MARA Digital Moves $87M in Bitcoin BTC as Miner Treasuries Shift
Balls of steel; that’s what those who HODLed Bitcoin yesterday needed when prices plunged by more than $10,000. As the digital gold acts more like a volatile Solana meme coin, institutions are recalibrating.
True, some like MicroStrategy, or Strategy now, might be smiling, but they remain under immense pressure. However, looking at on-chain data, there are some refreshing moves after MARA Holdings, formerly Marathon Digital, readjusted its treasury.
Yesterday, on February 5, on-chain data showed that the miner moved 1,318 BTC as part of an internal miner treasury adjustment. This comes as crypto mining firms across the globe face tighter margins, made worse by plummeting prices and the lingering effects of the Halving event of April 2024.
The Bitcoin mining firm #MARA transferred 1,318 $BTC($86.89M) to Two Prime, BitGo, and Galaxy Digital in the past 10 hours.https://t.co/9DlN5ZPsBz pic.twitter.com/ubPZM5iwWi
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 6, 2026
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What Actually Happened With MARA Digital Bitcoin Transfer?
The transfer was not executed as a single block. Instead, funds were moved in chunks and distributed across three major institutional custodians: BitGo, Galaxy Digital, and Two Prime. While such large movements often spark fears of an impending dump, MARA officials characterized the activity as an internal treasury adjustment. The goal was to optimize security and liquidity at a time when the market is in turmoil.
Usually, when a top miner shifts this much Bitcoin, beginners often ask the same question: Is this a warning sign? Or just routine money management in a tougher market? The short answer matters for your wallet. Large BTC transfers from miners can affect short-term price swings, even if the long-term Bitcoin story stays intact.
Presently, MARA Holdings is one of the biggest Bitcoin miners in the world. They presently contribute over 43 EH/s of hash rate, a measure of computing power, while maintaining a high ‘health’ or consistency rate of over +99%. In the past week alone, they have successfully mined 38 blocks, earning BTC rewards.
(Source: MemPool)
Since MARA didn’t move coins to an exchange but to a custodian, the market interpreted it as safekeeping or preparation, not instant selling. Block transfers to exchanges like Binance or Coinbase can cause jitters in the market since, often, these movements are precursors to selling. However, since centralized exchanges are custodial in nature, the exact timing of ‘sells’ cannot be known from the blockchain alone.
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Why Miner Treasury Moves Matter for Bitcoin Investors
When miners adjust their treasuries, the market listens. Miners create new Bitcoin, so they control the fresh supply. If many miners sell at once, prices can dip. Riot Platforms sold Bitcoin in December. Meanwhile, Glassnode data also shows miners are actively selling.
Miners are consistently sending BTC to exchanges, showing net outflows. This miner distribution adds structural sell pressure, contributing to the ongoing price weakness.https://t.co/k2vrtESqIw pic.twitter.com/ENdm0uaxnM
— glassnode (@glassnode) January 30, 2026
Accompanying this contraction was a worrying drop in hash rate in the first two months of 2026. The Bitcoin network hash rate has seen its steepest decline since the 2021 China mining ban, dropping nearly +12% from recent peaks. There are several factors that may explain this drop. Severe winter storms in the US have forced large-scale operators in Texas and the Midwest to shut down rigs to stabilize the power grid, further depressing the hash rate.
(Source: Blockchain)
Nonetheless, it helps to remember that miners’ selling does not break Bitcoin. It shows the system working under stress. Weak operators exit. Stronger ones adapt. Still, there is a real risk here. If Bitcoin falls below production costs for long periods, miners must sell more. That can push prices lower in the short term. For deeper context, see how bitcoin miners under pressure handle post-halving stress.
MARA still holds a large miner treasury. The recent adjustment looks like balance sheet management, not panic. Similar shifts happen during every halving cycle. Long-term holders often view these moments as noise. Bitcoin has survived miner sell-offs before, while corporate players keep refining their corporate bitcoin treasury strategy. For now, miner moves like Marathon Digital’s BTC transfer act as a temperature check. They tell us where the stress is today, not where Bitcoin ends tomorrow.
As long as the network keeps running and demand holds, these treasury shifts tend to fade into the background. These are nothing more than short-term bumps that turn out to be long-term lessons. For broader context on institutional crypto products and custody, see how regulators frame new structures in traditional markets here and how digital asset funds disclose holdings in formal filings.
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