Mara Holdings sells 13,597 BTC after Q3, still holds 34,012 BTC

The Bitcoin miner's latest disposal continues a dramatic strategic pivot away from accumulation and toward debt repayment, AI infrastructure, and shareholder returns. MARA, formerly Marathon Digital Holdings, was once competing with MicroStrategy for the title of most aggressive Bitcoin accumulator among publicly traded companies, but now it is one of the sector's most active sellers.

Financial Impact

After September 30, MARA sold 13,597 BTC at an average price of approximately $81,039, generating approximately $1.1 billion in proceeds. The company directed $750 million of those proceeds toward fully repaying its Bitcoin-collateralized term loans, freeing 17,477 BTC from collateral. This reduced MARA's pledged or lent Bitcoin holdings to under 5% of total assets, down from 57% at the end of the prior quarter.

MARA's Q3 revenue came in at $164 million, down 35% year-over-year. However, the company reported $632 million in net profit for Q3, boosted substantially by fair-value gains tied to Bitcoin's price appreciation during the period. Hash rate reached 71.2 EH/s during Q3, up 18% year-over-year.

Future Strategy

The company has stated its intention to keep monetizing Bitcoin holdings to fund three priorities: AI data center infrastructure, ongoing debt reduction, and potential stock repurchases of up to $500 million. By unwinding its collateral structure, MARA has removed a meaningful source of systemic risk from its balance sheet, giving it more flexibility to hold or sell on its own timeline.

Year-to-date through the end of 2026, MARA has sold over 40,000 BTC in total, including approximately 26,984 BTC across the first nine months of the year. On-chain activity in early November pointed toward continued liquidity preparation, with approximately 1,650 BTC moving to firms including Galaxy Digital and Copper.