Key Highlights
- MARA moved $86.9M in Bitcoin, likely reorganizing assets, not necessarily selling amid BTC’s dip to $65K.
- Bitcoin miners face tighter profits as hashprice fell from $42 to below $30 since mid-Jan, hitting smaller firms hardest.
- Public miners like CleanSpark and IREN report heavy losses, but diversified strategies aim to weather crypto market swings.
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) executed a major transfer of 1,318 BTC, valued at $86.9 million, over a 10-hour period. The company distributed the funds across multiple custodial wallets, including Two Prime, BitGo, and Galaxy Digital, according to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain on X.
The transfer comes amid Bitcoin’s slumping to multi-month low of below $59,000 on February 6, 2026—with the cryptocurrency almost down 50% from its all-time high of $126,198 as per CoinMarketCap. At the time of publishing, it trades near $65,900, down nearly 8% in the past 24 hours.
Given the transparent nature of blockchain transactions, investors always keep an eye on large movements, especially when it comes to mining companies. This move by MARA has raised concerns whether it is for custody purposes or the mining firm is selling their Bitcoin amid broader market crash.
MARA’s custodial transfers and mining payouts
On-chain data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham reveals that MARA moved 653.77 BTC, worth about $42 million, from its Anchorage Digital Custody wallet to Two Prime. In addition, the company sent 305 BTC ($20.7 million) and 200 BTC ($13.6 million) to BitGo. These transfers likely show MARA is simply reorganizing its Bitcoin across different storage platforms.
MARA also received regular Bitcoin deposits from the mining process through Coinbase. In this case, the deposits were smaller in size as the organization transferred funds varying from 3.13 BTCto 3.225 BTC, which equated to approximately $198,500 as of the latest Bitcoin price.
At the same time, the organization was involved in a few minor transactions of 50 BTC, valued at $3.17 million, and a tiny amount of 0.000034 BTC, possibly for a confirmation, from Anchorage.
The Two Prime transfer attracts special interest to the extent that the platform works as a credit and trading counterparty. Thus, the BTC could serve as collateral instead of simply being sold.
Bitcoin miners face profitability challenges
Bitcoin’s price drop has impacted miner economics. Bloomberg earlier reported that hash price—the revenue per unit of computing power—fell to roughly 3 cents per terahash.
Data from Hashrate Index shows that miners were earning the most in mid-January, with revenue per unit of computing power just over $42. However, earnings steadily dropped afterward, and by early February, they fell below $30, the sharpest decline in weeks. As a result, miners—especially smaller ones—are making less profit and facing tighter margins.
Publicly traded miners also reflect market strain. As per MarketWatch data, CleanSpark shares dropped $1.95, or 19%, closing at $7.55, while IREN shares fell $5.11, or 11%, ending at $32.42. IREN posted $184.7 million in Q2 revenue, down from $240.3 million the prior quarter, alongside a net loss of $155.4 million. CleanSpark reported a $378.7 million net loss, despite holding $1 billion in BTC and $1.3 billion in working capital.
In light of this, CleanSpark President Gary A. Vecchiarelli emphasized a diversified approach. “Bitcoin mining generates the cash flow, AI infrastructure monetizes the assets over the long term, and our Digital Asset Management function optimizes capital and liquidity across cycles,” he said on X. This strategy allows miners to navigate volatility while maintaining operational flexibility.
Also Read: Saylor Plans Bitcoin Security Program to Combat Quantum Risks
