MARA Moves 996 Bitcoin Worth $81M to Galaxy Digital, Fueling Sale Speculation

Published October 10, 2026, 23:10 PKT. Based on on-chain data flagged by Lookonchain and wallet labels from Arkham Intelligence, and reporting by crypto.news, Blockonomi and TradingView.

MARA Holdings transferred 996.105 bitcoin, worth about $81.13 million, to a wallet labeled as belonging to Galaxy Digital, according to blockchain transaction data flagged by on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain in an October 9 post on X.

Lookonchain's post, timestamped 05:51 GMT on October 9, showed 996.105 BTC leaving an address labeled "MARA: Miner (32i1m)" and arriving at an address labeled "Galaxy Digital (bc1qv)", according to screenshots of Arkham Intelligence wallet labels included in the post. The transaction was recorded roughly 10 hours before the post went out. Lookonchain suggested the U.S. bitcoin mining company may have sold the coins, but neither MARA nor Galaxy Digital had explained the transfer in the material reviewed, and the available on-chain records do not confirm whether any sale took place.

Custody, OTC or collateral: the sale question

A transfer to a Galaxy Digital address does not automatically mean a sale. Galaxy Digital provides institutional cryptocurrency trading, asset management and custody services, so receiving bitcoin at its wallets can involve trading activity, a hedge, a loan, a custody arrangement or other transactions, crypto.news noted. Lookonchain offered no evidence that the transferred coins were sold on the open market.

Miners most often send coins to trading counterparties when they need cash for operations or want to manage their exposure. MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital Holdings, operates bitcoin mining facilities and maintains a corporate bitcoin treasury, and it has a history of selling portions of its holdings while continuing to mine and accumulate new coins.

2.8% of a shrinking treasury

The 996.105 BTC was equivalent to roughly 2.8% of the 35,577 BTC MARA reported holding as of June 30, 2026, although its actual balance may have changed since that date. In its second quarter 2026 shareholder letter, MARA disclosed it sold 2,213 BTC during the quarter and had another 4,742 BTC deployed through lending arrangements, crypto.news reported.

The transfer continues a pattern of large treasury transactions through 2026. MARA sold 23,093 BTC for approximately $1.63 billion during the first half of the year, using $912.8 million of the proceeds to buy back about $1 billion in convertible debt, according to Blockonomi. In August, the company pledged 18,750 BTC as initial collateral for $600 million in new borrowing from Coinbase Credit and Two Prime Lending, $300 million each, to support general corporate purposes including part of the financing for its planned Long Ridge Energy and Power acquisition. Earlier that month, Lookonchain flagged a separate 6,000 BTC transfer, about $384.6 million, from MARA to Two Prime, and specifically cautioned that the movement did not necessarily represent a sale.

From miners to machines that think

MARA has been directing capital toward energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence and high performance computing facilities while maintaining its bitcoin mining business. In February, the company announced a partnership with Starwood Capital Group to develop digital infrastructure sites for data centers and AI customers, with about one gigawatt of near-term IT capacity and the potential to expand further.

The pivot is reshaping MARA's balance sheet. Its second quarter financial results showed revenue of $174.9 million, down 27% from the previous year, alongside a net loss of $611.3 million, crypto.news reported. Bitcoin production reached 2,422 BTC during the quarter, while the company reported an energized hashrate of 70.3 EH/s.

A weary price backdrop

The transfer landed during a weak stretch for bitcoin. BTC traded near $82,300 on October 9, down from around $85,578 on October 6 and closing at $81,706 on October 8, after touching an intraday low near $80,514, according to crypto.news. The 14-day Relative Strength Index sat around 49, neutral but with room for further selling, while the 10-day and 20-day exponential moving averages at $83,734 and $83,226 carried sell signals. A sustained break below $80,514 could expose the 50-day EMA near $79,742.

Whether MARA's coins reach the open market is the question the whole chain is now watching. Until MARA or Galaxy Digital says what the transfer was for, the blockchain shows a large move from a known miner to a known institutional counterparty, and nothing more.

This article is news reporting and is not investment advice.

Sources

• Lookonchain, X post flagging the MARA to Galaxy Digital transfer (Oct. 9, 2026), primary source
• Arkham Intelligence, wallet labels cited in the Lookonchain post, secondary source
• crypto.news, "MARA Holdings moves $81M in BTC, is Bitcoin price at risk?" (Oct. 9, 2026), secondary source
• Blockonomi, "MARA Holdings Sends $81M to Galaxy, What Next?" (Oct. 9, 2026), secondary source
• TradingView (Coinpedia), "MARA Transfers $81M in Bitcoin to Galaxy Digital as Crypto Liquidation Hits $1B" (Oct. 9, 2026), secondary source