MARA sells 13,597 bitcoin, repays its loans and plans further sales

Listed bitcoin miner MARA Holdings sold 13,597 bitcoin after the end of the third quarter at an average price of around $81,039. Most of the roughly $1.1 billion in proceeds went to repay loans for which MARA had pledged its coins. That is stated in the shareholder letter for the third quarter of 2026, which the company filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9. MARA also says it will keep turning bitcoin into cash, among other things for data centers and for convertible notes whose put rights apply next year.

The sale matters to investors for two reasons. One of the largest bitcoin holders among listed companies is cutting its stack sharply at a time when the market is already weak. And anyone who bets on bitcoin through MARA stock now owns a company that is turning itself from a pure bitcoin store into an energy and data center operator.

MARA bitcoin sale: 13,597 BTC at around $81,039

According to the shareholder letter, the sale took place in the weeks after September 30. MARA does not give the exact period, but it does give the average price of around $81,039 per bitcoin and proceeds of about $1.1 billion. The trade outlet crypto.news reported on the letter with the same figures on November 10.

The timing worked in MARA's favor. According to CoinGecko, one bitcoin cost around $71,490 on Thursday evening, November 12, at 10:56 pm German time, or €64,669, down 3.9 percent in 24 hours. MARA's selling price is thus a good 13 percent above the current price. By the editorial team's own calculation, the same 13,597 bitcoin would have fetched only around $972 million at Thursday evening's price, about $130 million less.

The sale is not a one-off. In the first nine months of the year, MARA had already sold around 26,984 bitcoin for $1.9 billion, according to the company. In 2025 it changed its strategy and has since allowed the sale of freshly mined coins; in 2026 it extended that to the bitcoin on its balance sheet.

Bitcoin-backed loans: $750 million repaid in full

A bitcoin-backed loan is a loan for which the borrower posts its coins as collateral. If the price falls too far, the lender can demand more collateral or sell the pledged coins. In August 2026, MARA took out two such loans with Coinbase and Two Prime totaling $750 million, of which $600 million was new money and $150 million refinanced an existing facility. The company wanted to use the money to pay for the Long Ridge gas-fired power plant in Ohio.

With $750 million from the sale, MARA has repaid both loans in full. That released 17,477 bitcoin that had been posted as collateral. According to the shareholder letter, less than 5 percent of the holdings are now lent out or pledged. MARA says it took out the loans when bitcoin traded around $64,000; the company puts the net gain from borrowing and later selling at an estimated $170 million. That calculation comes from MARA itself and has not been independently verified.

Since the start of the year, MARA has cut its debt by $1.4 billion, or 37 percent of its total borrowings. A margin call, the demand to post more collateral when prices fall, can no longer hit MARA on these loans.

MARA bitcoin holdings: from 34,012 to around 20,400 BTC on paper

As of September 30, MARA held 34,012 bitcoin, according to the shareholder letter. Of these, 14,752 were freely available, 1,408 were lent out and 17,852 were pledged as collateral. Deducting the 13,597 bitcoin sold after the end of the quarter leaves around 20,415 bitcoin on paper. That figure excludes coins mined and possibly sold since October, which MARA will only disclose in its next report.

The holdings thus shrink by around 40 percent. At Thursday evening's price, the remaining 20,400-plus bitcoin are worth just under $1.5 billion. MARA remains a large bitcoin holder among listed companies, but it is clearly moving away from the model of keeping as many of its mined coins as possible.

Q3 2026 results: $632 million profit on 35 percent lower revenue

The quarterly figures show how heavily a bitcoin miner's earnings depend on the price. Revenue fell 35 percent in the third quarter to $164.2 million, from $252.4 million a year earlier. Net income, however, rose to $632.1 million, or $1.28 per share.

The reason is an accounting rule. Bitcoin on the balance sheet is valued at market price at the end of the quarter; if the price rises, a book gain arises without a single sale. In the third quarter, MARA says this amounted to $885.3 million in unrealized gains. Without that item, the quarter would have looked far weaker. If the price falls below its September 30 level in the fourth quarter, the same rule works in the opposite direction.

Bitcoin mining costs: $39,674 in power per mined bitcoin

In its operations, MARA mined 2,247 bitcoin in the third quarter and won 644 blocks, two percent more than a year earlier. Its hashrate, the computing power the company contributes to the bitcoin network, rose 18 percent to 71.2 exahashes per second. The average bitcoin price in the quarter was $71,688, according to MARA.

