MARA Sold 13,597 Bitcoin for $1.1 Billion to Fund Its AI Pivot

By Elena Vasquez

MARA sold 13,597 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion after September 30, according to its third-quarter shareholder letter filed with the SEC. The average selling price came in near $81,039 per coin. The company applied $750 million of the proceeds to repay Bitcoin-collateralized loans, releasing 17,477 BTC that had been pledged as security.

The disclosure marks a clear departure from MARA's earlier practice of holding mined Bitcoin. The miner now monetizes its coin reserves to support AI infrastructure and other capital priorities. What the letter does not say is how much of the remaining treasury will be sold under similar circumstances; that question is now central to any valuation of the company.

Why did MARA sell now?

At the end of September, MARA reported total holdings of 34,012 BTC, including a substantial portion lent out or pledged as collateral. Because the disclosed sales occurred after quarter-end, that September figure should not be read as the company's current position without adjustment. The repayments cut the share of Bitcoin lent or pledged to less than 5% of remaining holdings, down from roughly 57% at the earlier reporting date.

Management frames the transaction as a route to financial flexibility. Borrowing against the coins had financed the proposed acquisition of the Long Ridge natural-gas power business. Selling after quarter-end allowed MARA to clear that borrowing before the deal closed, rather than leave its financing exposed to future collateral calls if Bitcoin weakened. In plain terms: the company chose certainty over upside.

That choice carries a cost. Selling reserve assets reduces direct exposure to any subsequent Bitcoin recovery. Holding more BTC would preserve that upside but would require accepting additional liquidity and borrowing risk. Whether the trade was correct depends on returns MARA can earn on the infrastructure the sale funds — a figure the letter does not provide.

How do mining and AI compete for capital?

Third-quarter revenue fell roughly 35% year over year to $164.2 million. For context, that is a decline of about $89 million in quarterly revenue in twelve months. Mining operations continue to produce coins, but MARA now emphasizes power assets and potential data-center customers alongside hashrate.

Long Ridge includes generating capacity and land that could support a data-center campus. The letter describes development plans, not signed, revenue-producing leases. That distinction matters; a campus that could host AI workloads and a campus with contracted tenants are different assets with different valuations.

The pattern extends across the sector. Riot sold more than 20,000 BTC while pursuing AI-related data-center agreements reported at $38 billion in cumulative contracts, according to NewsBTC. Strive, by contrast, reported a $509 million quarterly profit as its Bitcoin buying accelerated. The same underlying asset now anchors radically different corporate strategies — accumulation in one case, liquidation in the other.

What should investors read past the headline?

MARA also disclosed authorization for up to $500 million in share repurchases. An authorization is permission, not a commitment; the letter does not guarantee every dollar will be spent.

The reported quarterly profit included substantial accounting effects linked to digital assets. Those items should not be mistaken for recurring mining cash flow. Takeaway: the headline profit and the operating cash generation are different numbers, and only one of them is repeatable.

The open questions are concrete:

• Whether the Long Ridge acquisition closes on contemplated terms
• Whether planned data-center leases are actually signed
• How much Bitcoin remains unrestricted after the sales and repayments
• Whether new AI revenue eventually justifies the capital committed

The BTC sale is confirmed by the filing. The return on the assets it may finance remains an execution story, and MARA has yet to demonstrate it at scale.

The next verification points are the Long Ridge closing and any signed data-center leases, both of which should surface in fourth-quarter reporting early next year.