Las Vegas — MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel used the stage at the Bitcoin Conference to introduce the MARA Foundation, a new initiative aimed at strengthening the long-term durability of the bitcoin network beyond the company’s core mining and AI operations.
“Bitcoin is the most important decentralized system ever created, but its future is not guaranteed,” Thiel said, emphasizing the need for ongoing stewardship. He described the network as “a public utility that nobody owns, but everybody depends on,” adding that decentralization distributes responsibility rather than eliminating it.
The foundation will prioritize preserving bitcoin’s role as sound, durable money while promoting its open, global accessibility. Its focus areas include bolstering the network’s security budget—particularly through the development of a sustainable transaction-fee market—and supporting research into emerging risks such as quantum computing.
MARA also intends to fund open-source development across scaling solutions, mining, and user infrastructure, while expanding access to self-custody tools and advancing financial sovereignty globally.
Education and policy engagement will play a key role, with plans for technical training programs, multilingual resources, and direct outreach to regulators.
To mark the launch, MARA will award $100,000 to one of three nonprofit organizations, with the recipient selected through a community vote—reinforcing Thiel’s call for collective responsibility across the bitcoin ecosystem.
