NEW YORK, January 1, 2026, 06:45 ET — Market closed
- MARA fell 3.5% on Dec. 31, ending at $8.99.
- A new SEC filing registered 33 million additional shares for employee awards.
- Bitcoin’s move and early-January U.S. data are in focus ahead of Friday’s market reopen.
Shares of bitcoin miner MARA Holdings fell 3.5% on Wednesday, Dec. 31, to close at $8.99. U.S. stock markets are closed on Thursday for the New Year’s Day holiday.
With equities shut, crypto prices are setting the tone into Friday’s reopen for bitcoin-linked stocks. Bitcoin was down about 1% at $87,808 in early New York hours, market data showed.
Investors also had a fresh company filing to digest heading into year-end. MARA registered an additional 33 million shares for issuance under its amended and restated 2018 equity incentive plan, bringing the plan’s share reserve to 63 million, the filing showed.
Bitcoin is set for its first yearly decline since 2022 after retreating from a record high above $126,000 in October, Reuters reported on Wednesday. “Bitcoin increasingly exhibits the characteristics of a risk asset within the global financial system, with a notable correlation to the U.S. equity market,” Linh Tran, a senior market analyst at XS.com, said. Reuters
U.S. stocks ended the year’s final session lower in thin holiday trading, Reuters reported. For miners, that broader risk mood can matter almost as much as the token itself, because the group often trades like a high-volatility bet on sentiment.
Other miners were also softer in the latest post-close quotes, with CleanSpark down about 3% and Riot Platforms slightly lower, market data showed. Moves often bunch together because mining revenue is tied to the same underlying asset: bitcoin.
MARA runs energy-intensive data centers that “mine” bitcoin — using specialized computers to validate transactions and earn bitcoin as a reward. When bitcoin drops, expected revenue can fall quickly, while power costs and equipment expenses tend to be stickier.
Traders also watch the network’s “difficulty,” a measure of how hard it is to win new bitcoin rewards. Higher difficulty can squeeze margins even if bitcoin prices hold steady, since the same computing power produces fewer coins.
The Form S-8 filing does not mean an immediate share sale, but it can feed dilution concerns because it registers shares that may be issued over time through stock-based compensation. That tends to matter most when a stock is already weak and investors are sensitive to any increase in potential supply.
Before the next session, chart watchers will be eyeing whether MARA can hold the $9 area after sliding to $8.96 on Wednesday. A rebound toward the day’s $9.40 high would mark the first near-term test on the upside.
On the macro front, traders will get fresh readouts on U.S. initial jobless claims and construction spending on Friday, according to the New York Fed’s economic calendar. Next week brings the ISM manufacturing survey on Jan. 5 and the December jobs report on Jan. 9, both key for rate expectations and risk appetite.
