US-based publicly traded cryptocurrency miner MARA Holdings made a significant change in its treasury policy in its annual financial report published on March 2, 2026. The company gained the flexibility to sell all its Bitcoin holdings when necessary, abandoning its long-held strategy of only selling newly mined Bitcoins for operational expenses.
Change in MARA Holdings’ Asset Management
MARA Holdings’ current Bitcoin position reached approximately 53,822 BTC by the end of 2025, that is, $4.7 billion at the prices of the period. According to the company’s policy until now, only the amount of Bitcoin to cover its operating expenses was sold. This attitude enabled the company to create a line of defense against market fluctuations, and most of its holdings were kept in reserve for long periods of time.
However, with the new policy, the management had the initiative to sell all Bitcoins in the portfolio for strategic reasons. In the company’s statement, it was stated that the main reason for the change was the pressure on the debt-collateral ratio.
Debt Collateral and Market Risk
The company had a debt of $350 million secured by Bitcoin at the end of 2025. As the Bitcoin price dropped to $68,000 at the beginning of 2026, the loan-collateral ratio increased to 86.7 percent. It is known that in corporate finance, this ratio is generally kept between 70-75 percent. Therefore, a ratio at these levels indicated that the margin of safety required for loan collateral had decreased.
Apart from the pressure of the credit-based position, there have also been serious changes in the income the company generates through crypto assets. In 2025, $32.1 million in interest income was generated from Bitcoin lending activities. However, as a result of the decrease in asset values and trading losses, the total net loss in this segment reached 86.3 million dollars. Considering this situation, the management pointed out that it is not sustainable to limit Bitcoin sales only to operational expenses.
MARA Holdings shared the opinion that “With the new treasury policy, we will have a more flexible attitude in cash flow in large-scale market movements.”
Artificial Intelligence and Investment Strategy
It is also stated that the change in policy was not made solely for defensive reasons. The company has recently taken an aggressive stance in its investments in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure. At the beginning of 2026, a data center was purchased in Nebraska for $ 25 million. Then, in February, $174.5 million was paid for the majority shares of the technology company Exaion. MARA is also working with Starwood Capital to develop an AI data center.
These new investments are even greater in scale than the company’s Bitcoin interest income. Financing these initiatives required the activation of the Bitcoin sales option. The operational flexibility achieved by MARA Holdings offered the opportunity to utilize Bitcoin stocks as a liquidity tool to meet capital requirements, especially in the field of artificial intelligence.
Volatility in Credit Collateral Ratio
Changes in the company’s collateral ratio are of great importance in terms of credit positions. When Bitcoin asset value dropped to $68,000, approximately $403 million worth of Bitcoin was used to secure MARA’s $350 million debt. Prices at the end of 2025 increased this rate to 67 percent.
The $20,000 drop in Bitcoin price pushed MARA’s loan collateral margin to risky levels. For companies, it has been observed that the fluctuation in the value of the borrowed asset has serious effects not only in terms of profitability but also in terms of collateral management.
