MARA Hits Bitcoin Mining Milestone as Hash Rate Soars and Scarcity Looms

MARA Holdings' Record-Breaking Milestone

MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), one of the world’s largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners, announced a record-breaking milestone, mining 950 Bitcoin in May 2025, valued at over $101 million. The company chose to hold all 950 BTC, boosting its reserves to 49,179 BTC, solidifying its position as the second-largest publicly traded Bitcoin treasury, behind only MicroStrategy. This achievement comes amid a 38% month-over-month increase in blocks won, with MARA securing 282 blocks, a new monthly high.

"In April, our production saw a 15% month-over-month decrease in blocks won, as global hashrate had its second largest monthly gain on record and mining difficulty grew 8% from March," said Fred Thiel, MARA's chairman and CEO. "Despite these headwinds, our energized hashrate grew 5.5% over the prior month.” This rising hash rate reflects intensified competition among miners, as more players deploy advanced equipment to capture a share of the diminishing block rewards. MARA’s energized hash rate grew to 57.3 EH/s in April, showcasing its ability to scale operations despite challenging conditions.

The Growing Allure of Bitcoin Mining

Another company, Cango Inc. (NYSE: CANG), exemplifies the growing allure of Bitcoin mining. This follows Cango agreeing to sell its legacy China operations to an entity associated with Bitmain in a bid to focus solely on Bitcoin mining in early April.

After pivoting fully to cryptocurrency mining and divesting its legacy auto business, Cango mined 954.5 BTC in April and May 2025, generating over $100 million in revenue. The company maintained a stable 32 EH/s hash rate, with total holdings reaching 933.8 BTC by December 2024, underscoring the profitability of strategic shifts in the sector.

Bitcoin Miners Reap Benefits from Tech Giants' Energy Demands

Bitcoin miners are also capitalizing on the growing demand for energy-intensive infrastructure from tech giants. On Tuesday, social media giant Meta signed a 20-year deal with a nuclear power plant to secure 1.1 gigawatts of electrical output for AI data centers, signaling tech companies’ commitment to powering advanced computing needs.

This trend directly benefits Bitcoin miners diversifying into AI and high-performance computing. Companies like MARA Holdings (MARA), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and CleanSpark (CLSK) saw their stocks rise 6%-8% on Tuesday, with less than an hour until the U.S. market closed, reflecting investor optimism about their dual focus on crypto and AI infrastructure.

The Intensifying Race for Bitcoin

With Bitcoin’s fixed supply capped at 21 million coins—only a fraction of which remain unmined—the race to secure BTC is intensifying. April 2024 halving reduced block rewards to 3.125 BTC, making each coin more costly to produce. As MARA and Cango demonstrate, miners are doubling down on accumulation strategies, betting on Bitcoin’s long-term value as scarcity drives demand. However, the soaring hash rate and rising difficulty underscore the challenges ahead, as miners must innovate to stay profitable in an increasingly competitive landscape.