MARA Holdings stock surges 15 percent on Trump crypto push

Photo: The White House / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

MARA Holdings Inc., the Bitcoin mining and energy infrastructure company formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, surged 15.5 percent on Thursday, closing at $11.15 on the Nasdaq. The jump came after President Donald Trump renewed his push for Congress to advance the Clarity Act, a proposed federal law that would create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies.

The stock opened at $10.22 after a previous close of $9.65 and traded in a range of $9.96 to $11.19 on volume of nearly 80 million shares, almost double its average daily volume of roughly 45 million. Bitcoin itself clawed back to the $72,000 range and pushed past $73,000 in after-hours trading following Trump’s comments.

What the Clarity Act would actually do

The Clarity Act would divide cryptocurrency oversight between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Its passage is expected to bolster crypto adoption in the United States and benefit mining and treasury firms that hold large digital-asset positions.

MARA, which holds 35,577 Bitcoins as of the first half of the year, would stand to gain directly from a clearer regulatory environment. Yahoo Finance reported that the bill remains stalled in the Senate amid political disagreements and opposition from the banking industry. A procedural vote is expected on September 15, making that date a potential catalyst for crypto-related stocks.

Trump’s push came after meetings with industry executives, improving the near-term backdrop for Bitcoin miners. Investors also bought shares in other mining companies, including Bitdeer Technologies, Cipher Digital, Riot Platforms and CleanSpark.

A $609.7 million loss hangs over the rally

The one-day pop does not erase MARA’s difficult financial picture. The company swung to a net loss attributable to shareholders of $609.7 million in the second quarter, compared with $808 million in attributable net income in the same period last year. That loss included $343 million tied to the fair value of digital assets, meaning any sustained rebound in Bitcoin prices could prove critical to the company’s recovery.

MarketBeat reported that second-quarter revenue declined 26.7 percent year over year to $174.88 million, missing the $209.44 million consensus estimate. The company posted a $1.60-per-share loss versus analyst expectations for a $0.17 profit. Analysts project a full-year loss of about $1.24 per share.

The company’s trailing twelve-month net income available to common shareholders stands at negative $3.46 billion, with diluted earnings per share of negative $10.85. Return on equity is negative 105.57 percent, and return on assets is negative 26.30 percent. Total debt to equity sits at 140.16 percent, while the company holds $421.27 million in cash.

Insider sales and rising rates add pressure

Two top executives recently sold shares. CEO Frederick Thiel sold 27,505 shares and CFO Salman Hassan Khan sold 16,000 shares at approximately $9.21 per share. Both transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, and both executives retained substantial holdings.

Higher Treasury yields are also returning as a headwind. Rising rates increase financing costs and can reduce investor appetite for capital-intensive operations like Bitcoin mining and the power infrastructure projects MARA is pursuing. The company has been expanding into artificial intelligence compute and energy monetization, but execution risks, capital requirements and valuation concerns remain.

MARA by the numbers

The Hallandale Beach, Florida-based company, incorporated in 2010, has 266 full-time employees and operates across North America, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. It changed its name from Marathon Digital Holdings to MARA Holdings in August 2024.

At Thursday’s close, MARA carried a market capitalization of roughly $4.3 billion and an enterprise value of $6.35 billion. Its 52-week range stretches from $6.66 to $23.45, and analysts’ one-year price target averages $17.99. The stock’s five-year monthly beta of 5.36 underscores its extreme volatility relative to the broader market.

Trailing revenue over twelve months totals $804.22 million. The price-to-sales ratio is 4.46, price-to-book is 2.24, and levered free cash flow over the trailing twelve months is negative $1.17 billion.

September 15 vote looms as the next test

Standard Chartered Digital Assets Research Head Geoffrey Kendrick said traders should now be positioning for Bitcoin’s possibility of hitting $100,000 by year-end. Some analysts believe cryptocurrency prices could surge by 50 percent before December.

For MARA, the question is whether Thursday’s rally marks a durable rerating or another Bitcoin-driven bounce. The September 15 procedural vote on the Clarity Act will be the next major signpost. If the bill advances, crypto miners and treasury firms could see sustained buying. If it stalls again, the company’s deep quarterly losses and heavy debt load will remain front and center. MARA’s next estimated earnings date is Nov. 4.