Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) has cut roughly 15% of its workforce just weeks after selling about 15,000 BTC — roughly $1.1 billion — the company confirmed to Decrypt following an initial report from Blockspace Media.
Sources told Blockspace the reductions affect full-time staff across multiple departments and may extend to contractors. In a statement to Decrypt, a MARA spokesperson framed the layoffs as part of a strategic shift: “MARA remains focused on executing our strategic evolution from a pure-play Bitcoin miner into an energy and digital infrastructure company,” the company said. “As our company evolves, so too must our operations and where we focus our resources… we made the difficult but necessary decision to reduce our team by approximately 15%.”
An internal memo reviewed by Blockspace attributed the move to CEO Fred Thiel, who reportedly described the change as “not purely a financial decision—it’s a strategic one.” Thiel pointed to recent announcements with Starwood Digital Ventures and an investment in European data-center operator Exaion as markers of a broader pivot toward AI data centers and high-performance compute.
MARA has been among a number of miners retooling to serve AI and other compute-intensive workloads, broadening their business beyond Bitcoin mining. The company’s roughly $1.1 billion BTC sale — enabled by a recent board-approved policy allowing sales from its balance sheet (not only mined coins) — was used in part to repurchase convertible debt and shore up its finances.
MARA isn’t alone in monetizing BTC reserves as it pivots. Rival Riot Platforms sold around $250 million in BTC during Q1 after earlier sales in Q4, and “Cango” reportedly sold more than $300 million in BTC as it likewise moves toward AI-facing operations.
The market reacted modestly: MARA shares finished Thursday up more than 8% at $8.71, despite being down over 53% in the past six months. The pullback in miner equities mirrors broader crypto market moves—Bitcoin has fallen roughly 47% from its $126,080 all-time high to trade near $67,000.
Workforce reductions have been widespread in crypto and tech this year. Major cuts at firms such as Block (which eliminated over 4,000 roles in February), Gemini, Crypto.com, the Algorand Foundation, and OP Labs have been partly attributed to shifting operational models and greater reliance on AI tools to do more with fewer employees.
What to watch next: whether MARA’s strategic investments with Starwood and Exaion translate into meaningful AI/data-center revenue, and how the company reallocates capital and talent to execute its transition from a Bitcoin miner to an energy and digital infrastructure operator.
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