MARA CEO Fred Thiel said that using Bitcoin as a medium of exchange no longer makes practical sense. In a recent interview with Coin Stories, he explained that BTC’s high volatility makes it unsuitable for widespread payments, especially in industries with high transaction volumes and low profit margins.
“The era of Bitcoin as a medium of exchange is behind us,” Thiel said.
According to him, both sides of a transaction want the asset’s value to remain predictable. As a result, commercial payments, including those between AI systems, will primarily rely on stablecoins. At the same time, the MARA CEO stressed that his view of Bitcoin has not changed over the past five years; only the asset’s role has evolved.
MARA’s New Strategy
Thiel believes Bitcoin does not generate cash flow and remains an asset whose value is driven entirely by demand. In his view, its primary role is preserving capital and enabling capital to move quickly outside the centralized financial system, particularly during times of war and high inflation.
“I’m no less optimistic about Bitcoin than I was five years ago. It has simply moved into a different category,” Thiel noted.
The company is now revising how it plans to use its energy infrastructure. It owns land and power assets that could generate higher returns for shareholders by hosting AI data centers than by mining Bitcoin. According to Thiel, the company’s fiduciary duty to investors requires it to prioritize the higher-return opportunity.
MARA will continue mining Bitcoin on a limited scale until that electricity is needed for data centers. Thiel estimates that the full transition will take between 18 and 24 months.
“We’ll keep mining until those electrons are needed by data centers,” Thiel said, explaining the company’s approach to reallocating its power capacity.
The company currently operates 1.1 GW of power capacity and, including newly acquired assets, now controls more than 4 GW.
Other Statements From Thiel
The Future of Mining. Thiel believes large-scale industrial mining operations will eventually become a tool for balancing power grids. The bulk of mining, he said, will shift to small-scale operations that use surplus electricity that would otherwise go unused, including excess power from solar panels, local power grids, and cooling systems.
Selling Bitcoin Reserves. The company sold around 20,000 BTC to repay convertible debt. Factoring in the discount, the transaction was equivalent to selling Bitcoin at approximately $80,000 per coin. At the same time, MARA does not position itself as a company whose primary objective is accumulating corporate Bitcoin reserves.
Price Outlook. After the market overheated in 2024–2025, Thiel believes a statistically fair price for Bitcoin is around $90,000. He expects Bitcoin to continue following seasonal cycles similar to those seen in gold.
Quantum Threat. According to the MARA CEO, the main risk over the next five to ten years involves older Bitcoin wallets. He advised BTC holders to move their coins to new addresses and avoid using the same address for both storing funds and conducting transactions.