Marathon Eyes Another Bitcoin Selloff After 704 BTC Sale in Dec

Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. is eyeing another Bitcoin (BTC) selloff after it sold 704 BTC, which is 38% of its December production, to cover operating expenses. With a total of 15,174 BTC in its holdings and significant cash reserves, the company maintains a focus on enhancing liquidity in anticipation of the next Bitcoin network halving.

Marathon’s December BTC Production

In a recent release, the company announced that it achieved record BTC production in December, mining 1,853 BTC, marking a substantial 56% increase from November 2023 and an impressive 290% surge year-over-year. Out of this, 704 BTC tokens were sold in December 2023 to cover operating expenses. Considering the average BTC closing price of $42,546 in December 2023, the sale value shouldn’t be less than $30 million.

As Marathon prepares for another BTC selloff, it is expected to close the acquisition of two sites from Generate Capital in January 2024 for approximately $178.6 million. Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel, outlined the company’s vision for 2024, targeting a 30% growth in energized hash rate and aiming to reach 50 exahashes within the next 18 to 24 months.

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Whilst, international expansion is underway, with progress reported in Abu Dhabi and a joint venture in Paraguay. Moreover, Marathon’s MaraPool witnessed a significant surge in transaction fee collection. In December 2023, MaraPool collected over 380 BTC in transaction fees, representing 22% of BTC production. This indicates a rise year-over-year as transaction fee collection was 12% of the production last year.

Bitcoin Price Surge And Pullback

The Bitcoin price surged by 9% since January 1, 2024, and attained a high of $45,899.71 before crashing below the $43,000 mark. However, the crypto’s value rebounded in today’s trading session. As of writing, the BTC price was up by 2.40% as it traded at $43,378.42 on Thursday, January 4, 2024.

Currently, it has a market cap of $850.96 billion, indicating an increase of 2.44%. However, the 24-hour trade volume of the crypto slumped by 25.67% to $31.86 billion. Owing to the recent recovery, the 1-month gains amount to nearly 5%. Whilst, in the past month the crypto added about 2% to its value.

Earlier, Coingape reported that Ali Martinez, a renowned crypto analyst, warned against a similar surge and pullback trend in future. In a post on X, he stated that he predicted Bitcoin to hit $50,000 soon. However, he also noted that the bullish rally could be followed by a pullback. Martinez suggested that BTC could experience a 40% correction in price after climbing to $50,000.

Also Read: The US Govt. Holds More Bitcoins Than MicroStrategy, Major Selling In 2 Months