MARA Holdings Pledges 7,377 BTC in Exchange for Modest Yield

MARA Holdings (MARA), the largest bitcoin (BTC) miner by market capitalization, has revealed that it is lending out 7,377 BTC to third-party borrowers in a bid to generate returns on its bitcoin holdings and support its operating costs.

According to a production report released on Friday, this move locks up approximately 16% of the company’s total bitcoin holdings. However, the report did not disclose the identities of the borrowers or offer additional specifics about the lending arrangement. Robert Samuels, the company’s vice president of investor relations, stated in a post on X that the lending program is yielding a return of under 10%. “There has been significant demand for MARA’s bitcoin lending program,” Samuels noted. “It focuses on short-term, low-risk agreements with reputable third parties and generates a modest single-digit yield. This program has been ongoing throughout 2024, and the goal is to create enough yield to cover operational expenses.”

The report also highlighted MARA’s bitcoin mining performance for December, showing a production of 890 BTC, a slight decrease of 2% from November. Despite this drop, the production figure is the second-largest since April’s reward halving.

Fred Thiel, MARA’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “We mined 249 blocks, the second-highest block production in a month on record. MARAPool achieved impressive annual hash rate growth of 168% in 2024, far surpassing the 49% growth of the broader bitcoin network.”

For the full year of 2024, MARA acquired 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205 and mined an additional 9,457 BTC. As a result, the company now holds a total of 44,893 BTC. With bitcoin trading just under $100,000, MARA is the second-largest publicly traded bitcoin holder, following only MicroStrategy (MSTR).

MARA’s stock gained 2.60% in pre-market trading and has increased by 14% year-to-date.