Marathon Digital bucks trend, acquires $100 million in Bitcoin as others sell

Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital acquired $100 million worth of the flagship digital asset, boosting its total holdings to over 20,000 BTC, according to a July 25 statement.

Bitcoin Treasuries data ranks Marathon as the second-largest Bitcoin-holding firm, while MicroStrategy remains the top public holder with over 220,000 BTC or 1.07% of the total supply.

Meanwhile, the miner said it had readopted its “hold” strategy and intends to retain all the BTC it mines and acquires via purchases.

Marathon Chairman and CEO Fried Thiel said the strategy reflects the company’s confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value. He said:

In a post on social media platform X, Thiel compared Marathon’s new HODL policy to Michael Saylor‘s MicroStrategy.

Meanwhile, Marathon CFO Salman Khan explained that the new policy returns the firm to its previous approach.

Khan attributed the policy shift to favorable market trends and growing institutional support for the asset. The improving macroeconomic environment also allows the firm to double down on its current approach.

Marathon’s Bitcoin buying actions contrast sharply with the recent trend of other miners selling.

On July 22, Mathew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital research, citing Glassnode data, pointed out that BTC miners had unloaded 170% of their 30-day mined supply. He wrote: