MARA, the world's largest publicly traded bitcoin miner, disclosed that it sold approximately 23,093 BTC for $1.63 billion during the first half of 2026, at an average price of about $70,631 per coin. The company still holds 35,577 BTC, worth roughly $2.3 billion at current prices, meaning it sold off a substantial chunk of its treasury without liquidating it entirely.
The scale of the disclosure stands out: MARA has long been one of the more prominent public miners associated with a hold-everything treasury strategy, making a sale of this size a meaningful shift in how the company is managing its balance sheet.
AI Infrastructure Is Where the Money Is Going
According to MARA's own SEC filing, the company executed the sales in response to a significant decline in bitcoin prices earlier in the year, and separately disclosed a 2026 restructuring plan reflecting what it called a “strategic decision to reallocate resources toward AI initiatives and related critical IT and HPC opportunities.” In other words, the proceeds aren't simply covering operating costs — they're funding a pivot toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure, mirroring a shift already underway at other large miners.
Part of a Broader Pattern Among Miners
MARA isn't alone. Bitdeer emptied its entire bitcoin treasury in February while diversifying into AI-hosting capacity through a $4.7 billion Norway lease, and on-chain data has flagged similar recurring sales from Strategy-linked wallets this year. Across the sector, miners that spent years positioning themselves as long-term bitcoin holders are increasingly treating their coin reserves as a funding source for the next phase of infrastructure spending, rather than an asset to be preserved indefinitely.
Related: Bitdeer's Bitcoin Output Jumps Fivefold in Q2 Even as Reserves Shrink 90%
That shift mirrors a pattern showing up beyond mining companies too, with several corporate treasuries trimming bitcoin holdings this year to fund unrelated capital needs, even as the industry's public rhetoric around long-term accumulation hasn't changed nearly as fast as the actual balance-sheet decisions behind it.
With 35,577 BTC still on its books, MARA remains one of the largest corporate bitcoin holders even after the sale — the disclosure marks a change in pace rather than a full exit from the strategy that built its position in the first place.
