The largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner, MARA Holdings, has updated its treasury policy to allow it to sell some of its BTC. 

This marks a major shift as the company expands beyond mining into AI and high-performance computing.

In a recent SEC filing, MARA said it can now sell part of its Bitcoin holdings when needed for business reasons. The company, which previously followed a long-term “hold” strategy, started selling Bitcoin in the second half of 2025 to support operations and plans to continue selective sales in 2026.

Key Points

• MARA now has flexibility to sell Bitcoin as it shifts beyond mining into AI and high-performance computing.

• The miner holds 53,822 BTC worth $3.6B, ranking second among public corporate Bitcoin holders.

• In 2025, MARA bought 4,267 BTC and mined 8,799 BTC despite post-halving margin pressure.

• Nearly 28% of its Bitcoin reserves are deployed in lending, trading, or collateral deals.

53,822 BTC on the Balance Sheet

MARA Holdings holds 53,822 BTC worth about $4.7 billion, based on a year-end price of $87,498 per coin. That makes it the second-largest publicly traded corporate holder of Bitcoin, behind Strategy. Notably, as of today, the value of these BTC holdings is just over $3.6 billion.

In 2025, MARA bought 4,267 BTC at an average price of $111,034 and mined another 8,799 BTC. However, Bitcoin’s price swings led to a $422.2 million drop in the reported value of its holdings during the year. At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $66,800, below the $70,000 level it briefly crossed earlier.

Lending, Collateral, and Liquidity Strategy

MARA does more than just hold Bitcoin. As of year-end, it loaned out 9,377 BTC to earn yield. Notably, the firm used 5,938 BTC as collateral for loans. About 28% of its Bitcoin reserves were tied to lending, trading, or collateral deals.

These activities brought in $32.1 million in interest income in 2025. The company also reported $5.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, excluding restricted cash and digital assets.

The updated policy does not mean MARA will sell immediately. Instead, it gives the company flexibility to buy or sell Bitcoin depending on market conditions and capital needs.

Mining Economics Tighten After Bitcoin Halving

Notably, MARA runs about 490,000 mining machines and had 66.4 exahashes per second of hashrate at the end of 2025, backed by nearly 1.9 gigawatts of energy capacity. Energy costs totaled $179 million for the year.

The company mined 8,799 BTC in 2025, down from 9,430 BTC in 2024, mainly due to the April 2024 Bitcoin halving and higher network difficulty.

As mining becomes less profitable after the halving, holding large Bitcoin reserves can help during bull markets, but also increases risk during price drops. MARA’s new treasury policy is meant to manage that balance.

Pivot Toward AI and High-Performance Computing

Beyond mining, MARA is expanding into artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. It plans to use its energy assets and infrastructure to support growing data center demand.

These projects require substantial investment, making Bitcoin sales a potential source of funding.

Meanwhile, MARA is not alone. Core Scientific recently said it expects to sell most of its Bitcoin holdings in 2026 as it shifts toward AI-focused infrastructure. In January, the company sold about 1,900 BTC for roughly $175 million.

Ultimately, these developments mark a clear change from the old “never sell” mindset many miners once followed. For now, MARA still holds 53,822 BTC. But with its updated policy, large Bitcoin sales are now officially possible.

Bitcoin currently trades within two massive liquidation clusters on the upside and downside, as traders anticipate the next decisive move.

Bitcoin (BTC) has continued to face bearish pressure as sellers try to push the asset into another monthly loss after its 14.82% drop in February 2026. Notably, the February decline marked the fifth straight month of losses, showing how strong the recent downtrend has been. 

Right now, Bitcoin trades at around $67,000, sitting directly between two major liquidation zones at $65,000 and $70,500, with combined clusters worth up to $577 million. Data shows that whichever side prevails could decide where the price heads next.

Key Points

• Bitcoin dropped 14.82% in February 2026, marking its fifth consecutive monthly loss and extending a 41% decline since Q4 2025.
• Bitcoin has traded between $70,533 and $64,700 since early February, forming a tight 8.9% range.
• Bitcoin now sits between two massive liquidation clusters to the upside and downside, and the cohort that prevails could dictate the next direction.
• Liquidation data shows $254 million in leverage stacked above price up to $70,500 and $323 million below, around $65,000, totaling $577 million.
• A confirmed break above $70,533 could push the price toward $72,000-$74,000, while a breakdown below $64,700 may open the door to $62,000-$60,000.

Tight Range Building Pressure for Bitcoin

Notably, yesterday, on March 2, Bitcoin briefly climbed back above $70,000 for the first time since Feb. 25. However, while it gained 4.64% that day, it failed to hold above $70,000. Today, sellers have erased most of the gains, sending the price down 2.51% on the day and back to $67,000 at the time of writing. 

Since early February 2026, when Bitcoin fell below $70,000, it has moved within a range between $70,533 and $64,700. As the price keeps bouncing between these levels, traders have built up large leveraged positions at both ends. This has created heavy liquidation clusters around $70,500 on the upside and $65,000 on the downside.

