Shares of MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) dropped 7.4% to $12.30 on Friday, tracking a 3.3% decline in bitcoin to $79,222, as pressure mounts ahead of a critical consent deadline for bondholders tied to the company's $1.5 billion acquisition of Long Ridge Energy & Power.
The deadline for noteholders of Long Ridge Energy's 8.750% senior secured notes due 2032 to approve proposed changes expires at 5 p.m. New York time. MARA has offered $2.50 per $1,000 principal to consenting holders, contingent on the deal closing. The acquisition is central to MARA's pivot from pure bitcoin mining to AI-driven data center and power infrastructure.
MARA reported first-quarter revenue of $174.6 million, down 18% year-over-year. The company swung to a net loss of $1.3 billion, with $1.0 billion attributed to bitcoin fair-value losses. It sold 20,880 bitcoin during the quarter at an average price of $70,137 per coin.
CEO Fred Thiel has emphasized the Long Ridge asset's potential beyond power generation, highlighting its 505-megawatt gas plant in Hannibal, Ohio, and over 1,600 acres earmarked for a data center campus capable of supporting AI and high-performance computing workloads alongside bitcoin mining. On the earnings call, Thiel pushed back against demand concerns, stating that prospective tenants are increasingly eager to secure capacity.
Analysts see miners like MARA as having an early advantage in the AI data center race due to existing power allocations. Jefferies analyst Jonathan Petersen noted that other miners, including Cipher Digital, TeraWulf, and Core Scientific, are also pursuing similar strategies, drawing increased Wall Street attention.
However, macro headwinds persist. Polymarket data shows a 67% probability of zero Fed rate cuts in 2026, while crypto markets assign only a 44% chance of bitcoin reaching $78,000 between May 11 and 17. Prolonged high rates could squeeze infrastructure financing, and weaker bitcoin prices reduce miners' balance sheet flexibility.
The Long Ridge deal also faces regulatory hurdles, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. MARA has disclosed a potential $75 million breakup fee if the transaction fails to close on time. The company's quarterly filing also cited bitcoin price drops, lower production, and increased network difficulty as key liquidity risks.
MARA remains one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, with an energized hashrate of 72.2 exahashes per second. Yet investor sentiment increasingly hinges on management's ability to convert its power assets, land, and interconnection rights into concrete AI and data center lease agreements.
