Marathon Digital Holdings plans to offer $250 million in convertible senior notes through a private offering, intending to use the proceeds to acquire more Bitcoin and for general corporate purposes. The notes, maturing in September 2031, will bear interest semi-annually. This move follows Marathon's recent $199.7 million net loss in Q2 2024 and its purchase of an additional $100 million in Bitcoin, increasing its holdings to over 20,000 BTC. Meanwhile, other Bitcoin miners, such as Riot Platforms and Bitfarms, saw significant production increases in July, despite challenges following the latest Bitcoin halving event.
In their July updates, U.S. publicly traded Bitcoin miners reported mixed results as they continued to navigate challenges from the April halving event, which slashed revenues. Riot Platforms and Bitfarms emerged as top performers, with production surging by 45% and 34% respectively, amidst ongoing M&A tensions between the two. Riot also expanded its operations by acquiring Block Mining in a $92.5 million deal. Meanwhile, Marathon Digital, the largest public miner by market cap, increased production by 17% and maintained a HODL strategy, not selling any of its over 20,000 BTC holdings. Other miners, including CleanSpark, Core Scientific, and Hut 8, faced varied outcomes, with some like Cipher Mining exploring potential sales due to the ongoing pressures in the industry.
The daily ETH burn rate on the Ethereum network has plummeted to its lowest levels in recent years, primarily due to gas fees hovering between 1 and 2 gwei. This reduction in fees has significantly impacted ETH issuance, with only 210 ETH burned on a recent Saturday, while net ETH emissions exceeded 2,000 ETH. The decline in gas fees, attributed to increased adoption of Layer 2 solutions and blob transactions from the Dencun upgrade, has led to higher network inflation. Gnosis founder Martin Köppelmann has suggested increasing the gas limit to offset staking rewards and boost Layer 1 activity.
Bitcoin's tumble over the weekend triggered a broader selloff in the crypto market as traders scrambled to adjust their positions ahead of a packed week. Eyes are on upcoming inflation reports that could swing market sentiment amid persistent volatility. Tuesday's PPI and Wednesday's CPI for July are crucial indicators. They will help gauge whether the economy is stable or if investor nerves will continue to fray following July's disappointing nonfarm payroll numbers, which fueled the latest dip.
BTC retraced after hitting the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level but is showing signs of life, bouncing off strong support on the 4-hour chart. We expect today’s low of 57,600 to hold, with targets set on revisiting the previous highs at 62,700.
On the ETF front, BTC faced outflows of $89.7 million, and ETH wasn't spared either, shedding $15.8 million.
Marathon Digital is making moves, planning to issue $250 million in convertible notes privately to boost its Bitcoin holdings. With over 20,800 BTC valued at $1.2 billion, Marathon’s stash is more than twice the size of the next largest holder, Hut 8, according to bitcointreasuries.com.
Meanwhile, Layer-1 blockchain Canto faced a "consensus issue," causing downtime since Saturday. CANTO plummeted 21% before bouncing back over the weekend.
Key token unlocks this week include:
SAND: $53 million on August 13th
STRK: $24.4 million on August 14th
ARB: $52.4 million on August 16th
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