The shares bought by the $20 million invested in Marathon was received by Four Fidelity index-based funds.
Fidelity Investments, a global financial services firm, announced the acquisition of a 7.4 percent stake in Marathon Digital Holdings, a major North American mining company.
Marathon currently operates 19,000 miners, with an additional 100,000 machines scheduled to be deployed over the next year. Fidelity is one of the world’s largest financial services companies, managing $4.9 trillion in assets and serving more than 35 million clients worldwide.
The deal was completed on July 22 for a total of $20 million, with the shares being spread across four index funds — Fidelity Extended Market Index Fund (FSMAX), Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Fund (FNCFX), Fidelity Total Market Index Fund (FSKAX), and Fidelity Series Total Market Index Fund (FCFMX).
Fidelity’s acquisition places it alongside Vanguard Group, Susquehanna, and Blackrock, which own 7.58 percent, 2.7 percent, and 1.59 percent of Marathon, respectively.
Mining stocks have gained popularity due to their proclivity for exaggeratedly tracking the Bitcoin markets. While Bitcoin has increased by approximately 240 percent since the start of 2021, Marathon’s shares have increased by 660 percent in the same time period.
Marathon is a popular stock among institutional asset managers, with Etf.com reporting that MARA is currently held by 18 exchange-traded funds (ETFs), excluding Fidelity.
Marathon CEO Fred Thiel expressed delight in an interview about his firm’s growing institutional acceptance, stating:
“The last two quarters have just been amazing [in] how much institutional ownership has grown in our stock.”
Thiel emphasized Marathon’s growth strategy, noting that the company chose to partner with hosting and power providers rather than acquire them outright, allowing Marathon to focus on mobilizing resources to deploy mining hardware.
Marathon announced a 66 percent month-over-month increase in Bitcoin production on August 3, mining 442.2 BTC worth $16.6 million. The firm’s total Bitcoin holdings currently stand at 6,225.6 BTC, valued at $245 million, which includes the 4,812.66 BTC Marathon acquired in January.
The massive increase in monthly mining revenue was almost certainly prompted by China’s recent crackdown on the sector, which resulted in a significant decrease in Bitcoin’s network hash rate as miners powered down and prepared to migrate overseas.
