Key Insights:
- Bitcoin Miner MARA buys 64% of Exaion and enters AI data services.
- Mining difficulty rebounds to $144.4 trillion as the US hash rate recovers.
- Whale wallets contribute 230000 BTC, and exchange flows are at 14 14-month high.
MARA Holdings has completed a majority share acquisition of French computing infrastructure operator Exaion, which the company considered strategic to its core Bitcoin mining business and to its expansion into AI and cloud computing.
Bitcoin Miner MARA Deepens AI and Cloud Infrastructure Push
The transaction grants MARA France a 64% ownership interest in Exaion, subject to regulatory approvals, following an agreement initially reached in August 2025 with EDF Pulse Ventures.
French energy company EDF will remain a minority shareholder and continue as a customer of Exaion’s services. The deal also introduces NJJ Capital, the investment vehicle of telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel, as a new stakeholder in MARA France.
Under the finalized structure, NJJ Capital will acquire a 10% stake in MARA France as part of a strategic partnership with MARA. Governance changes at Exaion reflect the new ownership composition.
Exaion has a computing infrastructure designed to enable efficient, power-efficient data processing. The 64% stake gives the Bitcoin miner MARA direct exposure to the operations of European data centres and AI-oriented services.
EDF’s continued minority ownership and customer relationship maintain a link between the computing platform and energy infrastructure.
HIVE Digital Technologies reported financial performance underpinned by a growing artificial intelligence business amid declining Bitcoin prices. CoreWeave transitioned from crypto mining into a large-scale AI infrastructure provider after GPU mining demand declined.
Additional firms, including TeraWulf, Hut 8, IREN, and CleanSpark, have repurposed mining facilities and energy capacity toward AI data center development.
In November 2025, CleanSpark announced plans to raise approximately $1.13 billion in net proceeds, potentially increasing to $1.28 billion if additional notes were purchased, through a $1.15 billion senior convertible note offering.
Mining Difficulty and Network Volatility
The expansion by Bitcoin miner MARA occurs as Bitcoin mining difficulty continues to fluctuate. On Friday, network difficulty rose approximately 15% to 144.4 trillion, reversing an 11% decline earlier in the month. The earlier drop marked the steepest reduction since China’s 2021 mining ban.
The subsequent decrease in the hash rate contributed to the short-term change in difficulty. The recovery to 144.4 trillion indicates recovered hash rate capacity, with miners who had gone offline returning.
Bitcoin Whale Accumulation Bounces Back After October Fall
In addition to operational changes among miners, on-chain and exchange data show a jump in activity among large Bitcoin holders. The number of wallets holding 1,000-10,000 BTC has increased, and aggregate balances have risen over the last three months. This upward surge replenishes balances to a level observed before the market decline on Oct. 10, 2025.
Cauconomy, a crypto analyst, reported that the last 30 days saw the addition of 98,000 BTC to the accumulation in whale reserves, which entirely reversed the trend of the past decline. The larger distribution phase began in August 2025, when Bitcoin reached a peak of $124,000, but higher prices were not sustained.
Spot market activity proves the presence of large-order participation. BTC order sizes have averaged between 950 BTC and 1,100 BTC since 2026, the two best years of heavy buying the company has experienced since September 2024.
The same cluster of activity occurred in the February-March 2025 correction, though the proportion of retail orders of the trades was greater at that prior point.
Exchange flow data also show increased movement among larger holders. According to Crypto Quant analyst Maartunn, $8.24 billion in whale BTC exchange flows moved into Binance over the past 30 days, representing a 14-month high.
Retail flows totalled $11.91 billion over the same period and have flattened. The retail-to-whale ratio stands at 1.45 and has declined as larger deposits increase.
At the same time, Glassnode data indicate that gross whale withdrawals have averaged 3.5% of total exchange-held BTC supply over 30 days, the strongest pace since November 2024.
Based on current exchange balances, this equates to approximately 60,000 to 100,000 BTC withdrawn over the past month.
