The miner is adding Fidelity to diversify its bitcoin (BTC) custody.
Bitcoin (BTC) miner Marathon Digital (MARA) has made the decision to diversify its digital asset custody by partnering with Fidelity Digital Asset. In the past, Marathon had relied on a single provider for custodial services. However, as part of its broader treasury management strategy, the company has chosen to introduce an enterprise-grade custodian as its second custody partner.
Marathon will be opening one or more custodial asset accounts with Fidelity and is considering the possibility of adding more custodians in the future. Currently, the company holds 13,726 bitcoin, with production exceeding 1,000 bitcoin per month. Marathon’s Chief Financial Officer, Salman Khan, stated that diversifying bitcoin custody across multiple custodians is an advantageous move at this time.
The importance of custody cannot be undermined in the crypto and other markets. Companies that prefer not to store their digital assets themselves can entrust them to a third party custodian. By having multiple custodians, the risk of losing all assets in the event of trouble with a single provider is significantly reduced.
Marathon’s stock experienced a 1.3% increase in post-market trading and has grown by 116% this year, while bitcoin has seen a 71% increase.
Marathon’s decision to diversify its custody comes in light of recent incidents where custodians, including Fortress Trust, were targeted by hackers who stole digital assets. Fortress Trust even attempted to sell itself to blockchain tech company Ripple following the theft, but the deal eventually fell through.