Key facts
- MARA Holdings purchased 1,292 Bitcoin for $98.64 million via FalconX.
- The purchase was reported by on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain on September 16.
- MARA Holdings now holds 35,577 BTC, valued at approximately $2.7 billion.
- The company previously sold 23,093 BTC worth $1.63 billion this year.
- AI leaders, including Dario Amodei, Sam Altman, and Elon Musk, expressed concerns about AI development safety.
- MARA Holdings stock declined 2.7% to $11.24 following a downgrade by JPMorgan.
Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings has acquired 1,292 BTC for approximately $98.64 million in a transaction facilitated by FalconX, according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain. This marks a significant accumulation for the company, which had previously sold 23,093 BTC worth $1.63 billion this year. MARA Holdings now holds a total of 35,577 BTC, valued at nearly $2.7 billion at current prices.
The purchase coincides with a growing chorus of AI industry leaders, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and xAI CEO Elon Musk, urging a slowdown in the development of advanced AI models and emphasizing the need for enhanced safety measures. Google DeepMind researcher Bilal Chughtai also resigned, citing existential risks from AI.
These calls for AI safety and a development pause have led to investor concerns about the AI capital expenditure boom, resulting in selloffs in AI-related stocks. In contrast, Bitcoin saw a price jump, with some investors viewing the AI slowdown as a potential catalyst. Meanwhile, MARA Holdings' stock fell 2.7% to $11.24 after JPMorgan downgraded the company to 'Underweight,' citing issues with its Starwood joint venture.