NEW YORK, March 16, 2026, 11:35 EDT
MARA Holdings climbed to $9.905 early Monday, then slipped to $9.51 later that morning in New York. Bitcoin tracked higher too, hovering close to $73,782 after it briefly hit $74,420—drawing traders back into U.S.-listed crypto names.
Timing’s key here, as cash is again pouring into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs—these funds hold bitcoin itself. The 12 U.S.-listed products took in more than $763 million last week, making it three weeks in a row of positive flows; inflows for March are sitting at about $1.3 billion. “Crypto has been in a bullish mood over the past week despite geopolitical uncertainty,” said Caroline Mauron, co-founder at Orbit Markets. Over at BTC Markets, analyst Rachael Lucas flagged that close to 78% of last week’s flows landed in BlackRock’s IBIT, calling it “conviction buying rather than speculative rotation.” Moneyweb
The rebound carries outsized weight for MARA compared to smaller rivals. As of its March 2 annual report, MARA closed out 2025 sitting on 53,822 bitcoin—valued at roughly $4.7 billion—and loosened its 2026 strategy to permit selling coins from its own holdings. That setup lets bitcoin volatility hit MARA’s asset base, liquidity, and shares head-on.
This wasn’t a one-off. Riot Platforms picked up roughly 3%, while CleanSpark added close to 4%. Monday’s buying ran across the sector—it wasn’t just about MARA.
Still, MARA has offered investors a fresh play. On Feb. 26, the company announced its partnership with Starwood, targeting roughly 1 gigawatt of IT capacity in the near term—with an eye toward scaling beyond 2.5 gigawatts—as it expands into AI and high-performance computing, both demanding on the data-center front. Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel said the deal lets MARA “turn that power certainty into capacity certainty.” MARA
The fresh strategy lands next to a rocky core operation. In the fourth quarter, MARA’s shareholder letter showed revenue down 6% at $202.3 million, net loss stretching to $1.7 billion. Even so, the company’s bitcoin stash climbed 20% to 53,822 BTC, with 15,315 BTC either loaned out or pledged as collateral by year-end.
Risks are still very much present. Oil traded close to $100 a barrel, according to Reuters’ broader market report. Steve Edwards, senior investment strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, flagged that if the Middle East conflict drags on, pressure on energy supplies and chip shipments could disrupt the capital-spending plans tied to AI.
Investopedia flagged MARA as one of several crypto-related stocks jumping before the bell, moving with bitcoin; Circle and Strategy also made the list. For markets, attention shifts to the macro picture: the Federal Reserve holds its meeting this week, and oil prices remain unsettled with investors watching developments in the Middle East.
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