At its own sites, purchased power cost $39,674 per mined bitcoin, at 4 cents per kilowatt hour. That is power alone: depreciation on the machines, staff and interest come on top. How tight the numbers get for smaller miners is shown by our bitcoin mining calculator for Germany, which works with German electricity prices. In the third quarter, MARA also sold 3,891 bitcoin at an average of $75,300, more than it mined over the same period.

AI data centers and Long Ridge: why the miner is cashing in bitcoin

Behind the sale lies a restructuring of the business. MARA wants to sell the power it now uses mainly for bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence data centers as well. The core of this plan is the Long Ridge gas-fired power plant in Ohio. According to the shareholder letter, the US energy regulator FERC approved the acquisition after the end of the quarter, and closing is expected in the coming weeks.

The plant is currently allowed to sell 485 megawatts and is due to reach its full capacity of 505 megawatts in the first half of 2027. According to MARA, the site includes more than 1,600 contiguous acres with access to power, water, fiber and rail, which leaves room for a data center campus. MARA itself writes that sentiment toward AI infrastructure has become more cautious, but that demand for power has not fallen.

Convertible notes 2027: further bitcoin sales are planned

A convertible note is a bond that the holder can exchange for shares under certain conditions. Many bitcoin companies have borrowed money this way. MARA's notes include put rights: from a fixed date, holders can demand their money back. According to the shareholder letter, these puts become exercisable next year.

MARA states explicitly that it intends to keep using bitcoin to raise money for AI infrastructure, for these puts and for possible share buybacks. After the end of the quarter, the board approved a buyback program of up to $500 million. For the bitcoin market, that means sales from this miner are likely in 2027 as well. How many coins MARA sells depends on the price, on how many notes are put back and on the capital needed for the data centers. The company does not give a figure.

The case comes in a week in which listed bitcoin holders are already in focus. How Strategy is dropping out of the MSCI World and what that means for index funds is covered in our article on bitcoin stocks.

Bitcoin price at $71,490: the $64,000 and $81,039 levels

The Fear and Greed Index from alternative.me, a sentiment gauge from 0 for extreme fear to 100 for extreme greed, stands at 28, in fear territory. According to CoinGecko, bitcoin is a good 43 percent below its record of $126,080 from October 2025.

The shareholder letter yields two levels that are not chart lines but show the arithmetic of a large holder. Above is the selling price of around $81,039, where MARA last sold on a large scale. Below is the zone around $64,000, where MARA borrowed against its coins in the summer. Further down are the power costs of $39,674 per mined bitcoin at MARA's own sites, a figure that matters to the miner itself but guarantees no floor for the price.

These numbers are no substitute for a price model. For a longer-term view, see our bitcoin price prediction with scenarios and levels.

MARA stock or bitcoin directly: two different risks

MARA shares trade on the US technology exchange Nasdaq. Many brokers offer US stocks, so you can hold them in an ordinary securities account. Which providers do so and at what fees is shown in our crypto broker comparison. For tax purposes, however, the stock and the coin are usually treated quite differently.

How gains on shares and on directly held bitcoin are taxed depends on the country you live in; tools that help with the paperwork are listed in our crypto tax software comparison.

Then there is company risk. Anyone buying MARA is betting not only on bitcoin but also on power contracts, the success of the data center business and the financing of the notes. The dollar exchange rate plays a role in both cases, because the stock and the coin are priced in dollars.

How to buy, leverage and custody: broker account or MiCA exchange

If you want to buy bitcoin directly, an exchange licensed under the European crypto regulation MiCA is the best choice in the EU. MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) has governed across the EU since the end of 2024 which providers may hold and trade crypto assets. An overview of licensed providers, fees and withdrawals is in our crypto exchange comparison. You can leave the coins there or move them to your own wallet.

Caution is needed with leveraged products. With 10x leverage, a move of around ten percent against the position is enough to lose the capital you put in; the platform then closes the position by force, which is called liquidation. Bitcoin lost almost four percent in the 24 hours to Thursday evening. Anyone who wants to speculate on further sales by large holders such as MARA carries this risk in both directions.

MARA sale: the miner stays a seller until the 2027 note puts

MARA has repaid loans, reclaimed collateral and announced that it will keep selling bitcoin. Three steps help put this in context:

1. Decide whether you want bitcoin or a company. MARA stock bundles bitcoin, power and data centers in a single security. Brokers with US stocks are in the broker comparison.
2. Buy bitcoin only from regulated providers. If you want to hold the coin yourself, look for a MiCA license. The providers are listed in the exchange comparison.
3. Record the purchase date and price. For your tax return you need clean records. Suitable tools are listed in our crypto tax software comparison.

(As of November 12, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)