Bitcoin miner MARA, recently rebranded from Marathon Digital, announced on Thursday its purchase of an additional $100 million worth of bitcoin.
This acquisition increases MARA’s total bitcoin holdings to over 20,000 BTC, valued at approximately $1.3 billion. This represents nearly 0.1% of bitcoin’s total supply of 21 million.
MARA did not specify the timing or average price of the purchases. The company stated it took “strategic advantage of favorable market conditions to opportunistically purchase bitcoin,” according to MARA CFO Salman Khan.
Based on the dollar amount and the company’s existing holdings of 18,536 BTC as of the end of June, the latest acquisitions likely totaled around 1,500 BTC, bought in the $54,000 to $68,000 range this month.
This is not the first time MARA has acquired bitcoin outside of its mining production. The company purchased $150 million worth of bitcoin in January 2021. “However, the vast majority of the bitcoin reflected on our balance sheet has been generated from our mining operations,” Khan said.
MARA’s Full HODL Strategy
MARA also announced its adoption of a full “HODL” approach to its bitcoin treasury policy, retaining all the bitcoin mined in its operations and making further strategic acquisitions periodically.
“Adopting a full HODL strategy reflects our confidence in the long-term value of bitcoin,” said MARA chairman and CEO Fred Thiel.
“We believe bitcoin is the world’s best treasury reserve asset and support the idea of sovereign wealth funds holding it. We encourage governments and corporations to all hold bitcoin as a reserve asset.”
MARA has significantly reduced the proportion of bitcoin sold as a percentage of production from 56% in 2023 to 31% in 2024, according to a recent report from analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein.
“Prior to last year, the company used to hold all of its bitcoin,” Khan added. “Given Bitcoin’s current tailwinds, including increased institutional support and an improving macro environment, we are once again implementing this strategy and focusing on growing the amount we hold on our balance sheet. Bitcoin’s recent price decline, coupled with the strength of our balance sheet, afforded us an opportunity to add to our holdings.”
Following this renewed strategy, MARA will leverage existing cash on its balance sheet and capital markets to fund operations moving forward.
Last month, MARA announced its expansion into altcoin mining to diversify revenue streams post-Bitcoin halving. The company deployed its first Kaspa application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miners in September 2023, marking its foray into altcoin mining.
