The largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner, MARA Holdings, has updated its treasury policy to allow it to sell some of its BTC.
This marks a major shift as the company expands beyond mining into AI and high-performance computing.
In a recent SEC filing, MARA said it can now sell part of its Bitcoin holdings when needed for business reasons. The company, which previously followed a long-term “hold” strategy, started selling Bitcoin in the second half of 2025 to support operations and plans to continue selective sales in 2026.
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MARA now has flexibility to sell Bitcoin as it shifts beyond mining into AI and high-performance computing.
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The miner holds 53,822 BTC worth $3.6B, ranking second among public corporate Bitcoin holders.
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In 2025, MARA bought 4,267 BTC and mined 8,799 BTC despite post-halving margin pressure.
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Nearly 28% of its Bitcoin reserves are deployed in lending, trading, or collateral deals.
53,822 BTC on the Balance Sheet
MARA Holdings holds 53,822 BTC worth about $4.7 billion, based on a year-end price of $87,498 per coin. That makes it the second-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind Strategy. Notably, as of today, the value of these BTC holdings is just over $3.6 billion.
In 2025, MARA bought 4,267 BTC at an average price of $111,034 and mined another 8,799 BTC. However, Bitcoin’s price swings led to a $422.2 million drop in the reported value of its holdings during the year. At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $66,800, below the $70,000 level it briefly crossed earlier.
Lending, Collateral, and Liquidity Strategy
MARA does more than just hold Bitcoin. As of year-end, it loaned out 9,377 BTC to earn yield. Notably, the firm used 5,938 BTC as collateral for loans. About 28% of its Bitcoin reserves were tied to lending, trading, or collateral deals.
These activities brought in $32.1 million in interest income in 2025. The company also reported $5.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash and digital assets.
The updated policy does not mean MARA will sell immediately. Instead, it gives the company flexibility to buy or sell Bitcoin depending on market conditions and capital needs.
Mining Economics Tighten After Bitcoin Halving
Notably, MARA runs about 490,000 mining machines and had 66.4 exahashes per second of hashrate at the end of 2025, backed by nearly 1.9 gigawatts of energy capacity. Energy costs totaled $179 million for the year.
The company mined 8,799 BTC in 2025, down from 9,430 BTC in 2024, mainly due to the April 2024 Bitcoin halving and higher network difficulty.
As mining becomes less profitable after the halving, holding large Bitcoin reserves can help during bull markets, but also increases risk during price drops. MARA’s new treasury policy is meant to manage that balance.
Pivot Toward AI and High-Performance Computing
Beyond mining, MARA is expanding into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. It plans to use its energy assets and infrastructure to support growing data center demand.
These projects require substantial investment, making Bitcoin sales a potential source of funding.
Meanwhile, MARA is not alone. Core Scientific recently said it expects to sell most of its Bitcoin holdings in 2026 as it shifts toward AI-focused infrastructure. In January, the company sold about 1,900 BTC for roughly $175 million.
Ultimately, these developments mark a clear change from the old “never sell” mindset many miners once followed. For now, MARA still holds 53,822 BTC. But with its updated policy, large Bitcoin sales are now officially possible.
DisClamier: This content is informational and should not be considered financial advice. The views expressed in this article may include the author’s personal opinions and do not reflect The Crypto Basic opinion. Readers are encouraged to do thorough research before making any investment decisions. The Crypto Basic is not responsible for any financial losses.