Bitcoin mining company MARA (MARA), recently rebranded as Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:), announced Thursday that it has purchased an additional $100 million worth of bitcoin.
The company's shares fell more than 2% in premarket trading Thursday following the announcement.
According to a statement shared with The Block, this acquisition brings MARA’s total bitcoin holdings to over 20,000 BTC, representing nearly 0.1% of the total bitcoin supply of 21 million.
The firm did not disclose the specific timing or average price of the purchases. However, given the dollar amount and MARA’s previous holdings of 18,536 BTC at the end of June, as reported by Bitcoin Treasuries, it is estimated that the recent acquisitions likely totaled around 1,500 BTC, purchased in the range of $54,000 to $68,000 this month, The Block said.
Additionally, MARA said it will take a full HODL approach to its bitcoin treasury policy, holding all bitcoins mined in its operations and making regular strategic purchases on the open market. This strategy will take effect immediately.
“Adopting a full HODL strategy reflects our confidence in the long-term value of Bitcoin,” said Fred Thiel, MARA's president and CEO.
“We believe that Bitcoin is the world's best reserve asset and we support sovereign wealth funds holding it. We encourage governments and corporations to hold it as a reserve asset.”
MARA’s latest moves indicate that the Bitcoin miner is adopting a similar strategy to that of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest publicly traded BTC holder in the world.
Founded by Michael Saylor, a staunch Bitcoin advocate, MicroStrategy holds the leading cryptocurrency as its primary treasury reserve asset. The company continuously purchases Bitcoin and has accumulated 226,331 coins as of June 24, 2024.
