Marathon Digital ($MARA) has just recorded the largest Bitcoin sale among miners this year. Throughout the first half of 2026, the mining company offloaded 23,093 BTC to the market - equivalent to over $1.6 billion.
According to on-chain tracking data from the lookonchain account, the average selling price of this profit-taking action stood at $70,631 per coin. The news, shared by WatcherGuru on X, immediately drew widespread attention, with the original tweet gathering 2,196 likes and 203 retweets.
Despite offloading tens of thousands of coins, Marathon has not run out of assets. The company is known to still hold 35,577 BTC in their treasury - a reserve valued at approximately $2.3 billion at current market prices.
The selling action by miners amid the momentum of inflows into ETF products adds supply pressure that the market must absorb. But for some other major miners, this is not just about stacking profits.
Why Did Bitdeer Empty Its Vaults?
Another heavyweight player, Bitdeer, took an even more radical step. In its second-quarter performance report for 2026, Bitdeer actually recorded higher production. They successfully mined 2,694 BTC - jumping nearly fivefold compared to 565 BTC in the same period last year.
However, that production did not make it onto the long-term balance sheet. Bitdeer closed the second quarter with only 150 BTC remaining. This figure represents a 90% decline from the 1,502 BTC they held in the same period a year earlier.
This asset-clearing decision has been underway since the beginning of the year. In February, Bitdeer chose to liquidate its entire corporate treasury of 943 BTC for operational liquidity needs.
Building an AI Computing Farm
The proceeds from these operations flowed toward a new business model. Bitdeer officially signed a 16-year lease worth $4.7 billion for a facility in Norway. The facility is not being used for crypto mining, but is instead prepared for 121 megawatts of artificial intelligence (AI) computing capacity.
Bitdeer’s move confirms the current trend among major miners: they are actively seeking alternative revenue streams from high-performance computing (HPC) and AI to break free from Bitcoin price fluctuations.
This transition strategy seems to be approved by the stock market. Bitdeer’s second-quarter revenue slightly exceeded Wall Street analysts’ estimates at $225 million. The company’s stock price also responded by rising 1.5% in Monday’s pre-market session, after having fallen 15% over the past month.
For Bitcoin investors, the maneuvers of these two companies serve as an important signal. Miners are no longer just sitting on their coins; they are routinely selling assets to fund expansion into the AI sector - a real supply pressure amid regular market movements.
Reported from @WatcherGuru on X.
Read also: What Is Bitcoin Halving?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
