Share this article

MARA Holdings Upsizes Convertible Notes Offering by $150M Amid Overwhelming Investor Demand

The second-biggest publicly traded bitcoin holding company is looking to increase its token stash and pay off existing debt.

Updated Nov 19, 2024, 9:50 a.m. Published Nov 19, 2024, 9:37 a.m.
Marathon Digital Holdings CEO Fred Thiel (Bradley Keoun/CoinDesk)
Marathon Digital Holdings CEO Fred Thiel (Bradley Keoun/CoinDesk)
  • MARA has upsized its zero-coupon convertible notes, offering to $850 million from $700 million.
  • MARA plans to buy more bitcoin with the estimated net proceeds of $833 million.

Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this piece owns shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Semler Scientific (SMLR).

MARA Holdings (MARA) has increased its previously announced convertible note offering from $700 million to $850 million.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters

It has also raised the option for initial purchasers to acquire extra notes to $150 million from $105 million. The offering is expected to close on Nov. 20, and is a private offering directed at qualified institutional buyers.

The notes maturing on March 1, 2030, will not bear regular interest and can be converted into cash, shares of MARA's common stock, or a combination of both at MARA's discretion.

The initial conversion price is approximately $25.91, which is a 42.5% premium over MARA's current stock price, which is currently $18.18.

The proceeds are estimated to be around $833 million, with $199 million being used to repurchase the $212 million of MARA's existing convertible notes for 2026. The rest will be allocated for bitcoin acquisition, asset expansion, and general corporate purposes.

MARA is the second largest publicly traded holder of bitcoin, holding 27,562 BTC. This announcement comes after several other bitcoin holders companies, specifically MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Semler Scientific (SMLR), purchased more bitcoin.

MARA's shares are up nearly 2% in pre-market trading after falling nearly 14% on Monday.

More For You

KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market

16:9 Image

KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.

What to know:

  • KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
  • This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
  • Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
  • Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
  • Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

More For You

U.S. national debt reaches new high of $38.5 trillion

Scattered pile of $1 bills (Gerd Altmann/Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk)

High debt levels and potential fiscal dominance could lead to lower interest rates, benefiting assets like bitcoin and gold.

What to know:

  • The U.S. national debt has jumped to $38.5 trillion, with a debt-to-GDP ratio over 120%.
  • Over 70% of the debt is owed to domestic lenders, and interest payments now exceed $1 trillion annually.
  • High debt levels and potential fiscal dominance could lead to lower interest rates, benefiting assets like Bitcoin and gold.