MARA Holdings sold 13,597 bitcoin for about $1.1 billion after its third quarter ended September 30, 2026. It used $750 million of the proceeds to pay off its loans backed by bitcoin. The sale freed pledged coins and gave MARA cash it can use for power sites and AI projects.
MARA sold the coins at an average price of about $81,039, its November 9 letter said. The sale equaled about 40% of the 34,012 BTC held on September 30. MARA did not state when each batch was sold. Its quarter-end balance is not an exact count of coins held just before the trades.
MARA frees 17,477 pledged bitcoin
Paying back the loans freed 17,477 BTC held as collateral. On September 30, MARA had 17,852 BTC pledged and 1,408 BTC on loan. Those coins made up about 57% of its holdings. After the payoff, less than 5% of the bitcoin it still held was on loan or pledged.
MARA took out $750 million in loans in the third quarter to help fund its planned Long Ridge purchase. That sum included $600 million in new loans and $150 million used to replace an older loan. At September 30, MARA held $946.5 million in cash and $3.8 billion in cash and bitcoin combined. This total counted coins then lent or pledged. Its debt was down $1.4 billion, or 37%, in 2026 before the later $750 million payoff.
Bitcoin gains lift profit despite a 35% revenue drop
MARA’s revenue fell 35% to $164.2 million from $252.4 million a year before. Net income rose to $632.1 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, from $123.1 million, or 27 cents per diluted share. An $885.3 million gain in the fair value of its bitcoin helped drive that profit. The gain was on paper, not cash from mining.
MARA mined 2,247 BTC and sold 3,891 BTC in the quarter at an average sale price of $75,300. Its mining hash rate reached 71.2 exahashes per second, up 18% from a year before. The $1.1 billion sale came after the quarter closed. It was not part of those third-quarter sales or results.
Long Ridge deal adds a near-term cash need
FERC approved MARA’s planned deal to buy Ohio gas-power business Long Ridge on November 4. MARA announced the approval on November 5. The plant can sell 485 megawatts of power and is expected to reach its full 505-megawatt limit in the first half of 2027. The deal also includes more than 1,600 acres. MARA expects to close it in the coming weeks, but the purchase is not yet closed.
MARA’s Exaion unit signed a four-year, $79 million GPU cloud-services contract. On November 9, MARA’s board also approved a plan to buy back up to $500 million of its shares. The plan does not require it to buy any shares.
MARA shifts from holding bitcoin to selling it
In July 2024, MARA pledged to keep all the BTC it mined and buy more. It allowed sales of newly mined coins in 2025. In 2026, it extended that policy to BTC already on its balance sheet. During the first nine months of the year, MARA sold about 26,984 BTC for $1.9 billion. The latest sales take its 2026 total above 40,000 coins.
MARA said it will keep “using bitcoin to build cash” for AI sites, possible share buybacks and bondholder rights to demand payment on some notes in 2027. New sales depend on market prices and what the company chooses to fund. MARA has not given a trade schedule.
Bitcoin traded around $74,000 to $75,000 on November 10, less than MARA’s average sale price of $81,039.
This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Digital-asset prices can change fast. Review MARA’s SEC filings before making any investment decision.
