MARA Holdings Inc., a leading Bitcoin mining company, has made headlines with its purchase of 11,774 Bitcoin worth $1.1 billion, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 40,435. Alongside this major acquisition, MARA has achieved an industry milestone by reaching a hashrate of 50 exahashes per second (EH/s) — the highest ever reported by a public Bitcoin miner.
Record-Breaking Bitcoin Purchase
MARA disclosed its latest Bitcoin acquisition on Dec. 10 via X (formerly Twitter). The company purchased the Bitcoin using funds raised from a recent zero-coupon convertible note offering.
- Purchase Details:
- Total Bitcoin purchased: 11,774 BTC.
- Average price per Bitcoin: $96,000.
- Total holdings: 40,435 BTC, valued at approximately $3.92 billion at current market prices.
MARA uses a performance metric called “BTC Yield,” which measures the percentage growth of its Bitcoin holdings relative to its fully diluted shares. The company reported a 12.3% BTC Yield in Q4 and a 47.6% BTC Yield for 2024.
This strategy aligns with MARA’s revised treasury policy, adopted in July, to retain all mined Bitcoin and leverage capital market tools to expand its reserves. This mirrors a strategy famously employed by MicroStrategy.
Milestone Hashrate Achievement
MARA also announced a significant expansion of its mining capabilities, hitting a record-breaking 50 EH/s hashrate by year-end 2024. This marks the first time a public Bitcoin mining company has reached this level of computational power.
- Key Highlights:
- MARA doubled its energized hashrate in 2024, achieving its year-end target of 50 EH/s.
- The company added 13.1 EH/s in Q4 alone, surpassing its previous rate of 36.9 EH/s in Q3.
MARA CEO Fred Thiel hinted at further expansion, stating, “Mission accomplished … but why stop here? Stay tuned as we have more miners on the shelf and we will just keep on adding using our existing capacity.”
Market Performance
Despite these impressive achievements, MARA’s stock closed down 4.4% at $22.81 on Dec. 10. After-hours trading showed only a modest 1% recovery.
- MARA’s stock is down 0.55% in 2024, a sharp contrast to its strong performance in 2023 when it surged by 586% during the crypto market rebound.
- Bitcoin itself has cooled off after reaching an all-time high of $104,000 on Dec. 5, currently trading at $97,090, down 6.6% from its peak.
What’s Next for MARA?
MARA’s combination of aggressive Bitcoin accumulation and record-setting mining performance underscores its position as a dominant force in the crypto mining industry. As the company continues to scale operations and retain mined Bitcoin, it remains poised to capitalize on future market growth.
However, its stock’s recent decline suggests that investors may be wary of short-term volatility in Bitcoin prices or the broader market’s reaction to MARA’s bold strategies.
