Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), a preeminent entity in the Bitcoin (BTC) mining industry, has announced the acquisition of $100 million worth of BTC in the open market, reaffirming its commitment to holding all mined Bitcoin on its balance sheet.

In a statement released on Thursday, Marathon disclosed that it now possesses over 20,000 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $1.3 billion at current market rates, and plans to further augment its holdings through additional market purchases.

“Bitcoin’s recent price decline, coupled with the robustness of our balance sheet, provided a unique opportunity to expand our holdings. We remain dedicated to leveraging our technological prowess to bolster the Bitcoin and distributed digital asset ecosystems,” stated Marathon’s CFO, Salman Khan.

The re-adoption of the HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) strategy comes nearly a year after Marathon began liquidating its mined digital assets to cover operational expenses. Prior to the onset of the crypto winter, it was commonplace for miners to retain all mined Bitcoin, a strategy that proved lucrative during the subsequent bull market. However, as the market downturn intensified last year, many miners, including Marathon, started to liquidate their digital assets to sustain operations, with Marathon initiating this shift in early 2023.

“Embracing a full HODL strategy underscores our belief in Bitcoin’s enduring value,” remarked Fred Thiel, Marathon’s Chairman and CEO. “We view Bitcoin as the preeminent treasury reserve asset globally and advocate for sovereign wealth funds to hold it. We encourage governments and corporations alike to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset.”

Following a prolonged bear market, Bitcoin has begun to recuperate its losses this year, bolstered by approvals for spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. by entities such as BlackRock. This regulatory endorsement has attracted a new wave of investors, propelling the digital asset to unprecedented heights. Although Bitcoin has retreated from its peak of over $70,000, it is currently trading around $64,000, reflecting a 51% increase this year.

“Given Bitcoin’s current favorable conditions, including heightened institutional support and an improving macroeconomic landscape, we are once again executing this strategy, concentrating on increasing the Bitcoin we hold on our balance sheet,” reiterated Marathon’s CFO.

As of June 30, Marathon held $268 million in cash and is scheduled to report its second-quarter earnings on August 1. Despite these positive developments, the company’s shares have dipped approximately 2.5% in pre-market trading, mirroring Bitcoin’s 24-hour decline. The broader CoinDesk20 Index also experienced a 5.4% drop within the same period.