NEW YORK, Jan 18, 2026, 06:20 EST — Market closed
- MARA closed Friday roughly 6.6% higher, mirroring a bounce in U.S.-listed bitcoin miners.
- Bitcoin stayed close to $95,000 amid ongoing debates in Washington over crypto legislation and a week shortened by the holiday.
- Attention shifts to Tuesday’s reopen, with miners facing pressure to sustain gains fueled by AI-driven data center news.
MARA Holdings (MARA) climbed 6.6% on Friday, closing near $11.36. Bitcoin-related stocks found some footing ahead of the long weekend, with U.S. markets closed. Bitcoin itself hovered around $95,000 early Sunday, providing little directional cue.
This matters since MARA often acts as a high-beta stand-in for bitcoin, amplifying the token’s moves when risk appetite changes. Monday’s market holiday took a day out of the week, making positioning prone to quick imbalances—especially for stocks linked to an asset that trades nonstop.
Washington is adding to the tension. The Senate Banking Committee has put the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on hold after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong withdrew his backing, saying, “We’d rather have no bill than a bad bill.” The legislation aims to draw clearer boundaries around crypto regulation, covering stablecoins—dollar-pegged tokens—and decentralized finance, or DeFi, which offers blockchain-based financial services without traditional middlemen. (Investopedia)
Investors are zeroing in on a different angle within mining: data centers. Riot Platforms announced a 10-year lease and services deal with Advanced Micro Devices, covering 25 megawatts at its Rockdale, Texas facility. The contract includes extension options that could push expected revenue to roughly $1.0 billion. AMD also secured expansion rights that might boost total capacity to 200 MW. “Advancing high-performance computing and AI requires partners that can match our pace and scale,” said Hasmukh Ranjan, AMD’s CIO. (Riot Platforms)
This theme is crucial for MARA, which has positioned itself beyond just bitcoin mining. The company calls its operation “digital asset compute,” covering bitcoin mining as well as data center tech like immersion cooling and other infrastructure linked to AI and high-performance computing. (Reuters)
Broader markets showed strength toward the end of last week. Wall Street finished Friday on an upswing, driven by gains in chipmakers, as traders kept the upcoming holiday break in mind. (Reuters)
For MARA, the immediate focus narrows to just a few key points: bitcoin’s next direction, any updates on the Clarity Act showdown, and whether the “miners-as-data-center” narrative continues to attract investment. U.S. stock and bond markets are shut Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, reopening Tuesday. (Investopedia)
But this trade works both ways. If bitcoin plunges while stocks stay quiet, miners could jump when markets reopen; if lawmakers keep squabbling, the push for “regulatory clarity” may lose steam. The AI data center angle isn’t without cost—leases require build-outs, power, capital, and there’s genuine execution risk.
MARA faces its next test when Wall Street reopens Tuesday, Jan. 20, after the holiday. Traders will be watching weekend crypto shifts closely, weighing if policy news continues to weigh on sentiment.
