MARA CEO: Stablecoins Will Fill Commercial Crypto Transactions Role

MARA CEO Fred Thiel stated that Bitcoin's use as a medium of exchange has 'seen its day go by', and commercial transactions will be built on stablecoins instead. He believes that transaction fees are not taking over from the block subsidy as intended, which is a fundamental problem for Bitcoin.

Thiel also mentioned that MARA could convert all existing mine sites to AI mining, move its fleet to Texas, and still operate successfully due to cheap energy costs. The company currently runs on 1.1 gigawatts and has more than 4 gigawatts of power after recent deals.

MARA operates a containerized mining model, which allows the equipment to be shipped between sites. This flexibility would enable the company to shift its entire fleet to Texas and use its excess capacity for AI mining. Thiel emphasized that industrial Bitcoin mining is more of a residual activity than a business, relying on power sinks and excess electrons.

In terms of security budget, Thiel stated that transaction fees were meant to compensate miners as the block subsidy decreases with successive halvings, but this is not happening. He estimated fees at around five basis points of block value, which he believes is insufficient.