NEW YORK, January 3, 2026, 19:17 ET — Market closed
- Riot Platforms shares rose about 12% in the last U.S. session, closing at $14.16.
- The bitcoin miner said Jason Chung will become CFO on March 1, replacing Colin Yee, who will move into a senior advisor role. Riot Platforms
- A filing showed Riot removed a bitcoin-focused metric from its 2026 incentive plan and added data-center revenue and NOI measures once it secures a tenant. SEC
Riot Platforms shares rose $1.52, or nearly 12%, in the most recent U.S. session, ending Friday at $14.16. The move followed the bitcoin miner’s announcement of a chief financial officer transition and a revamp of executive incentives toward data-center development. Riot Platforms
The developments matter now because miners are trying to convince investors they can turn power-heavy campuses into steadier cash generators by leasing space and electricity to data-center customers. Riot’s latest filing explicitly ties management pay to that strategy, a signal investors often read as a marker of corporate priorities. SEC
Riot said Jason Chung, currently its executive vice president and head of corporate development and strategy, will become CFO on March 1. Colin Yee will remain CFO until then and then shift to a senior advisor role, the company said. Riot Platforms
“His extensive experience and solid track record of delivering value-creating results … make him the ideal leader to guide our capital allocation strategy,” CEO Jason Les said. Riot Platforms
A Form 8-K showed Yee agreed to serve as senior advisor through January 2028, with an annual base fee of $500,000 for the first 12 months after the transition, then $20,000 per month, plus $2 million worth of restricted stock units. SEC
The same filing detailed broader pay and incentive changes effective Jan. 1, including raising base salaries for Les and executive chairman Benjamin Yi to $900,000 from $600,000 and removing a bitcoin component from their base compensation. SEC
Riot also amended its 2026 annual incentive plan — its cash bonus scorecard — to eliminate a metric called “Bitcoin Yield.” It said it will add two data-center measures once a tenant is secured: “data center revenue” and “Data Center NOI,” or net operating income, a profit measure that subtracts operating costs from revenue. SEC
Under the redesign, data-center revenue and NOI would each carry 15% weighting, while adjusted EBITDA — profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — is reduced to 25% at target, the filing showed. Payouts range from zero to as much as 200% of target. SEC
The stock move came alongside a firmer crypto backdrop: bitcoin was last up about 1.6% at roughly $91,356. Other U.S.-listed miners also rose sharply on Friday, with Marathon Digital up about 10%, CleanSpark up about 14% and Hut 8 up nearly 12%.
Traders often treat miners as leveraged plays on bitcoin, meaning the shares tend to amplify moves in the cryptocurrency. Riot’s additional swing factor is execution: the filing says the data-center metrics apply only “upon securing a data center tenant.” SEC
Before U.S. markets reopen on Monday, Jan. 5, investors will watch bitcoin’s weekend move and whether RIOT holds Friday’s breakout. The shares traded between $12.66 and $14.39 in the session, levels that can serve as near-term support and resistance.
Looking further out, third-party earnings calendars such as Zacks and MarketBeat estimate Riot’s next quarterly report around Feb. 23, though the company has not announced a date. The next update on capital spending, funding plans and any progress on data-center leasing is likely to set the tone for the stock. Zacks
