SEC Subpoenas Major Crypto Miner Marathon Digital
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a subpoena to Marathon Digital, a leading player in the cryptocurrency mining sector.
SEC Subpoenas Major Crypto Miner Marathon Digital
On May 10, Marathon Digital confirmed it received an additional subpoena from the SEC related to its operations at a data center in Montana.
Marathon stated:
“The SEC is investigating whether we have violated federal securities laws. We are actively cooperating with the commission.”
Bitcoin miner Marathon has received another subpoena from the SEC related to an investigation of a Montana data center that may involve violations of securities laws https://t.co/pRmwEaCovw
— Bloomberg (@business) May 10, 2023
Marathon further detailed that the company signed an agreement to build an 8-megawatt data center in Hardin, Montana, on October 6, 2020. By October 13, Marathon had completed its Form 8-K filing. Based on the Data Services Agreement, the company issued 5 million shares of restricted common stock in transactions exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
This is not the first time the SEC has subpoenaed Marathon. The commission previously took similar actions in November 2021 and again last month. Today's move by the SEC underscores the increasing regulatory scrutiny faced by crypto firms in the U.S. Bittrex is a recent example of this trend, having filed for bankruptcy just a month after coming under SEC investigation.
Here are $MARA’s Q1 2023 Financial & Operational Highlights
— MARA (@MarathonDH) May 10, 2023
- Revenue = $51.1 M
- Adj. EBITDA = $18.6 M
- Unrestricted cash & cash equivalents = $124.9 M
- Bitcoin holdings = 11,466 BTC
- Increased energized hash rate 64% to 11.5 EH/s
- Increased #Bitcoin production 41% to 2,195…
Marathon is currently one of the largest publicly traded cryptocurrency mining companies. According to the financial report released yesterday, the company generated $51.1 million in revenue for Q1, a slight decrease compared to the same period last year. Net loss has decreased to $7.2 million from $12.9 million the previous year. In Q1 2023, Marathon mined 2,195 BTC, a 41% increase from the end of 2022, and earned $17.6 million from Bitcoin trading.
Excerpt from Marathon Digital’s Q1 2023 Financial Report
Marathon’s stock has shown a strong correlation with Bitcoin prices, given the company holds a significant amount of digital assets on its balance sheet. The stock closed the day at $10.22, up about 9% for the day, but has slightly declined by 0.78% in after-hours trading.
