Marathon lends out 16% of its Bitcoin reserves to explore new paths for profit🏃♂️
Recently, Marathon has lent out about 16% of its Bitcoin reserves, specifically 7,377 BTC, which is worth up to $730 million at current prices!
Although they did not disclose the identity of the borrower, they stated that these are “temporarily lent to a third party.” The goal is to generate profits to cover operational costs.
As of December 31, Marathon's total Bitcoin reserves, including loans, amounted to 44,893 BTC, valued at approximately $4.4 billion. They mined 9,457 BTC in 2024 and additionally purchased 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205.
Their CEO, Fred Thiel, stated that their mining operation's current hash rate has exceeded the target of 50 EH/s by the end of the year, while also planning to improve the efficiency of mining machines to 20 J/TH.
Furthermore, Marathon's stock (MARA) has risen nearly 20% in cumulative trading on Friday and Monday, with the current price reaching $29.55. Last December, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor even predicted that Marathon might be the next Bitcoin company to join the Nasdaq 100 index.
From the perspective of the mining ecosystem, this is a fiercely competitive and tough business, with block subsidies halving every four years. The last halving occurred in April 2024, when the block reward dropped to 3.125 BTC.
However, the Bitcoin hash rate (i.e., network computing power) reached a historical high of 1000 EH/s on January 2. Nevertheless, according to data from the Hashrate Index, the Bitcoin hash price index remained low at $0.056 TH/S on the same day.
This phenomenon indicates that while the computing power of the Bitcoin network has reached unprecedented heights, the earnings for miners per unit of computing power remain at a low level.
Therefore, Marathon has taken bold measures in its Bitcoin holding strategy, aiming to find the best balance between mining profits and corporate operational costs by lending out a portion of its Bitcoin reserves.
💬 What are your thoughts on their lending strategy and the future of Bitcoin mining?