According to an operations and production update from MARA Holdings, a publicly traded bitcoin mining company, the firm has extended 7,377 BTC in loans to third parties to achieve a modest yield.
‘Significant Interest’ — MARA Holdings Explains Bitcoin Lending Program
MARA Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA), a prominent bitcoin miner, has disclosed updates on its BTC production and mining operations, highlighting an expansion of its total hashrate by 15% to reach 53.2 exahash per second (EH/s). Additionally, MARA has increased its bitcoin reserves, elevating its stockpile to 44,893 BTC. Curiously, the update further reveals that a portion of its bitcoin reserves has been loaned to third parties as a strategy for yield generation.
The update specifies that the company “has temporarily loaned” 7,377 BTC “to third parties.” In response to this disclosure, Robert Samuels, the vice president of investor relations at MARA, utilized the social media platform X to comment on the loan of 7,377 BTC, which at current exchange rates equates to just over $722 million. Samuels disclosed that there has been “significant interest” in MARA’s bitcoin loan so he decided to share more information.
“[MARA Holdings’ bitcoin lending program] focuses on short-term arrangements with well-established third parties,” the MARA executive wrote. “[It] generates a modest single-digit yield. It has been active throughout 2024. The long-term objective is to generate sufficient yield to offset operating expenses.”
The bitcoin lending program stirred some unease among observers, given the spate of mining company bankruptcies in 2022. “Thank you for this bit of information,” one person replied in Samuels’ X thread. “Can you share any more? This makes me nervous, having been caught up in the bankruptcies of 2022 as a result of lending fraud. Who is/are the counterparties?”
The individual continued:
How often are you rolling this exposure on a month-to-month? I think these 7,377 should be subtracted from your HODL stack.
In light of recent developments, the strategic lending of bitcoin by MARA Holdings has sparked a dialogue on risk management within the crypto mining sector. This move, while financially innovative by generating a yield, still invites scrutiny regarding the balance between potential returns and the specter of past industry pitfalls, highlighting the delicate dance between innovation and security in cryptocurrency operations.
Source: Bitcoin
