TLDR
- MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel launched the MARA Foundation at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas on Monday.
- The foundation will focus on Bitcoin network security, including research into the quantum computing threat.
- MARA plans to fund open source development across scaling, mining, and user infrastructure.
- A $100,000 contribution will be awarded to one of three nonprofits, chosen by community vote.
- Bitcoin hashrate has dropped 28.8% since September as miners have shifted focus toward AI and high-performance computing.
MARA Holdings (MARA) CEO Fred Thiel took to the stage at the Bitcoin 2026 Conference in Las Vegas on Monday to announce the launch of the MARA Foundation — a new initiative aimed at protecting and growing the Bitcoin network for the long term.
Introducing @MARAFoundation_ , an initiative dedicated to the long-term health of the Bitcoin network and the communities that depend on it.
Follow @MARAFoundation_ for more updates. https://t.co/0aWFgUTcCG
— MARA (@MARA) April 27, 2026
Thiel opened with a direct statement: “Bitcoin is the most important decentralized system ever created, but its future is not guaranteed.”
He described Bitcoin as “a public utility that nobody owns, but everybody depends on,” and made the case that decentralization doesn’t mean the network runs itself.
“Responsibility is distributed,” Thiel said, laying out why MARA feels obligated to step in.
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc., MARA
Quantum Computing in the Crosshairs
One of the foundation’s key priorities is hardening Bitcoin against emerging security threats — most notably quantum computing.
The MARA Foundation plans to fund active research into how quantum advances could threaten Bitcoin’s cryptographic foundations, and what can be done about it now.
Beyond quantum, the foundation will also support development of a healthier transaction-fee market, which becomes increasingly important as Bitcoin block rewards continue to shrink over time.
Open source development across scaling, mining, and user infrastructure is also on the agenda, along with efforts to expand access to self-custody wallets.
A $100,000 Vote for the Community
To mark the launch, MARA is putting $100,000 on the table — and letting the public decide where it goes.
Three candidates are in the running: the 256 Foundation, an open-source Bitcoin mining platform; Librería de Satoshi, a Latin American Bitcoin education platform; and SafeNet, a Bitcoin-powered wireless network serving underprivileged communities.
The vote gives the community a direct say in where early foundation dollars land.
Education and policy engagement are also central to the foundation’s mission. That includes technical training, multilingual resources, and outreach to regulators — areas MARA sees as underfunded.
The foundation has placed a specific focus on the Global South, particularly Africa and Latin America, where Bitcoin is being used as a hedge against hyperinflation and financial restrictions.
“We are committed to supporting communities using Bitcoin to expand access to sound money and strengthen local economies,” MARA said in a statement.
The launch comes at an interesting moment for Bitcoin miners. Network hashrate has fallen 28.8% since September, as miners have increasingly pivoted toward AI and high-performance computing to chase higher-revenue opportunities.
MARA itself has been part of that trend, expanding its AI and HPC operations alongside its core mining business.
The MARA Foundation adds a new dimension to that story — one focused not on profit margins, but on the long-term health of the network that underpins MARA’s core business.
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