Traders betting on a breakout believe that a move above $70,500 will open the door for higher prices. On the other hand, those expecting a drop think that if $65,000 breaks, the selloff could speed up. At $67,000, Bitcoin sits in the middle of these two zones.

Why This Matters

Specifically, between $70,081 and $71,000, there is $254 million in liquidation leverage, with the biggest cluster around $70,368 worth $44.23 million, per data from Coinglass. On the downside, between $64,194 and $65,343, liquidation leverage totals $323 million. 

Together, both sides add up to $577 million in potential liquidations. Bitcoin now trades about 5.2% above the $65,000 cluster and about 5.2% below the $70,500 cluster.

The current range between $70,533 and $64,700 is only about 8.9% wide. When prices tighten like this after a sharp drop, it often leads to a bigger move. As leverage builds around these levels, the price tends to move toward such areas to trigger liquidations. 

The Bullish and Bearish Cases for Bitcoin

If Bitcoin breaks above $70,500, short sellers could get liquidated, which may add fuel to a rally. For the breakout to hold, the price would need strong spot buying, not just activity in derivatives markets. 

A confirmed move would require a 4-hour or daily close above $70,533. If that happens, price could quickly move toward the $72,000 to $74,000 area, which marks the next likely liquidity zone.

However, traders should exercise some caution during such breakouts. Notably, if the price briefly moves above $70,500 but closes the day back below $70,000, while spot volume stays low and funding rates turn sharply positive, this could indicate a false breakout.

On the downside, Bitcoin would need a clean move below $65,000 with strong selling pressure and a 4-hour or daily close under $64,700 to confirm a breakdown. This move could trigger long liquidations and lead to a fast drop toward $62,000 or even $60,000. 

Still, a quick dip below $65,000 followed by an immediate rebound could trap sellers. Notably, if buyers step in during the quick dip and open interest drops sharply, that would show that leverage has been flushed out and could indicate a potential reversal.

What to Watch Next

Traders should watch the Bitcoin open interest (OI) for useful Indicators. Specifically, if OI rises while price stays flat, it often signals that a breakout is building. Meanwhile, if open interest falls during a sharp move, this usually points to liquidations. 

Meanwhile, funding rates also matter. Notably, very positive funding can mean too many traders are long, increasing downside risk, while very negative funding can signal crowded shorts and raise the chance of a squeeze.

Bitcoin long-term holders have added BTC tokens worth billions of dollars in the past few weeks despite the persistent downtrend.

These Bitcoin whales have been busy in the past 30 days, leveraging the dip to stack more sats. While retail traders panicked and selling pressure increased, long-term holders (LTHs) have been on a buying streak, stacking 212,000 BTC.

Key Points

• While retail traders panicked and selling pressure increased, long-term holders (LTHs) have been on a buying streak, stacking 212,000 BTC in the past 30 days.
• The CryptoQuant Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Net Position Change -30D Sum metric highlighted this trend.
• The metric tracked whether LTHs, usually wallets that have held BTC for at least 150 days, bought or sold in the past 30 days.
• This trend has not surfaced only among LTHs; institutions are also back to buying Bitcoin.

Bitcoin LTHs Buy the Dip

In the past 30 days, Bitcoin, the pioneering cryptocurrency, has corrected by nearly 15%. It slipped deeper, touching $60,000 on February 6 before settling within its current price range around the mid-$60,000.

As earlier market volatility settled around this area, long-term Bitcoin holders took to dip buying. CryptoQuant verified author J.A. Maartunn highlighted this in a Tuesday post, citing the Bitcoin Long-Term Holder Net Position Change -30D Sum.

The metric tracks whether LTHs, usually wallets that have held BTC for at least 150 days, bought or sold in the past 30 days. A positive difference, a sum above 0, shows accumulation, while a negative difference suggests distribution.

The chart shows that this metric has been on a negative trend since early 2025, a period marked by heavy position liquidation. However, as selling pressure has subsided and Bitcoin has retested multi-year price lows, this caliber of holders is reentering the market, buying BTC at a lower price.

Specifically, data shows that they have accumulated 212,000 BTC, worth over $14 billion at the current market price, over the past month.

Bitcoin Dip Buying Among Institutions

Interestingly, this trend has not surfaced only among LTHs; institutions are also back to buying Bitcoin. Data shows that Bitcoin ETFs have bought $1.5 billion worth of the crypto leader in the past five trading days.

Yesterday, the funds recorded a massive $458.2 million net inflow, one of their strongest this quarter. The inflow marked its fourth daily net positive flow in five days, as large players seem to renew interest in the sector’s leader.

Meanwhile, an analysis from Zac Townsend points to a more interesting development of Bitcoin ETFs. In a tweet, he shared that retail traders have exited their BTC positions at a rapid pace since the October top at $126,200. In that timeframe, however, 17 of the top 25 largest Bitcoin ETF holders have added to their positions.

This divergence does not just highlight the difference between smart money and retail but also emphasizes the conviction among the former in Bitcoin’s future prospects beyond the short-term sideways trend.

Typically, such accumulation precedes a major price shift. When large holders accumulate, buying pressure builds, and positive momentum returns, fueling a notable price rally. However, other factors may influence whether the outcome.