Shares of Marathon Patent Group Inc (NASDAQ: MARA) surged 41.9% today after the company signed a contract with Bitmain to purchase 70,000 Antminer S-19 ASIC miners worth $170 million.
The order will more than triple Marathon Patent’s current fleet of Antminers, which stands at 33,000, and is seen as a bet on the rising Bitcoin prices. The firm which mines Bitcoin on a large scale basis for its own benefit is looking to capitalise on the rising Bitcoin prices with its latest purchase.
Marathon Patent expects to receive the first batch of 7,000 S-19 miners in July 2021 with the last batch being delivered in December 2021. Today’s announcement will see the company boost its fleet of miners to 103,000 miners capable of producing 10.36 EH/s.
Merrick Okamoto, Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, stated, “This purchase is the largest order in dollar terms as well as the single largest order for S-19 ASIC miners that Bitmain has ever received. We appreciate the hard work their team is putting in to fulfil this order as well as the 30,000 S-19 miners we have purchased since August 2020. Our relationship with Bitmain is an important component of our potential for future success, and we look forward to continuing working with them to scale our business.”
Irene Gao, Antminer Sales Director for North, Central, and South America (NCSA) at Bitmain commented, “We are excited that Bitmain has won this record-breaking purchase contract from Marathon. Marathon has quickly become our largest customer, and our partnership continues to mutually benefit both of our companies.”
Marathon Patent share price
Marathon Patent shares surged 41.9% today to trade at $15.50 having rallied from Thursday’s closing price of $10.92.