Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) has doubled down on Bitcoin this month, buying 703 Bitcoin in November for a total of 6,474 Bitcoin.
With 34,794 BTC, the company has by far the most of any single corporate Bitcoin owner, adding another $3.3 billion to its growing pile. MicroStrategy’s holdings comprise the largest slice of Bitcoin’s total supply at 1.8%, while Marathon’s holdings are worth 0.16%.
Bitcoin Acquisitions and Strategic Fundraising
Marathon’s recent $1 billion zero-interest convertible senior note sale enabled the acquisitions. The $980 million in net proceeds was used for $200 million to repurchase a portion of its 2026 notes, with $160 million for additional Bitcoin purchases.
Marathon CEO Fred Thiel told Yahoo Finance that ‘Bitcoin is something that every company should have on its balance sheet’ Bitcoin’s finite supply was mentioned as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation, something Bitcoin (BTC) or any cryptocurrency has historically not done.
Market feedback for Marathon’s strategy has been positive, and the company’s shares rose nearly 8% on Wednesday, following an 8.5% rise this year through August 14.
Another trend of public companies stacking their reserves with Bitcoin is that Marathon is mirroring. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, corporate Bitcoin holdings have increased drastically from 272,774 BTC in 2020 to 508,111 BTC in 2024. Public firms bought 143,800 BTC in November, versus 2,400 BTC in October.
MicroStrategy led the pack with acquisitions of over 130,000 BTC last month, including a record-breaking transaction last week. Rumble and Genius Group are other companies that will follow suit. Other players in the game, such as Rumble, announced their decision to put a part of their cash reserves into Bitcoin. At the same time, Genius Group seeks to hold 90 percent of its reserves in Bitcoin, intending to invest some $120 million in it altogether.
Bitcoin adoption is also being propelled by momentum in the political sphere. Recently, Brazilian Congressman Eros Biondini proposed a national Bitcoin reserve, allocating 5 percent of Brazil’s $372 billion in international reserves to the cryptocurrency. Brazil’s proposed reserve, ‘Reserva Estratégica Soberana de Bitcoins’ (RESBit), strengthens the nation’s economic resilience to currency fluctuations and geopolitical risk.
Texas lawmakers are examining a similar initiative in the U.S., while President-elect Donald Trump pledged to establish a strategic Bitcoin stockpile. If elected, Sławomir Mentzen, a Polish presidential candidate, has also promised to establish a Bitcoin reserve.
Bitcoin also has big institutional interest. Michael Saylor of MicroStrategy will present a three-minute Bitcoin investment strategy to Microsoft’s board of directors. On December 10, shareholders will vote on whether Bitcoin should be considered an investment opportunity.
With Marathon’s continued investment demonstrating its role, Bitcoin is gaining currency as a strategic asset worldwide. The more entities that recognize Bitcoin’s potential as an inflation hedge and other sources of economic uncertainty, the more they adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset worldwide.