Bitcoin Miner MARA Lends 16% of Its 44,893 BTC Reserves

Bitcoin mining firm MARA (NASDAQ: MARA) has lent 7,377 BTC to third parties to generate yield, representing approximately 16% of its total reserves.

In a production update released on Friday, MARA reported that it mined 9,457 BTC and acquired an additional 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205 throughout 2024. As of December 31, its Bitcoin reserves totaled 44,893 BTC, valued at around $4.4 billion at the time of writing.

MARA did not disclose the identities of the third parties to whom it lent the Bitcoin. Robert Samuels, MARA’s Director of Investor Relations, stated that these loans are “short-term arrangements with well-established third parties.” He added that the company is generating a “modest single-digit yield” and has been actively engaged in such lending throughout 2024.

“The long-term objective is to generate sufficient yield to offset operating expenses,” Samuels said in a social media post on Friday.

The “significant interest” in MARA’s BTC lending program may not be entirely surprising, given the collapse of Bitcoin lenders like BlockFi, Genesis, Celsius, and Babel during the 2022 bear market, which exposed counterparty risks for depositors.

MARA reported earning $3.9 million in interest income during Q3 2024, primarily from cash on its balance sheet and interest from loaned Bitcoin. The company had generated $4.8 million in interest income during the first half of 2024, though previous filings did not mention income from loaned Bitcoin.

In other developments, MARA reported surpassing the 50 EH/s threshold, ending the year with 53 EH/s of energized hashrate. However, the company maintained a realized hashrate of approximately 47 EH/s, consistent with its performance in November.