Bitcoin miner MARA acquires 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion

Bitcoin miner MARA on Tuesday confirmed an acquisition of 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion, increasing its total Bitcoin holdings to 40,435 BTC. 

MARA is the second-largest public corporation in terms of Bitcoin holdings, following MicroStrategy, which has the largest holding of 423,650 BTC.

MARA’s acquires more Bitcoin – Details

MARA disclosed the details of its recent BTC purchase in a recent filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). MARA revealed it has attained a BTC yield of 12.3% quarter-to-date (QTD) and 47.6% year-to-date (YTD) since acquiring these Bitcoins at an average price of $96,500.

The Bitcoin miner currently holds 40,435 BTC, which is estimated to be worth approximately $3.9 billion as a result of this latest purchase. The acquisition happened as BTC crossed $100K following Trump’s win, which ushered in a pro-crypto administration.

However, BTC has since lost its ATH price. According to CoinGecko, Bitcoin is currently worth $95,625, down 1.5% in the last 24 hours. The value of BTC today is 0.3% higher than it was seven days ago. 

MARA said the latest purchase was funded using the proceeds from its at-the-market offering program and the offerings of its convertible senior notes.

“Using the proceeds from its zero-coupon convertible notes offerings, MARA has acquired 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion at $96,000 per bitcoin,” the company announced in an X post.

The notes’ conversion prices were higher than the current trading prices of the company’s common stock at the time of issuance, and they are also considered to have conversion prices that are higher than the current trading prices of the Company’s common stock in the future. 

Additionally, the holders of these convertible notes are considered not to be entitled to exercise the conversion rights of the notes. The development is quite similar to MicroStrategy’s recent decision to increase its note sales to $2.6 billion for BTC purchases.

Behind the acquisition of Bitcoin, MARA’s initiative 

Last month, MARA Holdings issued $1 billion in zero-coupon convertible senior notes that are due on March 1, 2030. 

The organization’s primary objective was to allocate the majority of its earnings toward Bitcoin acquisition and strategic debt management.

The notes’ conversion price, issued to institutional investors under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, is substantially higher than MARA’s most recent stock value.

Still, at the beginning of 2028, the notes may be redeemed under advantageous circumstances.

The company’s official press release stated that the intention was to repurchase $212 million of its convertible notes due 2026 with $199 million of the $980 million in net proceeds.

The remaining funds were set aside for allocation to strategic acquisitions, working capital, and “to be used to acquire additional Bitcoin.”

Fred Thiel, MARA’s chairman and CEO, expressed optimism for the future of Bitcoin mining during the July Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville.

During the presidential campaign, Thiel stated that he expected the BTC mining industry to “flourish” under the Trump administration. However, he took a hard negative stance against the Harris administration asserting that during her tenure the crypto community would have “no idea what the energy policy is going to be.”

MARA’s recent trading activity

MARA’s third-quarter earnings, which were disclosed on November 12, indicated a loss of $0.34 per share. This resulted in a 9.1% decrease in after-hours trading.

Despite the decline, the company reported a 34.5% year-over-year increase in revenue to $131.6 million. However, this was less than the $148.1 million that analysts had predicted.

As Bitcoin approached $90,000 on November 11, MARA’s stock experienced a 30% increase, which contributed to a 10% increase in the company’s share price since the beginning of the year. 

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