CoinDesk Podcast Network THE MINING POD: Has the Market Left MARA Behind?
Oct 28, 2025
The discussion dives into MARA's fall from grace in public bitcoin mining despite its impressive hash rate. With a staggering 96% of its operations in the U.S., they've set ambitious goals for international expansion. The hosts explore MARA's higher operational costs compared to competitors and its substantial bitcoin holdings. Tensions rise as MARA faces challenges, including a recent CTO exit and intense rivalry from peers like Riot and CleanSpark. The debate over AI megawatts’ market value versus bitcoin capacity adds an intriguing twist to MARA's future.
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Hashrate Leadership Masks Operational Weaknesses
- Marathon leads in operational hashrate with 60.4 EH/s but still lags peers in market returns.
- Their fleet is ~50% owned and 50% hosted, creating uptime and margin disadvantages versus fully owned peers.
Concentrated U.S. Footprint Versus 50/50 Goal
- 96% of Marathon's megawatts are in the U.S. despite a stated 50/50 international target.
- Shifting to more owned sites is strategic after the halving compressed margins and increased the value of owning energy.
Realized Hashrate Trails Operational Capacity
- Marathon's realized hashrate typically sits in the high-70s to low-80s percent of operational capacity.
- Lower realized rates reflect installations, hosted uptime issues, and mixture of uses that reduce fleet efficiency.