MARA’s $750 million loan payoff freed 17,477 pledged bitcoin
MARA used bitcoin sale proceeds to repay two loans. Its quarterly adjusted EBITDA still included a bitcoin valuation gain.
MARA Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA) used $750 million from bitcoin sales to repay its two bitcoin-backed loans in full. The lenders returned 17,477 pledged bitcoin, according to the company's November 9 earnings disclosures. The sale and repayment took place after September 30, the end of the quarter MARA reported.
MARA's shareholder letter · Quarterly filing, Notes 13 and 18
What the loan payoff changed
MARA said it sold 13,597 bitcoin after quarter-end for about $1.1 billion. Repaying the loans released coins it already owned. The returned bitcoin increased the portion of its holdings it could use without those lenders' claims on it.
| Reporting point | Share of bitcoin loaned or pledged |
|---|---|
| September 30 | About 57% |
| After the payoff, per MARA's November 9 letter | Less than 5% |
September's share uses 19,260 bitcoin loaned or pledged divided by 34,012 held. The company reported the later percentage without giving an updated total coin count in the letter.
The payoff reduced debt and freed collateral at the same time. The roughly $1.1 billion in sales is gross proceeds. The difference between the sale and payoff is only part of the cash picture. MARA gave no updated cash balance after the payoff.
Adjusted profit still moved with bitcoin
For the September quarter, MARA reported $164.2 million in revenue, down from $252.4 million a year earlier, and $632.1 million in consolidated GAAP net income. The quarter included an $884.3 million gain from revaluing bitcoin, including coins the company had loaned or pledged. MARA's $857.7 million of adjusted EBITDA still included that gain. The later sale and loan payoff describe cash transactions on a different reporting clock.
Non-GAAP reconciliation in the shareholder letter
A separate change in Texas
In Matagorda County, a MARA subsidiary replaced a $100 million deposit for a power interconnection study with a $100 million bank letter of credit on October 23. The bank backs payment if the letter's conditions are met. MARA's filing gives the face amount, with no breakdown of bank collateral, fees or the net effect on cash available to the company. The proposed campus still depends on grid studies and a power allocation.
Paying off the bitcoin loans removed a specific claim on MARA's holdings. The Texas project changed how it provided financial backing. Those two moves affect access to capital in different ways.