01
MARA Holdings sold 13,597 bitcoin, worth about 1.1 billion dollars, right after its third quarter ended.
02
It used 750 million dollars of that to completely pay off two loans backed by its own bitcoin.
03
MARA had pledged 18,750 BTC as collateral for those loans back on August 4, 2026.
04
A bitcoin-backed loan lets a company borrow cash without selling its coins or triggering a taxable sale.
05
The catch: if bitcoin's price falls far enough, lenders can force a sale of the pledged collateral.
06
Other bitcoin treasury firms hit real collateral-call warnings earlier in 2026, some with just 12 hours to respond.
07
MARA's own Q3 revenue fell 35 percent even as a bitcoin price gain made net income look strong.
08
This is not a bet on where bitcoin's price goes next - it is debt management, and it carries real risk.