Marathon Digital (MARA), one of the largest publicly traded bitcoin miners, sold 1,500 bitcoin in January - first time ever - to monetize the recent rally in the crypto market.

The miner said in a release on Thursday that the decision was made to cover some of its expenses. "With bitcoin production increasing and becoming more consistent, we made the strategic decision to sell some of our bitcoin, as previously planned, to cover some of our operating expenses and for general corporate purposes," Marathon’s Chairman and CEO Fred Thiel, said in a statement. The company still holds about 11,418 bitcoin in its reserve.