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It’s beginning to look like a race as miners scramble to buy Bitcoin before the price keeps rallying.
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Bitcoin miner MARA’s buying spree has reached over $1.5 billion in Bitcoin acquisitions in the last two months, financed by the issuance of two convertible notes. It gave the company a total boost in holdings of over 50% so far this quarter and nearly 200% this year.
Financing its treasury
MARA spent around $1.53 billion of the money it received from convertible notes in November and December on 15,574 Bitcoin (BTC), paying approximately $98,529 per coin, the Nasdaq-listed miner said on X. That brought its holdings to 44,394 BTC as of Dec. 18, up from 26,747 BTC at the end of the third quarter and 15,174 BTC at the end of 2023.
The company, formerly known as Marathon Digital, said it had repurchased around $263 million of its existing convertible notes due 2026 and expects to use the remainder of the proceeds from the notes on more Bitcoin.
At roughly $100,000 per BTC, the company’s current holdings are worth $4.45 billion. The company enjoyed a yield of 22.5% on its holdings this quarter to date and 60.9% year to date.
MARA raised $1.925 billion from zero-coupon senior convertible notes in two offerings. According to company announcements, on Nov. 21, it secured $1 billion from notes maturing in 2030, with net proceeds of $980 million. The notes had a conversion price of $25.91 per share, which was a 42.5% premium over the average trading price before the offering’s pricing.
On Dec. 4, the company said it had placed $850 million in notes due in 2031, with net proceeds of $835.1 million. The conversion price on the notes was $34.58, or 40% over the share price on Dec. 2.
Related: MARA rolls out advanced ASIC recycling with wind power
Following a trend
MARA began buying Bitcoin immediately after the notes were issued, announcing the purchase of 5,771 BTC at $95,554 per coin on Nov. 22. It had bought another 703 BTC by Nov. 27 to bring its treasury to 34,794 BTC. By Dec. 10, the treasury had reached 40,435 BTC.
Source: Bitcoin Archive
MARA was not the only bull on the market in December. Hut 8 announced the purchase of 990 BTC on Dec. 19. Riot Platforms bought $510 worth of Bitcoin between Dec. 10 and Dec. 12 after announcing a bond issue on Dec. 9.
CleanSpark announced a $500 million convertible note issuance on Dec. 13 but did not intend to buy Bitcoin with the proceeds.
Magazine: Crypto has 4 years to grow so big ‘no one can shut it down’: Kain Warwick, Infinex
This article first appeared at Cointelegraph.com News
