More Institutional Interest: Nasdaq-Traded Marathon Invests $150 Million in Bitcoin

On Monday, Marathon Patent Group announced that it bought 4,812.66 BTC, worth $150 million, through the New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG). 

Merrick Okamoto, Marathon’s chairman & CEO, noted that the investment would help them accelerate the process of turning the company into a “facto investment choice for individuals and institutions who are seeking exposure to this new asset class.” 

Marathon Eager To Invest In Bitcoin

Before now, Marathon has made plans to invest in Bitcoin via mining, as it said it had made provision to purchase 103,060 mining rigs, which are expected to be operational in Q1 2022. 

If the necessary equipment were in place, the firm would have been minting 55 to 60 BTCs daily based on the Bitcoin network’s current difficulty rate, the CEO added. 

Not planning to wait any longer for another year, the firm decided to use part of its cash reserve to invest in the asset.     

A Better Long-Term Strategy

Okamoto noted that the company chose Bitcoin because of its long-term economic value over the United States Dollar (USD).  

“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,” the CEO said.

Recall that world economies were ravaged by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The economic meltdown resulted in the underperformance of several financial instruments, including gold. 

Despite the crisis that saw Bitcoin trade below $4,000 in March 2020, the asset has developed resistance against the pandemic and has continued to rally. 

MicroStrategy Leads The Way

As part of its bull run, bitcoin reached an all-time high (ATH) of more than $41,000 and has received appraisal from various financial experts, with many calling it the “digital gold.”

Bitcoin’s dominance over traditional assets has sparked massive institutional adoption, with MicroStrategy leading the way. 

Since MicroStrategy made its first Bitcoin investment in August 2020, it has gone on a purchasing spree, bringing the company’s total bitcoin holdings to approximately 70,784 bitcoins ($2,447,158,604.80).

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Grayscale’s closed-end investment fund that focuses exclusively on Bitcoin, has also added massive amounts of Bitcoin since the beginning of the year. 

One of its acquisition efforts that came as a shock to many was when the U.S-based digital asset manager purchased 12,319 BTC within 24 hours last month. At the time of writing, GBTC holds $20.1B in assets under management (AUM).