Bitcoin Layer-2s Growing in Favor, Marathon Digital Purchases Mining Facilities

Market Update The “Santa Clause rally” is in full effect within equity markets, as the QQQ (+0.08%) has made a new all-time high, and the SPY (+0.07%) is less than 1% away from doing the same. Crypto markets are joining the fun, with $BTC (+3.90%) rising to just under $44k and $ETH (+2.99%) trading near $2,350. Bitcoin layer-2, Stacks ($STX), is outperforming today, rising over 26% amid Bitcoin monthly transactions reaching an all-time high, driven by the increasing popularity of inscriptions. Similarly, Elastos ($ELA) has risen 188% in the last two days following the release of its new Bitcoin layer-2 whitepaper. Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital (MARA) has acquired two additional mining facilities from Generate Capital subsidiaries. The two facilities are located in Texas and Nebraska and were purchased for $178.6 million in cash. The transaction will increase the size of Marathon’s mining capacity by 56%, from 584 megawatts to 910 megawatts, and give them the room to double its current operational hash rate by about 50 exahashes over the next 18-24 months. Mining companies continue to prepare for the 2024 bitcoin halving as this marks the second notable expansion purchase this month. Riot Blockchain bought $291 million in mining rigs two weeks ago. Additionally, miners a