While most mining firms tightened their spending during Bitcoin’s early-October crash, MARA Holdings moved in the opposite direction.
The company snapped up 400 BTC worth around $46 million shortly after the selloff, bringing its total holdings to roughly 53,250 BTC – now valued at over $6 billion.
Buying When Others Hesitate
MARA’s purchase came just weeks after disclosing 52,850 BTC at the end of September, indicating the buy was timed to coincide with maximum market fear. Backed by more than $5 billion in liquid assets, the miner was able to accumulate while competitors sold reserves to survive. The move underscores how scale and cash reserves have become decisive advantages in a post-halving environment.
October’s profitability crunch, measured by the hashprice metric (revenue per petahash per day), pushed many miners into selling mode as margins shrank to near $50. Smaller operators offloaded production, while firms like Riot, CleanSpark, Bitfarms, and Core Scientific liquidated portions of their holdings to fund expansion and cover costs. MARA, by contrast, saw the downturn as an accumulation window.
A New Phase for Mining Economics
On-chain data from CryptoQuant supports this shift. Miner selling pressure stayed muted throughout October, with flows to exchanges falling even as prices dropped. Historically, crashes triggered heavy miner selloffs – but this time, the largest buyer was a miner itself.
MARA’s contrarian approach highlights how financial strength now dictates strategy in the mining sector. Rather than treating volatility as a threat, MARA views it as opportunity—betting that Bitcoin’s long-term gains will outpace short-term market pain.
