Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) , a key industry participant focused on supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, has entered into an agreement with affiliates of Hut8 Mining Corp. in order to remove Hut8 as the operator of two Bitcoin mining sites recently acquired by Marathon in Granbury, Texas and Kearney, Nebraska. Marathon intends to replace Hut8 as the operator of these sites by April 30, 2024.
On January 16, 2024, Marathon had reportedly “closed its previously announced acquisition of two Bitcoin mining sites, totaling 390 megawatts of operational capacity.”
While Marathon assumed ownership of both sites, Hut8 continued “to function as the operator.”
On January 30, 2024, subsidiaries of Marathon and Hut8 entered into “an agreement to terminate Hut8 as the operator of these sites and transition the operational responsibilities to Marathon.”
By removing Hut8 as the third-party operator and assuming direct operational control of both sites, Marathon expects to “reduce its operating fees, thereby improving its cost to produce bitcoin, to more effectively participate in energy hedging and other energy management services, and to streamline the implementation of its proprietary technology to improve operational efficiency.”
The transition is expected to be “completed by April 30, 2024, at which point, Marathon will be both the owner and operator of 390 megawatts of capacity in Texas and Nebraska.”
Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO, said:
“By operating the sites in Granbury and Kearney ourselves, we will be able to fully recognize the operational and economic benefits of owning these assets. The consistent performance of our site in Abu Dhabi along with the immense improvements our team made to King Mountain’s uptime last year, clearly demonstrate that Marathon has some of the best operators in the industry. We look forward to gaining more influence over our new sites in Texas and Nebraska and leveraging our operational expertise to realize the full benefits of our recent acquisition.”
As noted in the update, Marathon is a digital asset technology company “that focuses on supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem.”
The company claims that it is currently in the process of “becoming one of the largest and most sustainably powered Bitcoin mining operations in North America.”