MARA pledges 18,750 BTC for $600 million in Bitcoin-backed loans

MARA Holdings secured $600 million in new debt by pledging 18,750 BTC, worth about $1.2 billion, to fund power and AI infrastructure expansion.

The loans come from Coinbase Credit and Two Prime Lending, with combined principal of $750 million including refinancing of an existing $150 million Coinbase facility, according to MARA's Aug. 6 shareholder presentation and SEC filing. The Coinbase facility bears interest at the midpoint of the federal funds target range plus 3.875 percent and matures in August 2028, while the Two Prime loan carries a 7.65 percent fixed rate with the same maturity.

The financing follows a bruising second quarter in which MARA's Bitcoin holdings fell 29 percent year over year to 35,577 BTC, revenue dropped 27 percent to $174.9 million, and net loss widened to $611.3 million, including a $342.7 million fair-value loss on digital assets. The company sold 2,213 BTC in Q2 at an average price of $73,078, after offloading 20,880 BTC in Q1 for roughly $1.5 billion to fund operations, repurchase about $1 billion of convertible debt, and finance new infrastructure bets.

The $600 million in new liquidity supports MARA's pending $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, a 505-megawatt gas-fired plant in Ohio, and a 1,200-acre Texas site that could push its power portfolio toward 4.8 gigawatts. Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel framed the strategy directly: "Bitcoin mining provided the foundation. We believe digital infrastructure, along with our Exaion and technology initiatives, will expand the value we create from that foundation."

Treasury as a Liquidity Tool

MARA's pledge of 18,750 BTC — 52.7 percent of its June 30 holdings — marks a decisive shift from its previous full-HODL approach. At quarter-end, the company classified 26,307 BTC as unrestricted, 4,742 BTC as loaned, and 4,528 BTC as pledged collateral. The new facilities add another layer of encumbrance, though MARA has not disclosed how much of the Aug. 4 collateral pool overlaps with earlier pledged amounts. The filing also does not disclose maintenance ratios, margin-call thresholds, or liquidation formulas, making it impossible to calculate the Bitcoin price at which MARA would face a forced sale.

Mining performance improved despite the balance-sheet strain. Bitcoin production rose 3 percent to 2,422 BTC, energized hashrate climbed 22 percent year over year to 70.3 EH/s, and cost per petahash per day improved 4 percent to $27.70. The results place MARA alongside CleanSpark, which posted a 30.5 percent revenue decline to $138.0 million and a $239.8 million net loss in its third fiscal quarter, as mining margins tighten industry-wide.

The Long Ridge acquisition still requires Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, with a Nov. 30 outside date that may extend to June 30, 2027. MARA has targeted at least one AI or high-performance-computing lease across its portfolio before year-end but has not announced a signed Long Ridge tenant. The next several quarters will test whether AI infrastructure revenue can offset a treasury that keeps getting leaner.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.