Marathon Digital, the world's largest Bitcoin miner, makes a major policy shift: starting in 2026, they will allow the sale of Bitcoin on their balance sheet.

The world’s largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner, MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA), announced a major change in its treasury policy in its 2025 annual report (Form 10-K) filed with the SEC: starting in 2026, the company will not only sell Bitcoin earned from mining but also be allowed to sell long-term Bitcoin holdings on its balance sheet to respond to market conditions and capital allocation needs.

From “Long-Term Holding” to “Buying and Selling as Needed” Strategy Shift

Marathon stated in its filing: “In the second half of 2025, we adjusted our digital asset management strategy to allow the sale of Bitcoin earned from mining; in 2026, we further expanded the strategy to permit the sale of Bitcoin on our balance sheet.”

The company also clarified that it may still hold Bitcoin for long-term investment purposes but will decide on buying or selling based on market conditions and capital priorities. This marks a shift for Marathon from viewing Bitcoin reserves as long-term assets that are not to be sold to adopting a more flexible treasury management approach.

Current Holdings: 53,822 BTC, About 28% Actively Managed

As of December 31, 2025, Marathon held 53,822 Bitcoin, with a market value of approximately $4.7 billion. Among them:

• About 28% under active management strategy

• 9,377 BTC lent to counterparties, generating $32.1 million in interest income

• 5,938 BTC used as collateral for a $350 million credit facility

2025 Strategy Resulted in Significant Losses

Marathon’s active management strategy in 2025 resulted in substantial losses. The company recorded a $422.2 million decrease in the fair value of its Bitcoin holdings, mainly due to the decline in BTC prices in 2025.

Additionally, a structured trading account established in Q2 2025 (with 2,000 BTC entrusted to Two Prime) accumulated a net trading loss of $21.1 million. Marathon terminated this arrangement in December, retrieving the remaining 1,777 BTC, resulting in a total loss of $69.1 million for the project.

Mining Output Declined, Hashrate Continues to Expand

In 2025, Marathon mined approximately 8,799 BTC, down 7% from 9,430 BTC in 2024, primarily due to the halving in April 2024 that reduced block rewards and the ongoing increase in network difficulty. Despite this, Marathon’s hashrate has expanded to 66.4 EH/s.

Miner Strategy Flexibility and Its Significance for the Bitcoin Market

Miners have traditionally been seen as the “strongest hands” in the Bitcoin market, with a long-term hold strategy. Marathon’s policy shift reflects that, amid rising mining costs and increased BTC price volatility, even the largest miners are adjusting treasury strategies to maintain financial flexibility.

In the short term, the market will closely watch whether Marathon actually sells Bitcoin and the scale of such sales; in the long term, this could serve as a signal for other publicly traded miners to adjust their strategies.

This article on the world’s largest Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital’s policy shift—allowing the sale of balance sheet Bitcoin starting in 2026—first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.