Mara Holdings ($MARA), one of the biggest names in public bitcoin mining, just announced plans to raise $850 million via convertible notes, and the reaction from investors has been anything but unanimous.
The company said it will sell $850 million worth of zero-coupon senior convertible notes due 2032 to qualified institutional investors.
It will use $50 million to repurchase some of its 2026 convertible debt, then spend the rest loading up on more bitcoin, funding “capped call” transactions, and covering general corporate needs.
Crypto investors weren’t thrilled.
Social feeds lit up with criticism, calling out dilution risks and accusing Mara of chasing speculative gains instead of fixing core inefficiencies.
But there’s a strategic case to be made.
With nearly 50,000 BTC already in its treasury, Mara is the second-largest corporate bitcoin holder after Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), according to Bitcoin Treasuries.
A bigger stack might mean greater long-term leverage if bitcoin keeps climbing. And that’s a big if.
Wall Street has mixed feelings
Mara’s production numbers haven’t been consistent. The company mined a record-breaking 282 blocks in May, but only managed 211 in June, a notable drop month-over-month.
Meanwhile, bitcoin mining as a whole has never been less profitable even with BTC hovering near $120,000.
Rising energy prices and higher global competition are squeezing margins. To make matters worse, AI data centers are now competing with miners for power, driving electricity costs even higher.
Needham & Company still sees potential. The firm raised its price targets for a handful of bitcoin miners this week, citing the rising price of BTC and improved earnings forecasts.
But Mara only earned a Hold rating, suggesting Wall Street isn’t convinced it’ll thrive through this boom-and-bust cycle.
That hasn’t stopped the company from trying new tricks. Mara recently completed a minority investment in Two Prime, an institutional investment firm with $1.75 billion AUM.
Mara allocated 2,000 BTC to Two Prime’s platform as part of its effort to generate yield from its holdings.
CFO Salman Khan said the move “reflects our commitment to activating our bitcoin holdings, turning them into more than a passive asset tied to price appreciation.”
Whether this new strategy can outrun industry-wide margin pressure is the big question.
Mara’s stock is up just 2.9% year-to-date, which is a modest return for a company sitting on a $6 billion market cap and a mountain of crypto.
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