Nasdaq-Listed Mining Company Buys $150M Worth of Bitcoin

Announced on Monday morning, Marathon Patent Group, a Bitcoin mining company based in North America, recently purchased $150 million worth of bitcoin. The purchase allowed the company to acquire 4,812.66 bitcoin, at an average price of $31,167. Bitcoin currently trades at $33,400 as per BTC Times data. 

As Marathon is listed on the Nasdaq with the ticker "MARA," the firm sees this move as a boost to its position as a "pure-play" way for investors to expose themselves to bitcoin:

"As a result, the Company has strengthened its position as one of the only Nasdaq-listed, pure-play investment options for individuals and institutions seeking exposure to Bitcoin," the press release reads. 

Merrick Okamoto, Marathon’s chairman and CEO, commented on the announcement that the bitcoin investment may likely perform better than if the company were to hold U.S. dollars over the long run:

"By purchasing $150 million worth of Bitcoin, we have accelerated the process of building Marathon into what we believe to be the de facto investment choice for individuals and institutions who are seeking exposure to this new asset class. We also believe that holding part of our Treasury reserves in Bitcoin will be a better long-term strategy than holding US Dollars, similar to other forward-thinking companies like MicroStrategy." 

Marathon has contracted to purchase over 100,000 miners to date, which it expects to go into operation by early 2022. The firm worked with NYDIG, an institutional custody and trade execution provider for Bitcoin transactions, to execute this purchase.

NYDIG has worked with other institutional and corporate bitcoin buyers over the past few months.

As reported by The BTC Times previously, the insurance company MassMutual purchased  $100 million worth of bitcoin in December through NYDIG. NYDIG's partial owner, Stone Ridge Asset Management, also purchased 10,000 bitcoin in October.