Bitcoin mining leader Marathon Digital (MARA) has announced the purchase of 11,774 BTC for $1.1 billion, boosting its total Bitcoin holdings to an impressive 40,435 BTC. This acquisition cements MARA’s position as the second-largest public company by Bitcoin holdings, trailing only MicroStrategy.

The purchase was funded using proceeds from MARA’s zero-coupon convertible notes offerings and acquired at an average price of $96,000 per BTC. The miner reported strong performance metrics, achieving a Bitcoin yield of 12.3% quarter-to-date and 47.6% year-to-date. With Bitcoin currently trading around $97,000, MARA’s holdings are valued at approximately $3.9 billion.

MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor praised MARA’s results, particularly its 47.6% year-to-date BTC yield. Interestingly, MARA’s announcement closely follows MicroStrategy’s acquisition of 21,550 BTC for $2.1 billion, bringing the software firm’s holdings to 423,650 BTC—well ahead of Marathon.

This competition underscores the growing trend of publicly traded companies increasing their Bitcoin reserves, signaling strong institutional confidence in the cryptocurrency’s potential as a strategic asset.