--- title: "MARA sold 13,597 bitcoin for $1.1 billion after FERC cleared its $1.5 billion Long Ridge gas plant buy" description: "FERC's clearance turns December into a double deadline for MARA: close the $1.5 billion Long Ridge gas plant, and sign the AI leases it still lacks. Analysts are split from $11 to $20 on what the unsigned megawatts are worth." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Power" published: 2026-11-11T18:17:29.481Z modified: 2026-11-11T18:17:29.481Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/mara-sold-13-597-bitcoin-for-1-1-billion-after-ferc-cleared-its-1-5-billion-long-ridge-gas-plant-buy language: en keywords: "Bitcoin Mining, MARA Holdings, Data Centers, Natural Gas, Analyst Ratings" --- # MARA sold 13,597 bitcoin for $1.1 billion after FERC cleared its $1.5 billion Long Ridge gas plant buy > FERC's clearance turns December into a double deadline for MARA: close the $1.5 billion Long Ridge gas plant, and sign the AI leases it still lacks. Analysts are split from $11 to $20 on what the unsigned megawatts are worth. [MARA Holdings](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/marathon-digital-holdings), the bitcoin miner buying power plants, [sold 13,597 bitcoin in the weeks after September 30](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/mara-sells-13597-bitcoin-1-1-billion), about 40% of one of the largest corporate stacks, for roughly $1.1 billion [1][2]. The coins went near $81,039 each; $750 million of the proceeds repaid every bitcoin-collateralized term loan and freed 17,477 coins held as collateral. [1][2] ## The coins are buying an Ohio gas plant On November 4 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [cleared MARA's roughly $1.5 billion purchase of Long Ridge Energy & Power](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ferc-authorizes-mara-s-acquisition-of-long-ridge-energy-power-finds-transaction-consistent-with-the-public-interest-1036722075), a 505 MW nameplate gas plant in Hannibal, Ohio, from FTAI Infrastructure [3][4]. The deal lifts MARA's owned generation capacity by more than 300%, the company says, and its November 9 shareholder letter expects the close in the coming weeks [1][4]. On the earnings call, CFO Salman Khan put the roadmap beyond 4 GW of power. [5] ## Borrowed in coins at $64,000, repaid at $81,039 The funding loop is the point: MARA borrowed $750 million against bitcoin near $64,000 to fund the acquisition, then repaid it with coins sold near $81,039, a round trip the letter values at a $170 million net benefit [1]. The selling continues for AI infrastructure, for the puts on its convertible notes (holders can demand $924.1 million back in 2027), and for a $500 million buyback authorized after quarter-end. [1][8] ## Mining revenue is shrinking under the pivot [Third-quarter revenue fell 35% to $164.2 million](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/MARA/8-k-mara-holdings-inc-reports-material-event-a0b6ed495585.html), with $94.8 million of the drop from a 37% lower average bitcoin price [1]. The $632.1 million profit is mostly an $885.3 million unrealized gain on coins now being sold; the nine-month figure is a $1.24 billion loss. [1] *Chart: **Revenue has declined year over year for four straight quarters, deepening each time** Line chart of MARA Holdings quarterly revenue from Q4 2023 to Q3 2026, peaking near $252 million in Q3 2025 and falling to about $164 million in Q3 2026.* *GAAP quarterly revenue from MARA's SEC filings, Q4 2023 through Q3 2026. [9]* ## One signed contract against a $3 billion promise The only signed compute contract is a four-year, $79 million take-or-pay GPU deal at Exaion, its majority-owned cloud unit, so the customer pays whether or not it uses the capacity [1]. The $3 billion pipeline is, in the letter's words, demand indications, not yet contracted or committed; the 2 GW Matagorda County, Texas site is still a studied load in Batch Zero, the review queue of ERCOT, Texas's grid operator, and no seller payments have been made. [1] ## Riot signed what MARA has not Rival bitcoin