Bitcoin Miner Marathon Digital’s Stock Pops On Improved Hash Rate: Retail Still Has Doubts
However, the company’s Bitcoin production fell by 2% to 890 BTC due to a minor drop in mining luck, dampening retail sentiment.
FollowMarathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA) stock jumped by over 8% on Friday morning after the Bitcoin miner reported that it has exceeded its year-end hash rate target of 50 EH/s in December, reaching 53.2 EH/s – a 15% increase from November.
Despite this, Bitcoin production fell by 2% month on month, to 890 BTC, due to a minor drop in mining luck, dampening retail sentiment.
MARAPool saw an annual hash rate growth of 168%, far outpacing Bitcoin's network growth rate of 49%.
Overall, in 2024, MARA mined 9,457 BTC and purchased 22,065 BTC at an average price of $87,205, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to 44,893 BTC, valued at $4.2 billion at year-end.
The company also had 7,377 BTC loaned to third parties for additional returns.
“As a miner that mines and buys bitcoin, the hybrid approach provides us significant flexibility to acquire bitcoin at attractive prices. It further allows us to capitalize on market conditions by buying BTC during price declines, optimizing our acquisition cost,” said CEO Fred Thiel.
“We believe we maintain a competitive advantage through our mining operations, enabling us to produce BTC at a lower cost than the prevailing spot price. We believe this dual approach strengthens our position and enhances our ability to deliver long-term shareholder value,” he added.
Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. Sentiment and Message Volume on Jan 3 as of 09:50 a.m. ET | Source: Stocktwits
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock dipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘bullish’ a day ago even as message volumes returned to ‘normal’ as many investors on the platform expressed concerns about potential dilution.
However, some remain optimistic, holding out hope for a potential rally once President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.
Thiel expressed a similar outlook in an interview on The David Lin Report. He predicted that between the beginning of 2025 and around the date of the inauguration of Trump, Bitcoin will start to “run again.”
He added that Bitcoin could first fall to levels last witnessed in November 2024 before exploding by around 108% from the current level over the coming months.
“I think the majority of the people who look at Bitcoin price are expecting a correction into the low $90,000s, high $80,000s, and then a return to growth ending somewhere approaching $200,000 by the end of next year. I think that’s a pretty valid scenario just based on the demand that we’re seeing kind of on the sidelines,” he said.
Despite Bitcoin more than doubling in value over the past year, MARA’s stock dipped by over 20% alongside other Bitcoin miners.
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