MARA’s ‘Discount’ Is a Myth Once Debt Is Included, VanEck’s Sigel Warns
VanEck's Matthew Sigel argues MARA trades at a premium, not a discount, when its significant convertible debt is factored into its bitcoin holdings.Summary
Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at VanEck, contends that the market perception of Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) trading at a discount to its bitcoin holdings is inaccurate. Sigel points out that MARA has $3.3 billion in outstanding convertible debt against $4.9 billion in bitcoin holdings, leaving a net bitcoin value of only $1.6 billion before accounting for mining liabilities. This net value, when compared to MARA's $4.7 billion equity market cap, suggests the stock is trading at a premium. Sigel also analyzed MARA's high short interest, estimating that after adjusting for delta hedging related to convertible notes, the true short interest is closer to 15%. He contrasts MARA's situation with MicroStrategy (MSTR), concluding that over half of MARA's equity volatility stems from its capital structure rather than pure bitcoin exposure, making MSTR a cleaner bitcoin duration play.
(Source：CoinDesk)