Montana Data Center Probe Puts Marathon In Hot Water With SEC Over Crypto

Key Points:

• Marathon Digital is under investigation by the SEC into securities law violations related to its Montana data center.
• Marathon and some executives were previously issued subpoenas to produce documents concerning the facility.
• In its Q1 earnings report, the company revealed a net loss of $7.2 million and generated $51.1 million in revenue, with Bitcoin production up 74% YoY.

Marathon Digital, a cryptocurrency miner, has recently received a new subpoena from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its Montana-based data center.

This latest subpoena, issued on April 10, is related to an ongoing investigation into potential violations of federal securities laws.

It is worth noting that Marathon and some of its executives were previously issued a subpoena in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021, to produce documents and communications concerning the facility in Hardin, Montana. The investigation revolves around the same issue of potential securities law violations.

Marathon’s ambitious plans for a 100-megawatt data center in Hardin were set into motion on October 6, 2020, through a series of agreements with multiple parties. In February, the company had to postpone its fourth-quarter earnings release after the SEC raised concerns about accounting errors. The agency’s corporation finance staff identified inaccuracies in the company’s figures, prompting Marathon to recast certain financial information.

Specifically, the concerns raised were related to two areas: the calculation of impairment of digital assets and the determination of revenue from contracts with customers. The connection between the latest subpoena issued and Marathon’s postponed quarterly earnings release remains unclear at this time. Marathon has not yet issued a comment on this matter.

In its first-quarter earnings report, Marathon revealed a net loss of $7.2 million or $0.05 per share, which is an improvement compared to a net loss of $12.9 million or $0.12 per share in the previous year. The company generated revenue of $51.1 million in the quarter, which is slightly lower than the $51.6 million revenue reported last year.

On the bright side, Bitcoin production experienced a significant increase, reaching 2,195 bitcoins in the quarter, a 74% rise annually. However, the impact of lower bitcoin prices in the current year offset some of these gains.

Marathon’s stock last traded at $10.22 in Thursday’s pre-market, and it has experienced an increase of 28.3% in the last month.

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Annie

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