- Two 390 megawatt Bitcoin mining facilities will be purchased by Marathon Digital from Generate Capital for $179 million.
- Following the announcement, MARA’s stock shot up 9%, increasing its gains for the year to almost 530%.
After paying $179 million for the purchase of two Bitcoin mining sites, the mining company Marathon Digital is expected to increase its mining capacity and lower the cost of mining BTC.
Marathon announced in a news statement that it will purchase the two mining sites from Generate Capital subsidiaries for $458,000 per megawatt, payable in cash. Through the agreement, Marathon will increase its mining capacity by a total of 390 megawatts.
Strategic Move could help Marathon to lower Bitcoin mining costs
Marathon claims that this deal will be its “first fully owned sites,” bringing its portfolio’s total of 584 megawatts that it directly owns to 3%. With the agreement, Marathon’s capacity should increase to 910 megawatts, of which 45% will be located on its own properties and 55% on those owned or operated by third parties.
Over the following 18 to 24 months, according to Marathon, the acquisition will increase its operational hashrate to 50 exahashes. According to the miner, the sites in Kearney, Nebraska, and Granbury, Texas, will be transferred in Q1, 2024. Should the agreement conclude by then, it will coincide with the much awaited halving of Bitcoin.
According to Marathon’s chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, “we have an opportunity to reduce our bitcoin production costs at these sites, to capitalise on energy hedging opportunities, and to expand our operational capacity by acquiring the sites in Granbury, Texas and Kearney, Nebraska from Generate.”
Following its announcement, Marathon’s MARA stock saw a 9% increase in price on Tuesday. As of this writing, MARA was up 536% year to date and 47% during the previous week. In the meantime, the price of bitcoin was up 154% year-to-date and 2.3% over the last week.
Bitcoin mining has grown to be a fiercely competitive, resource-intensive industry that needs a lot of electricity and specialized equipment.
Disclaimer: This article was created for informational purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice. An asset’s past performance does not predict its future returns. Before making an investment, please conduct your own research, as digital assets like cryptocurrencies are highly risky and volatile financial instruments.
