MARA: the sale that retired the debt
In July 2024 MARA said it would keep every bitcoin it mined. In March 2026 it sold 15,133 bitcoin for about $1.1 billion and bought back $1.0 billion of its convertible notes at a discount.
The short version
- 15,133
- bitcoin sold between March 4 and March 25, 2026, for about $1.1 billion
- $912.8M
- paid to retire about $1.0 billion of convertible notes
- 19 months
- from the “full HODL” announcement to an annual report that permits sales from the balance sheet
- 35,577
- bitcoin held at June 30, 2026, down from 53,822 six months earlier
What happened
July 2024
“Full HODL”
MARA bought $100 million of bitcoin and said it would keep all the bitcoin it mined and add to the position with open market purchases. It called the approach “full HODL”. It held over 20,000 bitcoin at the time. The announcement mentions no board approval.[1]
August 2024 to July 2025
Four issues of convertible notes
MARA sold $300 million of 2.125% convertible notes due 2031, then three zero-coupon issues due 2030, 2031 and 2032, announced at $1.0 billion, $850 million and $950 million. After the first issue it bought about 4,144 bitcoin for about $249 million. Across 2024 it bought 22,065 at an average of $87,205 and ended the year holding 44,893.[2][3][4][5][6]
October and November 2025
Not a bitcoin treasury company
A monthly production update on October 3 reported a net sale of bitcoin for September. The third-quarter letter to shareholders, a month later, said MARA was not a bitcoin treasury company and that it had begun selling bitcoin from production to fund operating expenses. It held 52,850 bitcoin, worth about $6.0 billion, at September 30.[7][8]
February and March 2026
The policy widens to the balance sheet
The fourth-quarter letter said MARA had begun selling bitcoin in the second half of 2025 to fund operations and expected to “monetize bitcoin opportunistically” in 2026. The annual report, filed on March 2, said the strategy had been expanded in 2026 to allow sales of bitcoin held on the balance sheet, and that MARA may buy or sell bitcoin from time to time, subject to market conditions and its capital allocation priorities. It stated no price or size limit, and the purposes it named were open-ended. We could not reach that passage in the filing and rely on press reports for its wording.[9][10][11]
March 3, 2026
A denial, and a confirmation
According to Cointelegraph, MARA’s vice president for investor relations rejected claims that the company planned to sell the majority of its bitcoin, and said the annual report clearly stated that the strategy now allowed sales of bitcoin held on the balance sheet.[12]
March 4 to 25, 2026
15,133 bitcoin sold
MARA sold 15,133 bitcoin for about $1.1 billion, about 28% of what it held at year-end (our calculation). It disclosed the sales on March 26 in a Form 8-K and a press release, the day after the selling window closed.[13][14][19]
March 26, 2026
The proceeds retire debt
The same announcement said what the money was for. MARA agreed to repurchase about $367.5 million of its 2030 notes for about $322.9 million and about $633.4 million of its 2031 notes for about $589.9 million. In total that was about $1.0 billion of principal for about $912.8 million in cash, roughly 9% below face value. Convertible notes outstanding fell from $3,298.1 million to $2,297.2 million. The remainder was for general corporate purposes.[13][14]
First half of 2026
More sales, and the losses
For the first quarter as a whole MARA sold 20,880 bitcoin at an average of $70,137 and reported a net loss of $1,262.4 million. It also cut a bitcoin-secured credit line by $200 million. In the second quarter it sold another 2,213 at an average of $73,078 and reported a net loss of $611.3 million. It held 35,577 bitcoin at June 30.[16][18][19]
August 4, 2026
Borrowing against what is left
MARA entered two bitcoin-backed term loan facilities, $600 million of new borrowing at a weighted cost of 7.56%. It pledged 18,750 bitcoin as initial collateral, more than half of the June 30 holding (our calculation).[18][19]
Four questions, and what the record shows
A sale policy answers four questions before a sale happens. This is what MARA’s public record says about each.
- When may bitcoin be sold?
- The answer changed twice. In July 2024 the policy was to keep everything. From the second half of 2025, bitcoin from production could be sold to fund operations. In 2026 the policy was widened to bitcoin on the balance sheet, which may be sold “opportunistically”, subject to market conditions and capital allocation priorities. No price or size limit is published, and the purposes named are open-ended.[1][9][10][11]
- Who approves a sale?
