MARA (formerly Marathon Digital Holdings), one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin mining companies and corporate holders of bitcoin, has pledged 18,750 bitcoin—valued at approximately $1.2 billion—as collateral to secure $600 million in new financing. The move reflects a broader industry pattern in which bitcoin miners with substantial treasury holdings are leveraging their existing coin reserves rather than triggering taxable sales or diluting shareholders through equity issuance, enabling them to fund capital-intensive diversification into adjacent infrastructure businesses.

Structure of the $600 Million Bitcoin-Backed Facilities

According to MARA's 10-Q quarterly filing dated August 6, 2026, the company entered into two bitcoin-backed term loan facilities on August 4, 2026, with Coinbase and Two Prime. The 18,750 bitcoin pledged as initial collateral carried a fair value of roughly $1.2 billion as of that date.

The two facilities provided $600.0 million in incremental borrowings while also refinancing an existing $150.0 million Coinbase term loan, bringing the total amount fully drawn across the facilities to $750.0 million. The structure allows MARA to retain ownership of its core bitcoin treasury holdings while accessing debt capital against them—a model that has gained traction among crypto-native firms as regulated lenders such as Coinbase and crypto credit specialists like Two Prime have expanded bitcoin-collateralized loan offerings.

Secondary reporting by CryptoSlate characterized the breakdown as a $450 million Coinbase facility and a separate $300 million Two Prime loan. MARA has not publicly disclosed maintenance collateral ratios, cure periods, liquidation thresholds, or how the pledged bitcoin is allocated between the two lenders. Because collateral is denominated in a volatile asset, undisclosed liquidation thresholds remain a structural risk factor: a sharp decline in bitcoin's market price could trigger margin calls or forced liquidation of pledged coins.

Capital Deployment Toward Energy and AI Infrastructure

MARA stated that loan proceeds will be directed toward general corporate purposes, including funding a portion of the cash consideration for its Long Ridge acquisition. The company's Q2 2026 shareholder letter described the borrowing as part of a broader strategy centered on acquiring scarce power assets for AI and digital infrastructure.

The Long Ridge acquisition, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, would add a 505 MW gas-fired power plant and over 1 GW of total potential campus capacity, including line of sight to up to 600 gross MW dedicated to AI and Critical IT loads. MARA announced the deal in its April 2026 press release.

The financing aligns with a pattern in which MARA's leadership has argued that AI power use can deliver higher returns than bitcoin mining. Acquiring owned, power-ready sites is central to that pivot toward higher-value compute workloads. This strategy mirrors moves by other major mining operators— including Core Scientific, Hut 8, and Iris Energy—which have pursued AI and HPC hosting contracts as hyperscaler demand for powered data center sites has intensified amid a constrained grid and surging AI compute requirements.

The Long Ridge deal is not MARA's only power-sector move. A July 9, 2026 announcement regarding a Matagorda County, Texas site—secured under the HIF agreement—noted that the location could provide up to an initial 1 GW of grid capacity by October 2027 and up to 2 GW by April 2028 for HPC and bitcoin workloads.

Together, the Long Ridge and Texas commitments represent a multi-site expansion of power capacity underwritten by the bitcoin-backed debt. Leveraging treasury bitcoin rather than issuing equity or selling coins enables MARA to preserve upside exposure to bitcoin price appreciation while funding capital-intensive infrastructure buildouts. The simultaneous expansion into both bitcoin mining and AI-ready sites reflects a dual-track approach in which mining revenue can support operations while higher-margin AI hosting capacity is developed.

Regulatory Timeline

The Long Ridge acquisition remains contingent on regulatory approvals. The Hart-Scott-Rodino Act waiting period was terminated early on June 16, 2026. However, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval was still pending as of August 6, 2026. FERC oversight is particularly relevant given that the transaction involves a generation asset connected to the interstate power grid, and the outcome may influence how other miners pursuing utility-scale power acquisitions navigate federal energy regulation.

The transaction carries an outside date of November 30, 2026, which may be extended to June 30, 2027 if specified regulatory approvals remain unresolved.

Bitcoin traded near $64,798 around the time MARA finalized the collateral-backed financing.