In a world where Bitcoin (BTC) awakens so much enthusiasm, a company is emerging as a key actor in the Digital Currency Universe: Digital Holdings Marathon (Mara).
This company not only accumulates BTC with a long -term retention strategy, but It also stands out as the largest mining company in Bitcoin It quotes in the stock market, combining technology, energy efficiency.
With an approach that goes beyond speculation about the price of Bitcoin, Mara is redefining her role in the marketaccording to a analysis From the market specialist, Marc Gerstein.
“Mara, at first glance, looks like a simplified version of Strategy (MSTR), since Bitcoin also buys to keep it in place of negotiating it. But that vision detracts from it,” says Gerstein, highlighting that the company offers much more than an accumulation strategy.
Marathon Digital might seem a minor version of Strategy (MSTR), the public contribution company with more Bitcoin in its treasury. Led by Michael Saylor, he currently has 580,250 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries.
As Cryptonoticias reported, in its most recent plan, Strategy plans to issue up to $ 2.1 billion in perpetual preferential shares with a 10%dividend, With the aim of raising up to 21,000 million dollars to finance the purchase of more bitcoin.
Saylor bases his upward expectations about Bitcoin in his vision of the currency as an asset of reserve of value higher than gold and other traditional instruments, considering it the “central component” of the Tretegy treasury, replacing assets such as cash or bondswhich offer low yields in an environment of variable interest rates.
However, Gerstein emphasizes that Marathon Digital has a different proposal: “Mara’s added value is very different; it is a large -scale Bitcoin miner.”
While Mstr relies on a “intelligent leverage” strategy to maximize his holdings, Mara combines the purchase of Bitcoin with mininga process that, although initially may seem intimidating due to its complexity and high energy costs, turns out to be a key source of its competitive advantage, says the analyst.
This dual approach makes Marathon Digital into a company that not only invests in Bitcoin, but also produces it, positioning it as a unique actor in the market, says Gerstein.
The market does not recognize Mara’s potential
Digital Marathon adopts a strategy known as “Full Hodl”, according to the specialist. By March 31, 2025, date on which the analyst, Digital Marathon had 47,531 BTCvalued at 5,150 million dollars, with a price per currency of 109,620 dollars.
With 344 million shares diluted in the first quarter, the value of Bitcoin Digital Bitcoin’s holdings was equivalent to $ 15.14 per share, calculated by dividing the total value of its BTC between the shares in circulation. Curiously, The Digital Marathon action quoted in 14.73, which implies a discount of 2.73% compared to the market value of its BTC.
This discount reflects risks perceived by the market, such as the volatility of the price of bitcoin, the costs and risks of mining, and the debt associated with its vertical integration, in addition to a possible undervaluation of its diversified operations, such as the incursion into artificial intelligence.
“Mara’s shares quote with a slight discount of 2.73 % with respect to the market value of their Bitcoin holdings. Considering the advantages of its mining focus, I consider the action a good purchase option,” says Gerstein, emphasizing the company’s subvalue potential.
This discount suggests – according to the analyst – that The market does not yet fully recognize the value of Digital Marathon. Unlike MSTR, which depends exclusively on the purchase of Bitcoin, Digital Marathon generates additional income by lending part of its BTC for short sales operations, which allows you to obtain commissions.
However, the true Digital Marathon differentiator, as Gerstein stands out, He is not in his holdings, but in his role as a miner of Bitcoina process that adds a layer of complexity and opportunity to its business model.
The strategy pillar: energy efficiency
Electricity generation occupies a prominent place in Digital Marathon plans, and for a good reason: Bitcoin mining is intensive in energy consumption.
Electricity expenses are approximately 48% of miners’ income. Digital Marathon, however, has significantly reduce this cost in its own sites, staying below the industrial average of $ 0.0815 per kWh in 2024.
This is due in large part to its strategy to locate mining centers behind the network, where you can buy energy directly from producers, such as wind farms or burning gas sites, avoiding the costs of public services.
In addition, Mara takes advantage of underutilized energy sources, such as the gas that burns in oil and gas production sites. When installing modular data centers in these places, the company uses energy that would otherwise be wasted.