- Not stated in what we could read. Neither the Form 8-K nor the press release says who approved the March sale. MARA’s 2026 proxy statement puts treasury and digital asset management under the chief financial officer and says the board discusses capital allocation with management. It does not mention approval of bitcoin sales. We could not read the management discussion in the annual report, so this is “not found”, not “confirmed absent”.[13][14][15]
- How is a sale disclosed?
- After the fact, and unevenly. The March sales were disclosed the day after the selling window closed, three weeks after it opened. The other 5,747 bitcoin sold in the first quarter (our subtraction) appeared only in the quarterly letter in May. For 2025 the letters gave no figure. The annual report did, in dollars only: $413.1 million of bitcoin disposed of during the year.[13][16][10]
What the balance sheet showed
MARA has measured bitcoin at fair value since 2023, so each quarter’s price move is already in earnings. In the first half of 2026 it recorded $1,361.6 million of fair value losses on digital assets, including $397.4 million on bitcoin it had loaned or pledged.
| Date | Bitcoin held | Fair value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2024 | 44,893 | About $4.2 billion | After buying 22,065 during the year |
| September 30, 2025 | 52,850 | About $6.0 billion | |
| December 31, 2025 | 53,822 | $4,709.3 million | |
| March 31, 2026 | 35,303 | $2,408.9 million | 20,880 sold in the quarter |
| June 30, 2026 | 35,577 | $2,083.1 million | 2,213 sold in the quarter |
What a board can take from it
“Full HODL” lasted little more than a year.
A hold-everything position is easy to announce in a rising market. MARA changed it twice. Shareholders learned of the first change from a monthly production update and a quarterly letter, and of the second from the annual report. A policy that names the conditions for a sale in advance does not need replacing when they arrive.
Name the use of proceeds with the sale.
MARA’s March announcement paired the sale with the debt it retired and the discount it got. A reader could judge the trade the same day. That part is worth copying.
Decide what gets said while a sale is pending.
As reported, the March 3 statement held up: by June 30 MARA had sold about 43% of its year-end bitcoin (our calculation), not most of it. The selling window opened the day after the statement. We do not know when the decision to sell was made. A disclosure rule should cover what the company says in public while a sale is under consideration.
Fair value books the loss before the sale does.
At the end of 2025 MARA’s bitcoin had cost it about $80,900 a coin (our calculation from its reported cost basis). Its average sale price in the first quarter of 2026 was $70,137. Under fair value a fall in price runs through earnings each quarter whether or not anything is sold. What the sale changed was the balance sheet: fewer coins and about $1.0 billion less debt.
Sources
- MARA press release, July 25, 2024
- MARA press release, August 14, 2024
- MARA press release, November 21, 2024
- MARA press release, December 4, 2024
- MARA press release, July 28, 2025
- MARA Form 10-K for 2024
- MARA production update for September 2025, October 3, 2025
- MARA third-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, November 4, 2025
- MARA fourth-quarter 2025 shareholder letter, February 26, 2026
- MARA Form 10-K for 2025, filed March 2, 2026
- The Block, March 3, 2026
- Cointelegraph, March 3, 2026
- MARA Form 8-K, March 26, 2026
- MARA press release, March 26, 2026
- MARA proxy statement for 2026
- MARA first-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, May 11, 2026
- MARA Form 10-Q, March 31, 2026
- MARA second-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, August 2026
- MARA Form 10-Q, June 30, 2026
Satoshi Institute has no relationship with MARA. This analysis draws only on public filings and published reporting. It says nothing about MARA’s internal policies beyond what those sources show. Published . Last reviewed .
Other case studies
- Strategy: “never sell” was not the policy
Sold in May 2026 for the first time since 2022. The board program followed in June. Weekly disclosure, and no price trigger.
- Sequans: the lenders held the keys
Raised equity and debt to buy bitcoin and pledged all of it to the lenders. Selling the pledged coins needed their consent. None left fourteen months later.
- Block: the rule covers buying
Two published documents and a monthly buying formula. No conditions for a sale. No sale reported.
- Metaplanet: a sale to prove it could
Sold 10,000 bitcoin and bought back 11,000 in one quarter, to show rating agencies it could. Its position on selling came with the disclosure.
- Tesla: the company that sold
Bought under a policy the Audit Committee approved. Sold with no published rule. What the filings show.
The Sale Policy Sprint answers the four questions
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