Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest asset managers overseeing $4.9 trillion in assets under management, has acquired a 7.4% stake in Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA) for approximately $20 million. The investment, executed on July 22, comes as Marathon released its July operational update showing a 66% month-over-month increase in Bitcoin production to 422.2 BTC (valued at over $16 million at the time). The company's total Bitcoin holdings now stand at 6,225.6 BTC, worth approximately $236 million.
Fidelity Allocates MARA Shares Across Index Funds
Fidelity distributed the Marathon shares among four index-based funds: the Fidelity Series Total Market Index Fund, Fidelity Extended Market Index Fund, Fidelity Total Market Index Fund, and the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index Fund. These funds collectively hold a combined valuation of $170 billion. This strategic move underscores a growing trend among traditional asset managers—using index funds to gain exposure to crypto-related equities without directly holding digital assets.
Marathon also revealed that it signed an agreement to purchase 30,000 Antminer S19 Pro units from Bitmain. As of July, the company had received approximately 19,401 S19 Pro miners, bringing its active fleet to about 19,395 miners producing around 2 exahash per second (EH/s). Marathon aims to reach a hash rate of approximately 10.4 EH/s by early 2022.
Impressive Institutional Shareholder Base
Beyond Fidelity, Marathon's shareholder roster includes other major financial institutions: Vanguard Group holds 7.58%, Susquehanna International Group holds 2.7%, and BlackRock owns 1.59%. The combined institutional interest signals growing confidence in Bitcoin mining as an institutional-grade asset class. Marathon's July performance and aggressive expansion plans have made it a favored vehicle for traditional investors seeking indirect exposure to the Bitcoin ecosystem.