Institutions Just ‘Waiting To Buy Up’ Bitcoin, Says MARA CEO
in a interview Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA ) CEO Fred Thiel shared his bullish outlook for Bitcoin with CNBC on Monday. He stressed that growing institutional interest and a favorable regulatory environment could push Bitcoin prices to new highs.
Thiel denies impact of recent events Bitcoin Halvingsaid, “I think the halving will have zero impact.” Instead, he attributed the surge in Bitcoin prices to the launch of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) earlier this year. “The launch of ETFs in January sparked sudden institutional interest,” he noted.
Institutions are just “waiting to buy” Bitcoin
While initial investment in these ETFs was primarily retail, Thiel observed that things changed as institutional players began to enter the market. “Then you started to see some pension funds start buying ETFs and Bitcoin-related stocks, like our stock or micro strategy‘s,” he added.
The CEO highlighted the potential impact of political developments on the Bitcoin market. “With the election, you know, Donald Trump Running on a very pro-Bitcoin platform — Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, mining in the U.S., etc.,” Thiel said. He suggested that such a stance could lead to a more supportive regulatory environment in the U.S.
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He explained: “What is ultimately driven is a huge belief that the regulatory environment for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies will suddenly get better and that the United States will double down and really invest in Bitcoin.” This shift in expectations may force Other countries adopt similar policies, thus promoting global adoption.
Thiel also noted that strong market dynamics absorbed selling pressure from long-term holders. “Every Bitcoin purchased is profitable, and long-term holders who have held Bitcoin for years are starting to liquidate a little bit to make some profits,” he said. Still, he emphasized the market’s resilience: “The market demand is so great that it keeps absorbing.”
Addressing concerns over Bitcoin’s notorious volatility, Thiel asserted that large retracements may be a thing of the past, at least in the short term. “I think the volatility of the last few years, where you peak and then you have a 20% or 30% decline, is gone, at least for the near future,” he said. He thinks institutional investors are ready to be aggressive Enter the market. “I think what we’re going to see is basically institutions waiting to buy Bitcoin,” Thiel predicted.
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He cited recent actions by major companies to back up his case. “You look at MicroStrategy — they’re (issuing) $3 billion in bonds; they’re very aggressive in buying Bitcoin,” he said. “We issued $1 billion of bonds in the same week with a 0% coupon Michael Thaler We did that, and we went out and acquired hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin. Thiel emphasized that this trend is increasing: “A lot of people are doing this now.” “
In summarizing his insights, Thiel expressed confidence in Bitcoin’s upward trajectory. “Anyone who sells Bitcoin is selling into a market that has sufficient demand, and I think for the foreseeable future we will continue to see Bitcoin prices rise — you know, up and down, up and down — But the overall trend is upward,” he said.
It is worth noting that Cantor Fitzgerald recently adjusted MARA’s price target ranges from $33 to $42. This comes after Mara Holdings completed a $1 billion convertible note offering last week. Of the $980 million raised, Mara used $199 million to repurchase $222 million in principal of 2026 convertible notes. With $781 million in proceeds remaining, the company plans to purchase additional Bitcoin using a strategy similar to MicroStrategy’s (MSTR).
However, unlike MicroStrategy, which is purely focused on accumulating Bitcoin in the capital market, Mara also operates the largest publicly traded Bitcoin mining operation by computing power. Analysts at Cantor highlight this as a key differentiator with bullish potential.
At press time, BTC was trading at $92,531.
Featured image from YouTube, chart from TradingView.com
