MARA’s bitcoin stack nears $6 billion following production update, cementing spot as second-largest public holder after Strategy

MARA has increased its bitcoin stack to 52,477 BTC, worth $5.9 billion, according to its latest monthly production update.

The firm mined 705 BTC ($79.2 million) in August, marginally higher than its 703 BTC haul in July, and representing a 4.9% share of all bitcoin miner rewards, including transaction fees, during the period. As a result, the firm remains the largest bitcoin holder of any public miner, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data. This total includes bitcoin that is loaned, actively managed, or pledged as collateral, MARA noted.

MARA also remains the second-largest public bitcoin holder overall behind Michal Saylor’s Strategy, which announced the acquisition of another $449.3 million worth of bitcoin on Tuesday, taking its substantial treasury to a total of 636,505 BTC ($72 billion). Tether-backed Twenty One, Adam Back and Cantor Fitzgerald-backed Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, and Bullish make up the remainder of the top five, with 43,514 BTC, 30,021 BTC, and 24,000 BTC, respectively.

MARA wins 208 bitcoin blocks in August

“Similar to last month, we produced 208 blocks in August as global hashrate increased 6% month-over-month to an average of 949 EH/s,” MARA Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said in a statement. “Given the decline in bitcoin price during the month, we took the opportunity to strategically add to our treasury and currently hold over 52,000 BTC.”

Despite reaching an all-time high of around $124,500 on Aug. 14, bitcoin closed the month 6.5% down, dropping 13.7% from the peak to a low of around $107,500 at one point. The foremost cryptocurrency is currently trading at $112,434, according to The Block’s BTC price page, up 1.4% over the past 24 hours and 3.9% this month.

MARA’s energized hashrate also grew 1% month-over-month in August to 59.4 EH/s, with all containers at its Texas wind farm now fully operational. MARA is one of the few public operators controlling more than 50 EH/s alongside IREN, CleanSpark, and Cango, with bitcoin’s average total network hashrate recently breaking the one zetahash per second milestone — a trillion trillion hashes — even as miners face slumping fees, rising difficulty, and shrinking revenues.

The firm also agreed to acquire a 64% stake in EDF subsidiary Exaion in August, with an option to increase to 75% by 2027, in a deal expected to close in late 2025. The venture aims to pair MARA’s tech stack with AI to cut costs and bolster edge infrastructure, while the company also opened its European headquarters in Paris to drive international growth. “Together, these announcements reinforce MARA’s role in advancing energy partnerships dedicated to stabilizing power grids while capturing and repurposing unused energy,” Thiel said.

MARA’s share price has fallen 4.9% over the past month and is down 13.5% year-to-date, according to The Block’s MARA price page. Contrasting fortunes in the industry, MARA recently lost its status as the largest public mining firm by market cap to AI diversifier IREN, following a 59.4% surge in its rival’s stock during the past month amid strong quarterly earnings, boosting its year-to-date gain to 153.4%.

IREN has a current market cap of around $7.7 billion compared to MARA’s $6.1 billion, with Riot Platforms in third place, valued at $4.3 billion.

MARA’s ‘full HODL’ strategy

While the majority of the bitcoin reflected on MARA’s balance sheet was generated from its mining operations, the firm announced in July 2024 that it would adopt a “full HODL” approach to its bitcoin treasury policy. It now retains all the bitcoin mined in its operations, with further strategic acquisitions made periodically, leveraging existing cash on its balance sheet and capital markets to fund operations instead.

“Adopting a full HODL strategy reflects our confidence in the long-term value of bitcoin,” MARA chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said at the time. “We believe bitcoin is the world’s best treasury reserve asset and support the idea of sovereign wealth funds holding it. We encourage governments and corporations to all hold bitcoin as a reserve asset.”

In December, MARA announced a proposed private offering of $700 million zero-coupon convertible senior notes to repurchase a portion of its existing notes and acquire more bitcoin outside of its mining production.