Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $69,000 on Thursday, erasing the gains seen earlier in the week when MARA Holdings (MARA), the largest crypto mining company in the United States, revealed the liquidation of its BTC currency to support the development of artificial intelligence (AI).
MARA Shares Rise on Debt Redemption Plan
In his own to reveal covering March 4-25, MARA reported selling 15,133 BTC for about $1.1 billion. The sale reduced the amount of Marathon by about 28% from the 53,822 BTC that took place in early March, according to BitcoinTreasuries.net data.
The market’s reaction to the move was noted on both sides. The price of Bitcoin returned to about $68,997 at the time of writing – a drop that puts the cryptocurrency more than 45% below its record high near $126,000 set at last year’s summit.
Meanwhile, MARA stock rose nearly 7% intraday, bringing the stock closer to $9 per share as investors digested the company’s moves toward AI and high performance computers.
The Bitcoin miner said the proceeds from the sale will be used to repurchase $1 billion in convertible bonds maturing in 2030 and 2031 through private deals expected to close on March 30 and March 31.
The management set up the project as a way to raise funds that all encourage balance sheet and increase economic flexibility. MARA CEO Fred Thiel said:
This transaction facilitates financial flexibility and increases choice as we expand beyond bitcoin mining into digital power and AI/(high-performance computing) infrastructure.
Trading Sees Holdings Fall To 38,689 Bitcoin
Similarly, the CEO of MARA Holdings confirmed that the sale was deliberate decision to distribute funds the goal is to position the company for long-term growth.
By writing off more than $1 billion worth of debt at a discount, the company said it took about $88 million in what would have otherwise been lost, reduced the dilution to shareholders, and used its Bitcoin cash to offset the money on a positive note for the company.
The sale follows MARA’s changes that were announced earlier this month Form 10-K issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company also changed its policy in 2026 to allow the sale of Bitcoin that remains on its website during financial or market crises.
The filing warned that prolonged weakness in the price of Bitcoin could affect the financial health of MARA Holdings; a sustained or gradual decline in BTC would significantly reduce the value of its assets and weigh on the economy and the economy.
The net worth of MARA Holdings is now worth about $2.66 billion at current prices. BitcoinTreasuries.net reports that the company has fallen to the third largest group following the sale, surpassing Twenty One Capital, which now has 43,514 shares.
The company leader remains The way (formerly MicroStrategy), which has maintained an aggressive trading pattern for the week and now has 762,099 Bitcoin.
Image taken from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
