Marathon Digital (MARA) is still a major bitcoin holder — but it’s clearly repositioning its business.
As of the latest report, the miner holds 35,303 BTC (roughly $2.84 billion), keeping it ranked as the fourth-largest corporate bitcoin owner globally. That figure, however, comes after a sizable liquidation: during Q1 2026 Marathon sold 20,880 BTC — about $1.5 billion at the time — a move that caught investors’ attention.
Quarterly results and market reaction
- Marathon posted a Q1 net loss of $1.26 billion, more than double the $533 million loss a year earlier. Revenue fell 18% year-over-year to $175 million, a decline the company attributes in part to lower bitcoin prices.
- Shares slipped 5% in Tuesday trading, hitting an intraday low of $11.74 before closing near $12.65; after-hours trading added another 1.85% decline. Still, the stock is up roughly 30% over the past month.
Why it sold bitcoin
- The bulk of the BTC sales funded balance-sheet repair. Marathon sold 15,133 BTC between March 4 and March 25 (about $1 billion of the proceeds) to repurchase convertible notes. Overall, roughly $1 billion of cash was applied to shrink convertible debt from $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion — roughly a 30% reduction — and generated a $71 million gain from debt extinguishment.
A strategic pivot away from pure mining
- Marathon said it will step back from large-scale ASIC purchases going forward and is moving to repurpose much of its non-hosted mining capacity. About 90% of that capacity can be converted into AI and IT infrastructure, the company says. The strategy is to colocate new infrastructure alongside existing mining operations to monetize power assets and leverage Marathon’s operational experience.
- The company is also cutting about 15% of its headcount, which it expects will save roughly $12 million a year.
Biggest acquisition in company history
- Marathon is making its largest-ever acquisition: Long Ridge Energy from FTAI Infrastructure, a deal valued at nearly $1.5 billion (including roughly $785 million in assumed debt). Long Ridge runs a 505-megawatt combined-cycle gas power plant in Ohio on more than 1,600 contiguous acres; Marathon projects about $144 million in annualized EBITDA from the asset.
Where Marathon stands in the market
- The company’s moves underline a shift in approach among some crypto-focused corporates: while bitcoin-sovereign players like MicroStrategy continue to accumulate BTC, Marathon is selling bitcoin to deleverage and redeploy capital into power and infrastructure businesses tied to AI/IT workloads as well as mining operations.
Bottom line: Marathon remains one of the biggest corporate bitcoin holders, but Q1 sales, a large debt paydown, workforce reductions and a major infrastructure acquisition show the company steering toward a broader energy-and-computing play rather than doubling down on ASIC-driven bitcoin production alone.
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