Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), one of the world’s largest Bitcoin miners and the second-largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, has been mining Kaspa (KAS) since autumn 2023. In its Q4 2024 Shareholder Letter, the company revealed it held 35 million KAS on its balance sheet as of December 31, 2024—down from 108 million KAS at the end of Q3. This suggests that Marathon sold approximately 73 million KAS in Q4.
Short-Term Bearish Impact of MARA Selling KAS
At first glance, MARA’s decision to sell its Kaspa holdings rather than accumulate may appear bearish. The company rotates its profits to cover expenses while choosing to hold Bitcoin instead of KAS, reinforcing its long-standing Bitcoin-focused strategy. However, the impact of MARA’s Kaspa sales on the market has been relatively insignificant:
- Marathon likely sold 73 million KAS at an average price of $0.13, generating roughly $10 million in revenue.
- Kaspa’s daily trading volume currently stands at around $70 million, meaning the selling pressure was relatively small compared to overall market activity.
- Despite this selling, Kaspa’s price remained stable moving up and down with the rest of the altcoin market, indicating market demand and liquidity.
Long-Term Bullish Outlook: MARA’s Interest in Kaspa
While the short-term selling is neutral to slightly bearish, the fact that Marathon is mining Kaspa at all is fundamentally bullish. Marathon is a Bitcoin-dominated company, and its decision to dedicate hashpower to another proof-of-work (PoW) asset suggests that executives see real potential in Kaspa.
Looking ahead, Marathon may reconsider its accumulation strategy for Kaspa, especially with major upcoming developments in the network:
- Crescendo Upgrade: Kaspa is set to introduce the Crescendo update, which will bring significant network improvements, further increasing its efficiency, speed and scalability.
- Smart Contract Integration: The future introduction of smart contracts on Kaspa could expand its use cases and drive institutional adoption.
- Mining Economics: If Kaspa mining remains highly cost-effective, Marathon may find it more profitable to hold and accumulate KAS rather than sell it immediately.
Conclusion: A Potential Shift in Strategy?
MARA’s Kaspa mining shows that even one of the most Bitcoin-centric companies in the world recognizes Kaspa’s value. While its current strategy involves selling KAS to fund operations, the network’s ongoing improvements could lead Marathon to shift its stance and start accumulating Kaspa in the future.
For now, Marathon’s participation in Kaspa mining alone is a strong signal that the project is gaining credibility in the institutional mining space—something that could have long-term bullish implications for KAS.
