Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), one of the world’s largest publicly listed cryptocurrency mining firms, has formally revised its treasury strategy to permit the sale of its Bitcoin holdings. This represents a seismic policy shift for MARA and signals a departure from the company’s longstanding “HODL” approach to managing its digital assets. With this move, MARA stands as the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin—surpassed only by MicroStrategy, led by Michael Saylor—and now grants itself full flexibility to liquidate part or all of its reserves.
MARA Ushers in New Bitcoin Reserve Policy
In its annual 10-K report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, MARA outlined a comprehensive asset management revamp that authorizes not only the sale of newly mined Bitcoin, as practiced in the past, but also the stockpile held directly on its balance sheet. This fresh stance overturns MARA’s prior rules, which limited sales to cover operational expenses from new Bitcoin production alone. Now, the company reserves the right to liquidate even its core reserves.
The details of the updated policy are as follows:
“In the second half of 2025, we amended our digital asset management strategy to accommodate Bitcoin sales generated from operations. By 2026, our strategy will further expand to permit sales from our balance sheet holdings. Accordingly, depending on market conditions and capital allocation priorities, we may continue to hold Bitcoin for the long term or engage in periodic sales and purchases.”
Currently, MARA holds 53,822 Bitcoin—worth approximately $3.59 billion at today’s prices—making it the public company with the second-largest Bitcoin treasury. The largest institutional holder remains MicroStrategy, with 720,737 Bitcoin.
Roughly 72% of MARA’s Bitcoin reserve (38,507 BTC) is retained as unrestricted long-term treasury assets. The remaining 15,315 BTC participate in MARA’s digital asset management program. Of this, 9,377 BTC is actively collateralized or loaned for yield generation, while 5,938 BTC is pledged as loan collateral and remains locked.
Beyond digital assets, MARA’s balance sheet contains $547 million in cash. Altogether, the company’s liquid assets total an impressive $5.3 billion.
Strategic Refocus Driven by Market Conditions and Industry Shifts
The catalyst for MARA’s treasury overhaul was a net loss of $1.7 billion announced in the last quarter of 2025. The loss was tied to the nearly 30% drop in Bitcoin’s price at the end of the year, leading to lower asset valuations and significant impairment charges. Notably, in 2025 alone, MARA sold 4,076 newly mined Bitcoin for $413.1 million—proceeds used to support its operational cash needs.
MARA’s elevated profile in the corporate Bitcoin space, alongside MicroStrategy, underlines its role as a key industry participant. The company is also undertaking a major expansion in collaboration with Starwood Capital, rebuilding its energy infrastructure to power high-performance AI and enterprise data centers. Industry sources note that authorizing Bitcoin sales could help fund these initiatives, providing liquidity without resorting to new share issuances.
The announcement to allow sales is being closely watched by the market, especially as it could increase circulating supply during periods of price sensitivity. So far, MARA has not conducted any significant sales from its long-term holdings; investors are now awaiting future financial disclosures to see if the new policy will be exercised.
MicroStrategy Maintains Its Bitcoin-Holding Stance
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy remains committed to holding Bitcoin as its core treasury reserve and has continued to build its holdings in recent quarters. Executives affirm that sales would only be considered in the event of an urgent liquidity requirement, not as part of a regular treasury management plan.
Michael Saylor, the company’s outspoken leader, remarked, “We will not sell; on the contrary, we’ll keep adding to our Bitcoin every quarter.”
MARA’s updated approach marks a sector-specific policy adjustment, reflecting the evolving nature of treasury management among major miners. The willingness to actively manage substantial Bitcoin holdings, rather than simply accumulating, signals a pragmatic response to shifting market dynamics and underscores the increasing sophistication of corporate digital asset strategies.
