Bitcoin miner MARA has pledged 18,750 BTC — roughly 53% of the Bitcoin it held as of June 30 — as collateral to secure $600 million in fresh financing, closing the transaction on August 4. The pledged coins were valued at approximately $1.2 billion at closing, giving the arrangement collateral coverage of 1.6 times the loan principal, with margin call provisions that allow lenders to force liquidation if Bitcoin's price falls far enough to erode that cushion.
The financing came from two lenders in two structures. The Energy Mag reported that Coinbase Credit provided $450 million, including $150 million that refinanced an existing credit line, at a floating rate pegged to the Federal Reserve's target midpoint plus 3.875% — currently 7.5% — maturing August 4, 2028 with an automatic one-year extension option. Two Prime Lending supplied the remaining $300 million at a fixed 7.65% rate, maturing a day earlier on August 3, 2028. Both facilities were fully drawn at closing, and MARA's combined annual interest expense on the two loans works out to roughly $56.7 million.
The money is funding a power and AI bet, not just working capital
MARA described the proceeds as covering general corporate needs, but a specific use stands out: partial financing for its acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power LLC, a 505-megawatt gas-fired power facility in Hannibal, Ohio. The company has said it plans to develop the site for a mix of power generation, Bitcoin mining, and a potential AI and high-performance-computing campus — the kind of multi-use infrastructure bet that's become increasingly common among miners looking to diversify beyond pure hash rate.
Borrowing against Bitcoin instead of selling it
The structure reflects a broader shift in how miners are managing their treasuries this cycle. Rather than liquidating coins outright to fund expansion, more miners have leaned on collateralized borrowing to keep their Bitcoin exposure intact while still raising capital — though it's not without precedent for that approach to strain a balance sheet; Marathon has previously carried a separate $350 million Bitcoin-backed facility where the loan-to-value ratio climbed as high as 87% during a price downturn. MARA itself sold 15,133 BTC back in March 2026 to raise roughly $1.1 billion for a convertible-note repurchase, a reminder that the company has used both selling and borrowing as levers depending on market conditions. For more on how large Bitcoin holders are moving coins in the current market, see this recent look at a mystery whale's multi-week transfers to Binance.
Related: Mystery Whale Sends 6,494 BTC, Worth $420M, to Binance in 3 Weeks
What the margin call risk actually means
The 1.6x collateral coverage ratio gives MARA a buffer, but it's not unlimited. A sustained drop in Bitcoin's price would erode that cushion and could eventually trigger the margin call provisions built into both loan agreements, forcing a sale of pledged coins at an inopportune moment — the same dynamic that pressured Marathon's earlier facility. That risk is part of why debates over Bitcoin's price floor matter well beyond retail trading desks; miners with leveraged treasuries are directly exposed to how that floor holds up.
