- MARA has flipped from hoarder to seller. The bitcoin miner sold 13,597 BTC for $1.1 billion after September at an average of about $81,039 per coin, according to its third-quarter shareholder letter, equal to 40% of the 34,012 bitcoin it held at the end of September.
- The scale dwarfs its own production. MARA sold six times as much bitcoin in roughly six weeks as it mined during the entire third quarter, and its sales in the first nine months of 2026 reached 26,984 BTC, taking the year’s total above 40,000 BTC with the latest disposals.
- Most of the cash went to lenders. MARA used $750 million to repay loans secured against its bitcoin, releasing 17,477 pledged coins and cutting the share of remaining holdings that are lent out or pledged to less than 5% from 57% at the end of September.
- The pivot is toward AI infrastructure. “We intend to continue using bitcoin to build cash for purposes such as AI infrastructure opportunities,” MARA wrote, as it prepares to close the Long Ridge natural-gas power business, which is authorized to sell 485 megawatts, and targets two new data-center leases before year-end.
What Happened?
MARA disclosed the sales in its third-quarter shareholder letter, filed Monday. The loans it repaid were taken out in August to help fund the planned Long Ridge purchase, and the company sold bitcoin to clear the borrowing before the deal closes, which it expects in the coming weeks. Third-quarter revenue fell 35% to $164 million, while MARA reported a $632 million profit that included an $885 million accounting gain from the rise in bitcoin’s value during the quarter. The board has authorized share repurchases of up to $500 million, and some bondholders can demand early repayment starting next year.
Why It Matters?
The sales mark a sharp reversal: in July 2024, MARA’s treasury policy committed to retaining all the bitcoin it mined and buying more in the market. Shifting from accumulation to selling signals that MARA, facing weaker mining revenue, sees more value in power assets and data-center capacity than in holding coins. For bitcoin, a large holder turning into a steady seller adds supply at a time when prices are already under pressure. For MARA shareholders, the trade-off is a cleaner balance sheet and AI optionality in exchange for less direct exposure to bitcoin’s upside.
What’s Next?
MARA expects Long Ridge to close in the coming weeks, with the surrounding land giving it room to develop a data-center campus, and it also holds development rights to a Texas site with potential capacity of up to 2 gigawatts. It is targeting two new data-center leases before year-end but warned that negotiations could run into 2027. Investors should watch for further bitcoin sales, the pace of buybacks and how MARA handles bondholders’ early-repayment rights next year.
Affected Tickers and Coins: MARA, BTC
Source: CoinDesk
