Bitcoin Mining Giant Follows MicroStrategy’s Lead in Expanding Crypto Holdings
MARA Holdings Inc. (MARA), formerly known as Marathon Digital, has announced plans to sell up to $2 billion worth of its stock to fund further Bitcoin acquisitions. The move mirrors a strategy widely associated with Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy, which has leveraged stock sales and market offerings to amass a vast Bitcoin reserve.
The company disclosed its intentions in a March 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), confirming it had entered into an at-the-market agreement with investment firms including Cantor Fitzgerald and Barclays. This agreement will allow the sale of up to $2 billion worth of stock “from time to time.”
Ramping Up Bitcoin Holdings
MARA Holdings, one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, currently holds 46,374 BTC, valued at approximately $3.9 billion, according to Bitbo data. The company ranks just behind MicroStrategy, which owns 506,137 BTC, worth an estimated $42.4 billion.
In its SEC filing, MARA stated that the proceeds from the stock sale will be used for general corporate purposes, including additional Bitcoin acquisitions and working capital. The firm’s CEO, Fred Thiel, had previously declared a “full HODL” approach, indicating that MARA would retain all the Bitcoin it mines rather than selling it to fund operations—a practice that diverges from the norm among crypto miners.
This new stock offering follows MARA’s previous fundraising efforts, including a $1.5 billion stock sale last year and the issuance of $1 billion in zero-coupon convertible senior notes in November. A significant portion of these proceeds was also allocated for Bitcoin purchases.
Market Reaction and Stock Performance
The announcement comes at a time of market volatility for crypto-related stocks. On March 28, MARA’s stock price fell 8.58%, closing at $12.47, amid broader concerns affecting the crypto mining sector. The decline was partly driven by reports that Microsoft had scrapped plans to invest in new data centers in the United States and Europe—an event that unsettled mining stocks.
MARA’s stock continued to slide in overnight trading on March 30, dropping a further 4.6% to $11.89, according to data from Robinhood.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s price has remained strong, trading just above $82,000 despite a 1.2% decline in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency had recently reached a local high of around $83,500, according to CoinGecko data.
With MARA’s aggressive expansion strategy and its commitment to increasing Bitcoin reserves, the company continues to position itself as a major player in the growing institutional adoption of the cryptocurrency.