In a Pilot project in FinlandDigital Marathon even Transfer the excess heat of its mining operations to a district heating systembenefiting local communities. “The idea is to capture and use what CEO Fred Thiel calls underutilized or stranded electrons,” Gerstein quotes, highlighting the innovative vision of the company in energy sustainability.
This strategy not only reduces costs, but also positions Digital Marathon as a key actor in energy efficiencya point that Gerstein considers crucial for attractiveness as an investment.
Vertical integration: a strategic change
In 2023, Marathon Digital left its light mining model in assets, where it only had 3% of its mining sites, to adopt a vertical integration strategy. In 2024, he acquired seven locations for Bitcoin mining in the United States, which allowed him to control 617 megawatts (MW) of the 1,118 MW he uses, equivalent to 55% of his total capacity.
If you optimize all your sites to the maximum, Marathon Digital could reach 1.7 gigawatts, of which it would have 70%. This change has significantly reduced mining costs By Petahash per day, a key efficiency indicator, as reflected in the results of the first quarter of 2025, according to Gerstein’s analysis.
Vertical integration allows Digital Marathon to control the entire Bitcoin production chain, from the generation of energy to mining and currency retention. This approach not only improves efficiency, but also mitigates the risks associated with halving and the increase in the difficulty of the network, which make rewards more difficult to obtain.
The commitment to artificial intelligence
Digital Marathon is not limited to mining. The company He is exploring new sources of income, such as the coalojment of artificial intelligence (AI) operations and high performance computing (HPC) in your data centers. Although Bitcoin mining and AI models training require large amounts of energy, AI inference (the use of already trained models) is less intensive and can be done in facilities such as Digital Marathon.
The demand for data centers for AI is booming, and Marathon Digital has taken measures to enter this market. In 2024, the company incorporated two specialists in AI, Janet George and Barbara Humpton, its board of directors, suggesting a clear interest in this field.
In addition, the company’s cooling technology is compatible with the energy requirements of AI data centers, which could facilitate a transition to this market.
Having this in common, AI companies could be associated with Bitcoin miners such as Marathon Digital to use their existing facilities. That is, take advantage of all infrastructure, networks, labor and cooling of Bitcoin mining to reconvert them with AI servers.
This diversification opens the door to additional income, What reinforces Gerstein’s thesis that Digital Marathon is more than a bet on Bitcoin’s price.
Risks and opportunities
Despite its potential, investing in Digital Marathon is not exempt from risks. Recent accounting changes allow companies to register their Bitcoin holdings to market value, which introduces volatility in traditional financial metrics such as profits per share. Vertical integration has also increased the debt and capital of Marathon Digital, although the company remains solvent, as Gerstein points out.
Another risk It is the decrease in gross margins due to halvings and the increase in the difficulty of the network. However, Marathon Digital counteracts this with your focus on operational efficiency and diversification. The company is well positioned to overcome these challenges, and its ability to generate income beyond mining, such as the coalojamiento of AI, suggests a promising future.
Diagnosis: An undervalued opportunity
Digital Marathon quotes with a discount of 2.63% with respect to the value of their Bitcoin holdings, an “anomaly” in a market where companies such as Mstr, with their monumental treasury of 576.230 BTC, quote with significant premiums. This discount, combined with its leadership as the largest mining company in Bitcoin and its innovative energy strategy, makes the company an attractive option for investors.
“It seems that the market does not yet see all the relevant aspects of Mara. That – that is, that investors do not understand important issues – it is a classic example of what investors in value expect to find,” Gerstein argues, suggesting that the action could be undervalued.
As the market recognizes the value of its business model, Gerstein believes that the action is likely to exceed the market in general, which leads to qualify it as a good purchase opportunity.
While Strategy, under Saylor’s leadership, is committed to accumulating Bitcoin as a higher value reserve asset, Digital Marathon combines this vision with the active production of the currency and the exploration of new borders such as AI, offering a different proposal. For investors willing to navigate the volatility of the digital currency, Digital Marathon could be the sleeping giant That, as Gerstein’s analysis suggests, he started moving.
Clarification: This article is written as an informative way, does not constitute an investment recommendation or financial council. Each investor is responsible for conducting their own research.
