MARA's Plans $2Bn Stock Sale to Buy More BTC
Bitcoin miner pivots to buying the cryptocurrency as revenue continues to dry up.
Marathon Digital Holdings — the second-largest corporate Bitcoin holder — is launching a massive $2 billion stock offering to buy more Bitcoin rather than mine it, signalling a shift in the market.
The "at-the-market" (ATM) offering follows a previous $1.4 billion raise and will fund "general corporate purposes," primarily acquiring more Bitcoin for its treasury — doubling down on the "HODL" strategy popularised by Strategy's Michael Saylor.
Why the switch from mining to buying?
Pain Points Mount
The Bitcoin mining landscape has gone from gold rush to blood bath. Consider the economics:
Transaction fees have crashed to just 1.25% of block rewards — the lowest since April 2022.
The 2024 halving slashed block rewards in half. Mining difficulty simultaneously hit record highs. Less reward, more competition — a miner's nightmare.
Bitcoin's retreat from January highs (down 24% to $83,804.62) has squeezed already thin margins into oblivion. The recent 3.7% 24-hour drop amid a broader 5.5% crypto market slide? Proved deadly for miner’s revenue
MARA now holds 46,374 BTC — second only to Strategy's 528,185 BTC mountain.
The Saylor Effect
MARA’s shift mirrors Strategy's approach — raising capital to accumulate Bitcoin rather than relying solely on increasingly unprofitable mining operations.
Strategy's stock has surged about 2,000% since initiating its Bitcoin strategy in 2020.
As traditional mining economics deteriorate, many operations are exploring AI data centres as alternative revenue streams.
Read: The Bitcoin Mining Dilemma ⛏️
"AI is a big trend we cannot miss, We cannot miss that. You [miners] need to go far this year, as the demand for compute power AI compute is huge." Paul Li of Fog Hashing said at the recent Mining Disrupt conference in Fort Lauderdale.
But the transition isn't straightforward.
"Unlike Bitcoin mining, which can be interrupted without consequence, AI workloads demand 100% uptime, That fundamentally changes the power arrangement and economics." explained Shanon Squires of Compass Mining.
Critical Juncture
The mining sector faces an existential dilemma — adapt or perish.
For smaller operations without MARA's capital access, the options are limited. Some might diversify into altcoin mining or related crypto services just to survive in today's harsh mining environment.
For giants like MARA, the calculus is different. Its $4.3 billion market cap gives it runway to weather the storm, particularly if Bitcoin prices recover.
What Happens Next?
MARA's stock could face short-term pressure from dilution, but the Bitcoin purchases could support BTC's price if executed at significant scale.
More importantly, the move signals a broader trend: the convergence of miners and holders as separate strategies blur into a comprehensive "Bitcoin business" model.
For investors, the question becomes whether to back miners struggling with operational challenges or companies like Strategy and MARA that are becoming pure Bitcoin proxies.
The industry's evolution continues, but one thing is clear — the days of effortlessly profitable Bitcoin mining are counted and a few.