Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) closed $600 million in new bitcoin-backed loans on August 4, pledging 18,750 BTC worth roughly $1.2 billion as collateral, according to a report detailing the transaction. The financing was split between Coinbase Credit, which provided $300 million in new funding plus a $150 million refinancing of an existing credit line for a combined $450 million facility, and Two Prime Lending, which supplied a separate $300 million loan.
The two facilities carry different structures: Coinbase's portion floats at the Federal Reserve's target-range midpoint plus 3.875 percentage points, currently working out to about 7.5%, and matures August 4, 2028 with an automatic one-year extension option. Two Prime's loan is fixed at 7.65% and matures a day earlier, on August 3, 2028. Combined, the two facilities are expected to cost MARA roughly $56.7 million a year in interest.
More Than Half the Treasury Now Pledged
The new pledge is a significant commitment relative to MARA's overall bitcoin position: the 18,750 BTC posted as collateral represents more than half of the 35,577 BTC the company held as of June 30, 2026. Lenders are requiring collateral worth 1.6 times the combined loan principal, and if bitcoin's price falls far enough to breach that threshold, MARA would need to post additional coins or risk the lenders liquidating the pledged collateral outright to cover the loan.
Funding an AI and Energy Pivot
The proceeds are earmarked for general corporate purposes and to partially fund MARA's planned $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, a 505-megawatt power plant in Ohio the company intends to develop for a mix of power generation, bitcoin mining, and AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. The move fits a broader shift already visible in MARA's balance sheet: the company's bitcoin holdings fell 34% to under 36,000 BTC in the first half of 2026 as it has increasingly leaned on its treasury to fund infrastructure expansion rather than simply accumulating more coin.
Related: Saylor Says Strategy Sold Bitcoin to Prove It Wouldn't Crash the Market
Betting the House on Bitcoin's Price
Pledging over half a company's bitcoin treasury as loan collateral is a high-conviction bet that BTC's price holds well above the level needed to satisfy the 1.6x maintenance ratio. It's a strategy other bitcoin-heavy balance sheets have leaned on before, and one that works cleanly in a rising or stable market — but leaves little room for error if a sharp drawdown forces a margin call at the worst possible time.
