The Largest Public Bitcoin Mining Operation
MARA Holdings operates one of the world's largest bitcoin mining fleets, with 60.4 exahash per second of energized capacity as of Q3 2025. That represents a 64% increase year-over-year and makes MARA the dominant publicly traded miner by hash rate. The company mines approximately 218 blocks per month, each containing the bitcoin block reward plus transaction fees.
CEO Fred Thiel has pursued a strategy of aggressive scaling: acquiring mining sites, deploying next-generation ASIC miners, and securing long-term power purchase agreements. The company operates across multiple sites to reduce concentration risk. After the April 2024 bitcoin halving cut the block reward from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC, scale became even more critical because only the most efficient, lowest-cost miners remain profitable at lower reward levels.
53,000 BTC: The Treasury Strategy
MARA holds over 53,000 BTC on its balance sheet, worth more than $5.3 billion at current prices. This reserve nearly doubled year-over-year. Rather than selling all mined bitcoin immediately, the company retains a significant portion, treating BTC as a treasury asset. This strategy amplifies shareholder exposure to bitcoin price appreciation: when BTC rises, MARA's treasury value increases directly.
The approach has trade-offs. Holding bitcoin means the company's market value swings with BTC price, often more dramatically than bitcoin itself due to operating leverage. During bull markets, MARA outperforms BTC. During corrections, the stock can decline faster than the underlying cryptocurrency. Thiel has argued that the treasury strategy gives shareholders leveraged bitcoin exposure while the mining operation provides a steady flow of new BTC at production cost.
Financial Performance
- •Q3 2025 Revenue: $252.4 million, up 92% year-over-year
- •Q3 2025 Net Income: $123 million ($0.27/share), versus a $124 million loss in Q3 2024
- •Q2 2025 Net Income: $808.2 million (driven by bitcoin appreciation gains on treasury holdings)
- •Energized Hash Rate: 60.4 EH/s, up 64% year-over-year
- •Bitcoin Treasury: 53,250+ BTC ($5.3 billion+), nearly doubled year-over-year
- •Block Production: 218 blocks mined in September 2025; 5% increase over August
Growth Catalysts
- •Bitcoin Price Appreciation: 53,000+ BTC treasury provides direct exposure; every $10,000 increase in BTC price adds $530 million to treasury value
- •AI Computing Revenue: Converting excess power and cooling infrastructure to GPU data centers for AI workloads; creates revenue stream independent of bitcoin price
- •Hash Rate Expansion: Continued deployment of next-generation miners improves efficiency and output; larger hash rate share captures more block rewards
- •Post-Halving Consolidation: Less efficient miners exit the market after halving; MARA's scale and low costs position it to gain hash rate share
- •Institutional Bitcoin Demand: Bitcoin ETF inflows and corporate treasury adoption support long-term BTC price; MARA benefits as a leveraged proxy
Risks and Challenges
- •Bitcoin Price Dependence: Revenue and profitability swing dramatically with BTC price; a sustained decline below mining cost would eliminate margins and pressure the treasury strategy
- •Halving Impact: The April 2024 halving cut block rewards 50%; miners need higher BTC prices or lower costs to maintain profitability at reduced reward levels
- •Energy Cost Volatility: Electricity is the largest operating expense; rising energy prices or loss of favorable power agreements would compress margins
- •Dilution: MARA has historically funded expansion through equity issuance and convertible notes; share dilution reduces per-share exposure to bitcoin holdings
- •Regulatory Risk: Bitcoin mining faces potential energy consumption regulations, environmental scrutiny, and cryptocurrency policy uncertainty in multiple jurisdictions
Competitive Landscape
MARA competes with CleanSpark, Riot Platforms, Core Scientific, and Bitfarms in public bitcoin mining. CleanSpark has grown rapidly through acquisitions and runs a low-cost operation. Riot Platforms operates the large Rockdale facility in Texas and has its own immersion cooling technology. Core Scientific pivoted to AI hosting alongside bitcoin mining. Bitfarms operates across multiple countries.
MARA's advantages are scale (largest hash rate), bitcoin treasury (largest BTC holdings among public miners), and the emerging AI infrastructure business. The disadvantage is cost: MARA's all-in mining costs have historically been higher than some peers, and the company has funded growth with dilutive capital raises. CEO Fred Thiel has emphasized that owning power assets, not just leasing them, is critical for long-term survival as mining economics tighten.
Who Is This Stock Suitable For?
Perfect For
- ✓Bitcoin-bullish investors who want leveraged BTC exposure through the largest public miner with 53,000+ BTC on the balance sheet
- ✓Those who believe bitcoin will appreciate significantly and want amplified returns compared to holding BTC directly
- ✓Investors who see the AI infrastructure pivot as creating a valuable second business on top of existing mining assets
- ✓Speculative growth investors comfortable with high volatility and bitcoin price correlation
Less Suitable For
- ✗Income investors (no dividend; company retains bitcoin and reinvests in capacity)
- ✗Risk-averse investors (stock volatility exceeds bitcoin volatility due to operating leverage)
- ✗Those who believe bitcoin will decline or remain range-bound at current levels
- ✗Investors concerned about dilution from ongoing equity and convertible note issuance
Investment Thesis
MARA Holdings is a leveraged bet on bitcoin. The 53,000+ BTC treasury, 60.4 EH/s mining operation, and 92% revenue growth make it the largest public proxy for BTC appreciation. CEO Fred Thiel's AI infrastructure pivot adds optionality: if AI computing demand for power and cooling grows as expected, MARA's existing assets could generate meaningful revenue independent of bitcoin's price.
The stock carries the risks inherent to bitcoin mining: BTC price volatility, halving economics, energy costs, and share dilution. MARA has turned profitable after years of losses, but that profitability depends on bitcoin trading well above mining costs. For investors who are bullish on bitcoin and want amplified exposure through a company that both mines and accumulates BTC, MARA offers the largest-scale option among public miners. The AI computing expansion could eventually de-risk the single-asset dependency, but today the stock trades primarily as a bitcoin derivative with higher beta.