MARA Stock Dives as Bitcoin Miner Reveals Plan to Raise $850 Million to Buy More BTC

Top Bitcoin miner MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital, is planning to raise $850 million to buy more of the leading cryptocurrency, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows. And the firm’s stock fell sharply following the announcement.

MARA—the biggest miner by market cap—said it will raise the cash via a private sale of 0% convertible senior notes due in 2032.

The sale will be aimed at institutional buyers, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based firm said. 

With 50,000 BTC ($5.9 billion at today’s prices) on its balance sheet, MARA is the second-largest corporate holder of the leading cryptocurrency after software firm and Bitcoin treasury pioneer Strategy, according to data from Bitcoin Treasuries. 

Bitcoin miners are rewarded with new coins for processing transactions on the Bitcoin network. Despite many miners often having to sell the newly minted cryptocurrency to cover costs, MARA has adopted a “HODL strategy”—claiming it never wants to sell new coins.

MARA and other companies are raising money via private offerings to buy Bitcoin, as they believe the asset will go up in value over the long term and get better returns for their shareholders.

Nasdaq-listed MARA stock was on Wednesday trading down more than 10%, for $17.80 per share. Even so, MARA remains up more than 25% over the last month.

Bitcoin was recently trading for $117,782, down about 1% over a 24-hour period, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko.