Fort Lauderdale, FL , Feb. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) ("Marathon" or "Company"), a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, has entered into an agreement with affiliates of Hut8 Mining Corp. (such affiliates, “Hut8”) to remove Hut8 as the operator of two Bitcoin mining sites recently acquired by Marathon in Granbury, Texas and Kearney, Nebraska. Marathon intends to replace Hut8 as the operator of these sites by April 30, 2024.

On January 16, 2024, Marathon closed its previously announced acquisition of two Bitcoin mining sites, totaling 390 megawatts of operational capacity. While Marathon assumed ownership of both sites, Hut8 continued to function as the operator. On January 30, 2024, subsidiaries of Marathon and Hut8 entered into an agreement to terminate Hut8 as the operator of these sites and transition the operational responsibilities to Marathon.

By removing Hut8 as the third-party operator and assuming direct operational control of both sites, Marathon expects to reduce its operating fees, thereby improving its cost to produce bitcoin, to more effectively participate in energy hedging and other energy management services, and to streamline the implementation of its proprietary technology to improve operational efficiency. The transition is expected to be completed by April 30, 2024, at which point, Marathon will be both the owner and operator of 390 megawatts of capacity in Texas and Nebraska.

“By operating the sites in Granbury and Kearney ourselves, we will be able to fully recognize the operational and economic benefits of owning these assets,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “The consistent performance of our site in Abu Dhabi along with the immense improvements our team made to King Mountain’s uptime last year, clearly demonstrate that Marathon has some of the best operators in the industry. We look forward to gaining more influence over our new sites in Texas and Nebraska and leveraging our operational expertise to realize the full benefits of our recent acquisition.”

Investor Notice
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of February 2024. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

About Marathon Digital Holdings
Marathon is a digital asset technology company that focuses on supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem. The Company is currently in the process of becoming one of the largest and most sustainably powered Bitcoin mining operations in North America.

For more information, visit www.mara.com, or follow us on:

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