MARA Holdings sold 13,597 bitcoin for approximately $1.1 billion in the weeks following the close of the third quarter and directed $750 million of the proceeds toward paying off all of its bitcoin-backed term loans, the mining company said Monday in its Q3 shareholder letter.

The disposal priced the coins at roughly $81,039 each. With 34,012 BTC on its books as of Sept. 30, MARA trimmed its stack by about 40% in a matter of weeks.

Settling the loans released 17,477 bitcoin that had been posted as collateral, and less than 5% of the company's holdings now remain loaned or pledged, according to the letter. Deducting the sale from the quarter-end figure points to roughly 20,400 BTC still held, before factoring in coins mined since then.

The letter makes clear that the selling is not over. "We intend to continue using bitcoin to build cash for purposes such as AI infrastructure opportunities, to satisfy the puts on our convertible notes that become exercisable next year, and potential share repurchases," MARA wrote. Put provisions give noteholders the right to require MARA to repurchase the notes for cash on scheduled dates, which is why the company flagged them as a planned use of the sale proceeds. The board also authorized a buyback of up to $500 million of common stock after quarter-end.

A Treasury Repurposed as a Funding Source

MARA spent years building one of the largest bitcoin stacks among public companies, and its retreat from holding has unfolded in stages. The company said it first allowed sales of mined bitcoin in 2025, then broadened the policy in 2026 to cover bitcoin already on its balance sheet.

Over the first nine months of the year, MARA sold about 26,984 bitcoin for $1.9 billion, including 3,891 BTC in the third quarter at an average of $75,300. It mined 2,247 BTC in the quarter and bought none.

Year to date, the company has cut total debt by $1.4 billion, a reduction of 37%. It ended September with $946.5 million in cash and about $3.8 billion in cash and bitcoin combined, plus 1,408 BTC lent out that earned about $2.5 million in interest during the quarter.

The post-quarter sale secured about $6,800 more per coin than bitcoin's market price, which stood near $74,200 on Tuesday morning.

Revenue Slides as the AI Pivot Accelerates

The quarter's headline profit came from the coins, not the mines. Revenue fell 35% to $164.2 million from $252.4 million a year earlier, even as energized hashrate rose 18% to 71.2 EH/s.

Net income climbed to $632.1 million, or $1.28 a diluted share, from $123.1 million, helped by an $885.3 million gain on the fair value of digital assets.

Mining itself got slightly more expensive. Purchased energy cost per bitcoin at MARA's owned sites was $39,674, up from $39,235 a year earlier, while blocks won rose 2% to 644.

"Bitcoin built the foundation. Power created the opportunity," the letter opens, describing a strategy to "maximize the value of every megawatt" MARA controls.

MARA said it is targeting two data center leases before year-end but warned that "market conditions are fluid and that timing could slip into next year." It received FERC approval for its Long Ridge natural gas plant purchase, currently authorized to sell 485 MW, and expects the deal to close in the coming weeks. It also secured rights to develop a Matagorda County, Texas site with up to 2 GW of power capacity, and its Exaion unit signed a four-year, $79 million GPU-as-a-service contract with its first U.S. customer.

The move puts MARA in step with peers pulling away from bitcoin. Riot and Hut 8 sold thousands of bitcoin to fund AI projects and buybacks, Keel sold its entire treasury, and Core Scientific plans to exit mining by year-end.

The economics behind the shift are visible in the quarter itself: mining revenue moves with bitcoin's market price and the pace of block rewards, while arrangements like Exaion's four-year GPU contract sell computing capacity on fixed multi-year terms. Near-term signposts include whether the two targeted data center leases are signed before year-end or slip, when the Long Ridge purchase closes, and how further treasury sales line up with the convertible note puts exercisable next year.

MARA still describes bitcoin mining as its operating foundation, one that keeps sites earning revenue while higher-value infrastructure is built out. With roughly 13,600 fewer coins on the books and a stated plan to keep selling, the miner that once carried one of the largest corporate stacks is now using that stack to pay for its next business.

This post MARA Sells 13,597 Bitcoin for $1.1 Billion, Says More Sales Are Coming first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.