In June, news made waves when Marathon Digital Holdings decided not to sell any of its Bitcoin. This choice is indicative of a larger trend among Bitcoin miners in the United States to keep onto their mined cryptocurrency rather than selling it right away.

A Wise Plan

In an interview, Marathon’s chief financial officer, Salman Khan, provided details on this approach. He clarified that both internal procedures and market forces have an impact on the choice to hold Bitcoin. Unlike traditional asset classes, Bitcoin offers unique advantages.

“If we were an oil company, we would sell all our oil because that would be our primary source of revenue,” Khan said. “Bitcoin, however, can stay on your balance sheet without incurring storage costs.”

BTC Holdings

Marathon now has 18,536 Bitcoin, valued at over $1 billion, as of June 30. This is a 50% increase from the 12,538 Bitcoin it had in 2023. Khan said one of the main justifications for this method being Bitcoin’s remarkable results. “The rate of return on Bitcoin has been 150% over the past few years, outclassing other asset classes,” he said. “We believe in the long-term appreciation of Bitcoin and do not need to sell it every month.” Notably, in June of this year, the mining company produced 590 BTC.

Marathon is not alone in this approach. Other major U.S. Bitcoin miners, like Riot Platforms and CleanSpark, are also accumulating Bitcoin. Riot has not sold Bitcoin since January, while CleanSpark has sold only nominal amounts.

CleanSpark’s CEO, Zach Bradford, revealed that his company began accumulating Bitcoin last June, sensing the market’s momentum. “Since then, we’ve grown our treasury to over 6,500 Bitcoin,” he stated.

Besides holding, U.S. miners are rapidly increasing their mining capacities. CleanSpark aims to surpass 50 exahashes per second (EH/s) by 2025, while Marathon plans to reach 50 EH/s by the end of this year. Riot Platforms expects to achieve 41 EH/s in 2024 and aims for 100 EH/s by 2027.

BTC Accumulation

Marathon is also open to accumulating Bitcoin through purchases. In January, the company bought 183.5 Bitcoin. Khan explained that strategic purchasing is another way to increase their Bitcoin holdings.

Khan also highlighted the growing interest from institutional investors. “With big names like BlackRock and Fidelity entering the space, it’s clear that the price is likely to go up,” he said. This influx of institutional investment underscores the confidence in Bitcoin’s long-term value.

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