure.
- With Bitcoin only 7% above miner price and government BTC sales ongoing, Q2 may still face continued supply-side pressure.