MARA acquires 6,474 Bitcoin with $1B debt raise

Mining firm MARA, formerly Marathon Digital, announced on November 27 the acquisition of 6,474 Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) through a recent $1 billion convertible note offering at a 0% interest rate.

The company initially purchased 5,771 BTC at an average price of $95,395 per coin and later added 703 BTC, bringing its total holdings to 34,797 BTC.

These holdings are currently valued at approximately $3.3 billion.

MARA also repurchased $200 million worth of its 2026 notes and plans to use the remaining $160 million from its debt raise to buy additional Bitcoin during market dips.

MARA’s strategy mirrors MicroStrategy’s approach of leveraging corporate debt to accumulate Bitcoin.

MicroStrategy recently raised $3 billion through senior convertible notes and purchased 55,000 BTC between November 18 and 24 at an average price of $97,862 per coin.

This brought its total holdings to 386,700 BTC, reinforcing its position as one of the largest Bitcoin holders globally.

While MARA’s per-share yield on Bitcoin year-to-date stands at 36.7%, the company aims to capitalise on future price corrections to strengthen its treasury further.

Critics, however, have raised concerns about the sustainability of such strategies.

Using debt to acquire Bitcoin exposes companies like MARA and MicroStrategy to potential risks if Bitcoin’s price experiences significant declines.

Despite scepticism, MARA and other corporations employing Bitcoin treasury strategies reflect a growing trend among institutions.

According to financial services firm River, 62 publicly traded companies now hold Bitcoin on their balance sheets as of November 2024.

At the time of reporting, the Bitcoin (BTC) price was $95,693.78.