Marathon Digital Holdings sells shares worth up to $2B to increase Bitcoin holdings

Marathon Digital Holdings, one of the world's largest bitcoin mining companies, is seeking to sell shares worth up to $2 billion

Marathon Digital Holdings, a major bitcoin mining company, is planning to sell shares for up to $2 billion to expand its bitcoin holdings.

According to blockchain media The Block on the 31st (local time), the company submitted an investment manual and 8-K form to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and signed a sale agreement in the market in cooperation with Barclays Capital, BMO Capital Markets, BTIG and Kanto Fitzgerald.

The funds secured from the stock sale will be mainly used to purchase additional Bitcoin and to fund corporate operations. "Our strategic initiative focuses on mining Bitcoin and holding it as a long-term investment asset," Mara Holdings said.

As of the second quarter of this year, Mara Holdings holds 46,374 Bitcoin, which is valued at approximately $3.8 billion based on the current market price and the second-largest bitcoin holdings among listed companies, following MicroStrategy's 506,137.

The company is planning to directly purchase Bitcoin using the funds secured from the stock issuance in addition to the existing mining activities. This approach appears to be an extension of MicroStrategy's strategy, which successfully increased its bitcoin holdings through stock sales and is being assessed as a diversification strategy in response to the difficulties faced by the mining industry, such as rising energy costs and decreasing mining rewards.

Following the announcement, Mara Holdings' stock price closed at $11.50, showing a decrease of 7.78% from the previous day and a decline of 31.43% year-to-date.