MARA offloads 13,597 bitcoin to erase $750M in crypto-backed debt

MARA Holdings dumped 13,597 bitcoin for roughly $1.1 billion after September 30, then took $750 million of that haul and paid off its bitcoin-backed term loans in full. The miner also greenlit a new authorization to buy back up to $500 million of its own stock. Both moves landed alongside third-quarter results on Nov. 9.

The quarter split in two directions. Revenue fell 35% year over year to $164.2 million, while net income climbed to $632.1 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, from $123.1 million a year earlier. MARA blamed the top line on a 37% drop in the average price of the bitcoin it mined, partly offset by higher production. The bottom line got its lift from an $885.3 million unrealized gain on its bitcoin assets as the coin rallied during the quarter.

Clearing the loans handed back 17,477 bitcoin that had been pledged as collateral. MARA had arranged those borrowings during the quarter to fund its planned Long Ridge power-plant acquisition. Inside the quarter itself, the company sold 3,891 bitcoin at an average price of $75,300 and mined 2,247. Before the post-quarter sales, it held 34,012 bitcoin, some of it loaned or pledged, plus $946.5 million in cash as of September 30.

Big sales are becoming a habit. In March, MARA moved 15,133 bitcoin for about $1.1 billion to fund convertible-debt repurchases. The company said it intends to keep tapping bitcoin sales to build cash for AI infrastructure, convertible-note obligations and potential share repurchases, and noted the new buyback is discretionary.

The data center side is wobbling. MARA said talks with prospective tenants are in advanced stages but warned that signing two leases could take longer than planned. “While we are targeting signing two leases before year-end, market conditions are fluid and that timing could slip into next year,” the company wrote in its shareholder letter.

Majority-owned subsidiary Exaion did lock something down: a four-year GPU-as-a-service contract worth $79 million with its first U.S. customer, on 100% take-or-pay terms, meaning the buyer pays whether or not it uses the capacity. MARA said Exaion's prospective business exceeds $3 billion in total contract value, with about $1 billion targeted for delivery by the end of 2027. None of those prospects are contracted yet.