MARA Holdings sold 15,133 bitcoin worth approximately $1.1 billion between March 4 and March 25, 2026, then used the proceeds to retire $1 billion of convertible debt at a 9% discount. The transaction slashed MARA’s outstanding convertible notes by roughly 30% and sent its stock price up more than 10% in premarket trading on March 26. A convertible note is a form of corporate debt that can be exchanged for company shares at a future date, which means retiring them early removes the risk that those shares dilute existing stockholders.
Key takeaways
- MARA sold 15,133 BTC for $1.1 billion and used it to repurchase $1 billion face value of 0% convertible notes due 2030 and 2031 at a 9% discount, capturing roughly $88 million in value.
- Total convertible debt fell from about $3.3 billion to $2.3 billion, a 30% reduction that removes future dilution risk for shareholders.
- MARA retains 38,689 BTC (approximately $2.6 billion) and is redirecting capital toward AI data center hosting and digital energy infrastructure.
Published: March 26, 2026 UTC
Why MARA sold now
MARA’s convertible notes carry a 0% coupon, meaning the company pays no interest. The catch is conversion: if the notes convert into equity, existing shareholders get diluted. By buying back $367.5 million of its 2030 notes for $322.9 million and $633.4 million of its 2031 notes for $589.9 million, MARA eliminated that overhang while pocketing the discount.
CEO Fred Thiel framed the move as balance sheet optimization. “By retiring over $1 billion of face value debt at a discount, we captured approximately $88 million in value that would otherwise have been lost, reduced potential shareholder dilution,” Thiel said in a press release.
The remaining convertible debt stands at $632.5 million for the 2030 notes and $291.6 million for the 2031 notes. After selling 15,133 coins, MARA still holds 38,689 BTC, worth around $2.6 billion with bitcoin trading near $69,000.
Miners are pivoting to AI
MARA’s move fits a broader pattern. Bitcoin miners across the industry are repurposing their power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence workloads, where margins are currently fatter than mining rewards.
CoinShares research projects that bitcoin miners could derive 70% of their revenue from AI hosting by the end of 2026. Hash prices, the standard measure of mining profitability, have fallen from $64 to $33 per petahash per second daily over the past year. That squeeze is pushing miners to diversify.
MARA is not alone. Cipher Mining rebranded to Cipher Digital and shifted resources toward AI and high-performance computing. Bitfarms, now operating as Keel, and Cango have made similar pivots. Thiel described MARA’s strategy as building “financial flexibility and strategic optionality” for the company’s expansion into digital energy and AI/HPC infrastructure.
What the market thinks
Wall Street rewarded the move. MARA shares climbed more than 10% in premarket trading to around $9, a notable pop given the stock had fallen 44% over the previous six months as compressed mining margins weighed on the entire sector.
The positive reaction suggests investors prefer deleveraging to the accumulate-at-all-costs playbook that Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) popularized. CryptoQuant data published this week showed that Strategy now accounts for nearly all new corporate bitcoin treasury purchases, with other firms’ share dropping from 95% to about 2%. MARA’s sale signals that not every public miner will follow the same path.
For bitcoin’s broader market, the sale adds modest selling pressure at a time when the asset is already under strain. Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 this week as rising oil prices, falling equities, and thin liquidity triggered risk-off flows across crypto markets.
Frequently asked questions
How much bitcoin does MARA Holdings still own?
MARA retained 38,689 BTC after the sale, worth approximately $2.6 billion at current prices near $69,000. The 15,133 coins sold represented about 28% of the company’s total holdings.
Why did MARA’s stock go up after selling bitcoin?
Investors responded positively because MARA bought back $1 billion of convertible debt at a 9% discount, reducing future share dilution and cutting total convertible notes by 30%. The move strengthened the balance sheet and freed up capital for AI and energy expansion.
Are other bitcoin miners also selling BTC to fund AI pivots?
Yes. Cipher Digital, Keel (formerly Bitfarms), and Cango have all shifted resources toward AI hosting and high-performance computing. CoinShares projects miners could earn 70% of revenue from AI by the end of 2026 as mining margins shrink.
