Bitcoin mining company MARA Holdings purchased 1,292 bitcoin through FalconX in a single transaction valued at approximately $98.64 million, according to on-chain analytics firm Lookonchain on September 16. The purchase represents a substantial accumulation for the company after it sold 23,093 BTC worth nearly $1.63 billion earlier in the year as it shifted focus toward AI infrastructure services.
MARA Holdings now holds 35,577 bitcoin total, including 9,270 BTC managed under its digital asset management strategy. At current valuations, the company's holdings are worth approximately $2.7 billion.
The bitcoin acquisition occurred as AI industry leaders publicly called for a slower pace of frontier model development and increased safety oversight. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published an essay titled "We Must Pace the Frontier," raising concerns about AI models assisting in the development of next-generation models. OpenAI's Sam Altman and xAI's Elon Musk both acknowledged rising AI risks and the need for stronger safety measures. A Google DeepMind AGI safety researcher, Bilal Chughtai, resigned while warning that AI "has the potential to kill us all."
The industry calls for AI caution triggered significant selloffs in AI-related equities, though bitcoin price movements contrasted with broader market sentiment as some investors viewed the slowdown rhetoric as potentially supportive for alternative assets. MARA Holdings stock declined 2.7% to $11.24 on Tuesday following a JPMorgan downgrade to Underweight, citing concerns about the company's Starwood joint venture.
The purchase timing also coincided with the Senate blocking the CLARITY Act, a Trump-backed cryptocurrency bill that failed a procedural vote 50-49, with four Republicans voting against it.
