MARA borrows $600 million against Bitcoin to fund AI and energy expansion
What's the deal? MARA Holdings borrowed $600 million against its Bitcoin treasury on 4 August 2026, pledging 18,750 BTC across two credit facilities. Coinbase provided $450 million, refinancing an existing $150 million loan, while Two PrimeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → contributed $300 million. Both facilities mature in August 2028.
Where the money goes. The primary target is the Long RidgeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → power-generation site acquisition, projected to support up to 2 gigawatts of capacity. MARA plans to direct that power towards artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads alongside traditional energy infrastructure.
Why now? The facilities follow MARA's refinancing of older debt on 6 August 2026, as part of a broader $750 million facility arrangement. The Long Ridge acquisition faces a 30 November 2026 closing deadline, subject to regulatory approvals.
What it means. The 18,750 BTC pledged represents a significant share of MARA's holdings. After the deal, roughly 54% of its Bitcoin treasury is locked as collateral, linking its debt load to a volatile asset while it expands into AI and energy infrastructure.
The earnings picture. MARA reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $174.9 million and an energised hashrate of 70.3 exahashes per second, up 22% year on year. It also reported a net loss of $611.3 million, with $342.7 million attributable to fair-value adjustments on Bitcoin.
By the numbers. At the end of the second quarter, MARA held 35,577 BTC worth roughly $2.1 billion, with Bitcoin averaging $58,524 during the quarter. It mined 2,422 BTC and sold 2,213, about 91% of its output.
The signal. MARA is using its Bitcoin holdings as collateral to fund a push beyond mining into AI and energy infrastructure.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
Read more: Crypto Briefing
