MARA Holdings Calls for U.S. to Secure Dominant Position in Bitcoin Mining for National Security

In a bold statement on November 26, MARA Holdings (formerly Marathon Digital) urged the United States to take aggressive action to secure a leading role in Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining, framing the issue as a matter of national security. The company emphasized that Bitcoin is rapidly becoming a key geopolitical and financial tool, and the U.S. must act swiftly to avoid falling behind adversarial nations.

In its X post (formerly Twitter), MARA called on the U.S. government to recognize Bitcoin’s growing importance, especially in light of global trends like de-dollarization, where countries are seeking to reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. MARA argued that, just as the U.S. holds substantial gold reserves to secure its economic interests, it should also focus on accumulating and securing Bitcoin as a strategic asset.

“The U.S. faces an urgent need to secure its economic and national security interests,” MARA wrote. “These reserves provide the U.S. with the ability to transact should foreign nations lose confidence in the dollar.”

Comparing Bitcoin to Gold: A New Strategic Reserve

The comparison between Bitcoin and gold is a central theme in MARA’s argument. While the U.S. dollar is no longer directly backed by gold, MARA suggests that maintaining Bitcoin reserves could serve a similar function in securing the country’s economic and geopolitical standing. As the U.S. holds just over 200,000 Bitcoin—a substantial amount—but trails China by about 10,000 BTC, MARA stresses that this gap could be critical in the future.

To put it in perspective, according to World Gold Council data, the U.S. holds 8,133 metric tonnes of gold, far outpacing China, which holds 2,264 tonnes. However, in the world of cryptocurrency, the race to accumulate Bitcoin reserves is ongoing, with countries and entities looking to build strategic stockpiles of the asset in anticipation of its increased geopolitical relevance.

MARA Holdings is particularly concerned about ensuring that the U.S. controls a significant share of the global Bitcoin mining hashrate. Hashrate, a measure of the computational power used to mine Bitcoin and secure the network, is a key factor in determining which countries and organizations can have the most influence over the Bitcoin network.

If the U.S. fails to control a large enough share of the global hashrate, MARA warns that adversarial nations could potentially censor or manipulate Bitcoin transactions, putting the U.S. at a disadvantage in the emerging world of decentralized finance. As Bitcoin’s role as a store of value and a geopolitical tool continues to grow, MARA believes it’s essential for the U.S. to secure its dominance in mining to ensure the stability and integrity of its financial transactions.

“Failing to secure a sufficient share of block space and hashrate leaves the U.S. vulnerable to external pressures,” the company stated.

MARA’s Six-Prong Plan to Secure U.S. Bitcoin Dominance

To address these concerns, MARA Holdings has proposed a six-prong plan to help the U.S. secure its place at the top of the Bitcoin mining world:

• Domestic Production of Mining Hardware: Encouraging the production of ASIC chips (Application-Specific Integrated Circuits), which are the primary hardware used for mining Bitcoin. This would reduce the country’s reliance on foreign suppliers like Bitmain, a China-based company that currently dominates the mining hardware market with a 75% market share.
• Increased Investment in U.S. Bitcoin Mining: MARA advocates for more capital to flow into U.S.-based Bitcoin mining operations, supporting the expansion of mining infrastructure across the country.
• Creation of a U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve: Similar to how the U.S. maintains gold reserves, MARA suggests that the country should begin accumulating Bitcoin to establish a strategic reserve for economic security.
• Legal Clarity and Incentives for Miners: The company calls for clearer regulations and incentives to encourage Bitcoin mining and investment within the U.S., creating a more favorable environment for both individual and institutional miners.
• Global Standards for Decentralized Networks: MARA recommends that the U.S. take the lead in setting global standards for decentralized networks, helping shape the future of blockchain and cryptocurrency technology on the world stage.
• Strengthening of U.S. Hashrate: To prevent adversarial nations from manipulating the Bitcoin network, securing a significant portion of the global mining hashrate is critical. This would help ensure that U.S. transactions remain secure and untouchable by foreign actors.

MARA’s Global Operations and Bitcoin’s Geopolitical Importance

Founded in 2010, MARA Holdings is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and has mining operations in several U.S. states, including Texas, North Dakota, and Nebraska. The company also has joint venture operations in Paraguay and Dubai.

MARA believes that as Bitcoin continues to play a larger role in global finance, securing a dominant position in both Bitcoin holdings and mining is essential for maintaining the U.S.’s global leadership and national security interests. With Bitcoin’s growing significance as an alternative store of value and a hedge against inflation, particularly as the U.S. national debt continues to rise, the urgency for action has never been greater.

As geopolitical tensions rise and de-dollarization trends gather momentum, securing Bitcoin mining capabilities is becoming more than just a business opportunity—it’s a national security imperative. MARA Holdings has made its case for why the U.S. must act decisively to protect its economic and geopolitical standing by investing in Bitcoin mining and securing strategic Bitcoin reserves.

The question now remains: will the U.S. government and key policymakers heed the call, and what steps will be taken to ensure the country’s place in the rapidly growing and evolving world of cryptocurrency?