Popular miner lays off 15% of staff days after selling $1.1 billion in Bitcoin

The Bitcoin mining manufacture is successful the mediate of an individuality crisis. With shrinking margins  acknowledgment to halving, soaring vigor costs, geopolitical uncertainty, and intensifying competition, large miners are softly reinventing themselves arsenic AI and high-performance computing infrastructure companies.

Firms similar Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ), Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT), and Cipher Mining (NASDAQ: CIFR) have each announced pivots toward leasing information centre capableness to AI operators.

It gives a higher-margin, much predictable gross watercourse than mining ever offered. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) is watching that displacement closely, and its latest moves suggest it is clearing the decks to travel suit.

But the strategical pivot is coming astatine a quality cost.

Related: Bitcoin mining stocks successful absorption arsenic strategical absorption shifts toward AI

On April 3, reports began circulating that MARA is laying disconnected astir 15% of its workforce crossed aggregate departments, with reductions being implemented successful phases.

Affected employees volition reportedly person 1 period of paid permission done April 30, 13 weeks of severance pay, and accrued PTO, a comparatively generous bundle for an manufacture not known for its cushioning.

A spokesperson for MARA confirmed the reports and told TheStreet Roundtable,

"MARA remains focused connected executing our strategical improvement from a pure-play Bitcoin miner into an vigor and integer infrastructure company. As our institution evolves, truthful excessively indispensable our operations and wherever we absorption our resources. With this successful mind, arsenic portion of our broader maturation strategy, we made the hard but indispensable determination to trim our squad by astir 15%. We are committed to supporting impacted employees done this modulation and convey them for their important contributions to the Company.”

The cuts get conscionable days aft the institution reported selling a large information of its Bitcoin holdings.

Between March 4 and March 25, the institution offloaded 15,133 BTC for astir $1.1 billion, utilizing the bulk of the proceeds to repurchase astir $1 cardinal of its 0% convertible elder notes owed successful 2030 and 2031.

"This transaction enhances fiscal flexibility and increases strategical optionality arsenic we grow beyond pure-play bitcoin mining into integer vigor and AI/HPC infrastructure,” said Fred Thiel, MARA’s president and CEO.

The indebtedness simplification strengthens the equilibrium expanse connected paper. But it besides slashed MARA's Bitcoin treasury by astir 28%, a striking departure for a institution that built its marque connected accumulating the plus alternatively than selling it.