Marathon Digital, a Bitcoin mining company, has reported that it has been issued an additional subpoena by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States. The subpoena is related to the company’s 100-megawatt data centre located in Hardin, Montana. This is the second subpoena that Marathon has received from the SEC. With the first one being issued in the third quarter of 2021. The initial subpoena was related to potential violations of federal securities laws in connection with the data centre in Hardin.
“The Company received an additional subpoena from the SEC on April 10, 2023, relating to, among other things, transactions with related parties,” Marathon said in a filing Wednesday. “We understand that the SEC may be investigating whether or not there may have been any violations of the federal securities law.”
Marathon has announced that it is working with the SEC regarding the issue. The issue pertains to its data centre in Hardin, Montana. The company has acknowledged that its “disclosure controls and procedures” were inadequate as of March 31, 2023. The company discovered material weaknesses that could potentially prevent or detect a significant error in its financial statements or disclosures in a timely manner.
It also revealed on May 9th that it had teamed up with digital assets infrastructure firm Zero Two. This tie-up is to establish a massive immersion-based Bitcoin mining plant in Abu Dhabi. The plant would feature two mining facilities with a total capacity of 250 megawatts. Despite the fact that mining in Abu Dhabi would typically be impractical due to high temperatures, Marathon stated that their specially designed immersion technology would keep the mining equipment cool enough for it to function efficiently.
Along with the rest of the information, the corporation indicated that the material weaknesses. It identified were related to four specific accounting categories. These categories were the merging of accounts, digital asset impairments, and property and equipment disposals. As well as determining whether revenue recognition is on behalf of the principal or agent.
The United States has been creating a hostile environment for the crypto industry. Biden government is asking the miners to pay a 30% tax on their electricity usage. The reason given behind the action is environmental protection. Meanwhile, the lack of rules and regulations in the country has also created a hostile environment for the crypto industry. The SEC has been raining down on the backs of the firms, suing them or sending them Wells notice.
