Mara bought $1.5b Bitcoin, plans to acquire more

Marathon Holdings has restocked over $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin with proceeds from its convertible note offering.

Bitcoin (BTC) infrastructure company Marathon Holdings acquired 15,574 BTC for an estimated $1.53 billion after raising nearly $2 billion through a 0% convertible note sale in November and December. Marathon common a Securities and Exchange Commission Form 8-K filed on December 19, revealing that it purchased its latest BTC tranche at an average price of $98,529 per Bitcoin.

Publicly traded U.S. companies use Form 8-K filings to disclose developments relevant to shareholders.

Marathon Holdings now holds 44,394 BTC, worth a staggering $4.45 billion when the leading cryptocurrency was trading at $100,151. The BTC miner also disclosed approximately $263 million in ticket redemptions. According to a Marathon article on

Saylor’s Bitcoin Playbook

Marathon, Hut 8, Riot and other BTC-focused startups have adopted a fundraising strategy popularized by Michael Saylor, executive chairman of MicroStrategy and former crypto-skeptic turned Bitcoin evangelist.

The so-called “infinite money problem” involves issuing debt in the form of dated stock rights in exchange for capital to accumulate BTC. As the price of BTC increases, companies report BTC yield to highlight investment performance.

Critics like analyst Jacob King have thunderstruck Saylor’s playbook, claiming that MicroStrategy’s approach is akin to a Ponzi scheme and could collapse if the price of Bitcoin experiences a sharp decline.

Saylor’s general response to these criticisms compared BTC to New York real estate in its early days. The president of MicroStrategy has often said that Bitcoin, like New York real estate, will appreciate indefinitely, allowing companies to continue issuing debt to finance further BTC purchases. MicroStrategy plans to buy $42 billion worth of BTC before 2028, and Saylor said he never plans to do so sell.