miner [Riot Platforms](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/riot-blockchain) signed what MARA has not: [a 15-year, 910 MW lease at Corsicana, Texas worth about $28 billion](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/riot-platforms-signs-910mw-agreement-with-unnamed-frontier-ai-lab/), with [Anthropic](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/anthropic), the AI lab behind the Claude chatbot, named as tenant in its quarterly filing [6][7]. MARA targets two signings by year-end, though CEO Fred Thiel says timing could move into next year; hosting on about 29% of its capacity starts expiring in the third quarter of 2027, the year those note puts come due. [1][7][8] *Chart: **Riot's one signed lease is nine times MARA's whole AI pipeline** Bar chart comparing Riot's signed $28 billion Corsicana lease with MARA's $3 billion uncontracted pipeline and its $79 million signed Exaion contract.* *Total contract value, US dollars. MARA's pipeline figure is the company's stated demand indication, not contracted revenue. [1][6][7]* ## Analysts split $11 to $20 on leases MARA has not signed Compass Point [kept its Buy at $20 on November 10](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/compass-point-20-target-says-042556297.html), 172% above the $7.34 close and down from $30 a year ago; Rosenblatt and Piper Sandler sit at $11, with consensus at $18 [8]. A Kearney signing by December 31 is the test Compass Point set [8]. Until a lease is signed, the data center business the coins are funding has no tenant. [1][8] ## Takeaway MARA sold 40% of its bitcoin stack at $81,039 to fund the Long Ridge gas plant, but its $3 billion AI pipeline carries just $79 million of signed contracts; the Kearney lease deadline and the deal close settle December. ## Sources 1. [StockTitan, MARA Holdings 8-K: Q3 2026 shareholder letter and press release, 9 November 2026](https://www.stocktitan.net/sec-filings/MARA/8-k-mara-holdings-inc-reports-material-event-a0b6ed495585.html) 2. [Bitcoin Magazine, MARA Sells 13,597 Bitcoin for $1.1 Billion, Says More Sales Are Coming, 10 November 2026](https://bitcoinmagazine.com/news/mara-sells-13597-bitcoin-1-1-billion) 3. [Securities.io, FERC Clears MARA Holdings' $1.5 Billion Long Ridge Acquisition, 5 November 2026](https://www.securities.io/ferc-clears-mara-holdings-1-5-billion-long-ridge-acquisition/) 4. [Markets Insider (GlobeNewswire), FERC Authorizes MARA's Acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power, Finds Transaction Consistent with the Public Interest, 5 November 2026](https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ferc-authorizes-mara-s-acquisition-of-long-ridge-energy-power-finds-transaction-consistent-with-the-public-interest-1036722075) 5. [Benzinga via TradingView, MARA Holdings Touts Exploding AI Demand, Targets 4 GW Power Portfolio With Bitcoin Mining as Its 'Foundation', 9 November 2026](https://www.tradingview.com/news/benzinga:fe8d8c421094b:0-mara-holdings-touts-exploding-ai-demand-targets-4-gw-power-portfolio-with-bitcoin-mining-as-its-foundation/) 6. [DatacenterDynamics, Riot Platforms signs 910MW agreement with unnamed frontier AI lab, 9 November 2026](https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/riot-platforms-signs-910mw-agreement-with-unnamed-frontier-ai-lab/) 7. [Bitcoin Magazine, Riot (RIOT) Names Anthropic as Tenant in $28 Billion Texas Lease, 5 November 2026](https://www.bitcoinmagazine.com/news/riot-names-anthropic-texas-lease) 8. [Yahoo Finance (TIKR), Compass Point's New $20 Target Says MARA's Selloff Went Too Far, 10 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/compass-point-20-target-says-042556297.html) 9. [MARA Holdings, quarterly revenue from its SEC filings, retrieved 11 November 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001507605) --- MARA sold 13,597 bitcoin for $1.1 billion after FERC cleared its $1.5 billion Long Ridge gas plant buy — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/mara-sold-13-597-bitcoin-for-1-1-billion-after-ferc-cleared-its-1-5-billion-long-ridge-gas-plant-buy