Marathon’s First Bitcoin sale in 2 Years not the Result of Distress

Marathon Digital sold its mined bitcoin for the first time since October 2020, but a representative said it was not due to financial hardship.

Marathon Digital Holdings, the second largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder, has sold some of its bitcoin for the first time in two years.

According to a spokeswoman, this was not the consequence of financial difficulties.

According to a January report filed on Feb. 2, the business sold 1,500 BTC throughout the month, which is worth $35.3 million at current pricing.

While other cryptocurrency miners have been compelled to sell Bitcoin owing to financial difficulties, Marathon’s VP of corporate relations Charlie Schumacher stated that this was not the situation for Marathon.

Marathon, according to Schumacher, has been diamond-handling its Bitcoin until now because the company did not want to sell while output was down, and has remained positive on the top cryptocurrency’s long-term potential.

However, as the new year approaches, Marathon hopes to create a “war-chest” of liquidity comprised of both cash and Bitcoin, as well as to continue paying down debt and increasing its cash balances.

Schumacher also stated that the recent price increase in Bitcoin influenced the company to sell part of its assets.

Bitcoin’s price surpassed $24,000 for the first time since August 2022 in January.

Even after the sale, Marathon managed to expand its unconstrained Bitcoin holdings to 8,090 BTC ($189.8 million) in the month.

Marathon also stated that it considerably increased Bitcoin output throughout January, creating 687 BTC, a 45% increase over the previous month. “The improvement in our bitcoin production was primarily a result of our team’s ability to work in tandem with the new hosting provider in McCamey, Texas, to address the maintenance and technical issues at the King Mountain data centre that had suppressed our bitcoin production in the fourth quarter of 2022,” Marathon chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said in the update.

Marathon stated in a May 4 report that the last time it sold any Bitcoin was on October 21, 2020, and that it has been holding since then.

When asked how it had avoided selling its core product, Schumacher referred to the firm’s modest workforce, which was “32 individuals as of today,” and said it was due to strong long-term financial plans.

According to CoinGecko, Marathon is the second largest publicly-traded Bitcoin holder, trailing only software analytics business Microstrategy, and has had a huge increase in its share price since the beginning of 2023, rising to $8 for a 135% gain, according to MarketWatch.