Marathon parks $1.1b in Bitcoin after note sale

After completing a convertible note sale, Bitcoin miner Marathon Holdings has increased its total BTC holdings to $3.9 billion.

Marathon Holdings bought 11,774 Bitcoin (BTC) for an estimated $1.1 billion at a spot price of approximately $96,000 per token, the Florida-based blockchain infrastructure firm announced on Dec. 10. At $96,500 per token, Marathon Holdings’ total Bitcoin holdings were valued at nearly $4 billion. BTC was trading closer to $98,000 at press time following a liquidation flush on Monday, Dec. 9.

Marathon raised the capital for its Bitcoin purchase by offering convertible notes, a growing trend among companies building BTC treasuries. Investors buy these notes with cash and receive rights to company shares, while firms use the proceeds to acquire Bitcoin.

This practice, popularized by MicroStrategy chairman Michael Saylor, has also introduced a new metric for measuring corporate Bitcoin purchase performance. The so-called “BTC Yield” tracks percentage changes in BTC holdings relative to outstanding diluted company shares.

Marathon disclosed a 12.3% quarter-to-date and 47.6% year-to-date BTC yield as of Dec. 9. Companies are also exploring BTC-based rewards for shareholders, creating a closer integration between cryptocurrency and corporate finance.

Meanwhile, BTC mining Competitor Riot Platforms plans to purchase Bitcoin using proceeds from its $500 million convertible note sale. Saylor has praised both Marathon and Riot for adopting the Bitcoin Standard, highlighting a growing appetite for BTC among U.S.-based entities.

MicroStrategy itself led this roster of companies exchanging share rights for BTC capital. Saylor’s firm has bought over $25 billion worth of BTC since 2020, issuing securities and raising debt to foot the bill. MicroStrategy was also the largest private BTC holder, with over $40 billion in the digital asset.