MARA CEO THIEL SAYS BITCOIN PAYMENTS “SEEN ITS DAY GO BY” — LARGEST PUBLIC MINER PIVOTS TO AI MONEY. THE MAXIMALIST GETS PUNCHED BY THE CAPITALIST.

MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel — head of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner in the US — said Bitcoin's use as a medium of exchange has "seen its day go by," per TradingView reporting. The context: miners signed $150 billion in AI contracts covering 7.5 gigawatts this week. Thiel's argument is that infrastructure built for Bitcoin is now serving higher-value buyers, and Bitcoin's payment layer isn't where the business is. The Capitalist read: this is a public break with the Maximalist thesis by a CEO whose company exists because of Bitcoin. He's telling shareholders that the payment rails Lightning Labs shipped this week aren't the trade. It's a call worth pricing. Mallers walked from Twenty One this week to build Strike payment rails. Thiel just said the rails aren't the business. Both are Bitcoin CEOs. Both looked at the same tape. Only one bet the company on payments.