MARA Acquires $100 Million in Bitcoin, Embraces ‘Full HODL’ Strategy

Bitcoin miner MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital, recently announced the acquisition of an additional $100 million in bitcoin. Following this announcement, the company’s shares experienced a decline of over 2% in premarket trading.

This latest purchase increases MARA’s total bitcoin holdings to more than 20,000 BTC, which accounts for nearly 0.1% of the total bitcoin supply capped at 21 million. While the company did not specify the timing or average price of these purchases, estimates suggest that the recent acquisitions likely amounted to around 1,500 BTC, based on the dollar value and MARA’s previous holdings of 18,536 BTC at the end of June.

Additionally, MARA has declared its commitment to adopting a full HODL strategy for its bitcoin treasury policy. This approach involves retaining all bitcoin mined in its operations while occasionally making strategic purchases in the open market. The new strategy is set to take effect immediately.

Fred Thiel, MARA’s chairman and CEO, expressed confidence in this direction, stating, “Adopting a full HODL strategy reflects our confidence in the long-term value of bitcoin. We believe bitcoin is the world’s best treasury reserve asset and advocate for sovereign wealth funds to hold it. We encourage both governments and corporations to consider bitcoin as a reserve asset.”

MARA’s recent actions indicate a strategy akin to that of MicroStrategy, which is recognized as the largest publicly-listed holder of bitcoin. Founded by Michael Saylor, an outspoken supporter of bitcoin, MicroStrategy has identified the cryptocurrency as a key component of its treasury reserve strategy and has amassed a total of 226,331 coins as of June 2024.