Datavault Expects $92.2 Million Asset Reduction After Bitcoin Withdrawal Stalls
Key Facts
Datavault AI expects a restatement of its financial statements to reduce total assets by $92.2 million as of December 31, 2025, the largest disclosed adjustment among the affected periods. The disclosure came after the company said it requested in June 2026 to withdraw bitcoin from its Biconomy wallet to an external account, but had been unable to complete the transfer by October 26. The next day, its shares, DVLT, fell 49.6% to about $0.067, compared with the previous session’s close of $0.133, according to The Block. Datavault said the bitcoin tied to a deal with Scilex does not meet the criteria for recognition as a company digital asset. It also said collection of amounts owed by Scilex is uncertain and that management is reassessing its ability to continue as a going concern and its sources of liquidity.
The matter stems from an agreement Datavault entered into with Scilex on September 25, 2025, under which Scilex agreed to buy 15,000,000 common shares and a pre-funded warrant covering 263,914,094 shares, for a total price of $150,000,000 in bitcoin network currency. As part of the transaction, Scilex deposited 1,309.04 bitcoin into Datavault’s Biconomy wallet, after deducting 19.39 bitcoin for cash advances. The company says it resold 491.431 bitcoin to Scilex between September 26, 2025, and January 30, 2026, for about $40.5 million in cash. The accounting treatment of the bitcoin and amounts owed by Scilex is therefore central to the company’s reassessment of its financial statements. The disclosure did not specify how much bitcoin Datavault requested to withdraw in June.
Datavault said the bitcoin associated with the share purchase transaction “did not meet the requirements for recognition as a company digital asset.” Under the treatment it cited, the consideration should be recorded as subscription receivables, with a reduction in shareholders’ equity. The company expects the correction to reduce total assets by $8.1 million as of September 30, 2025, $92.2 million as of December 31, 2025, $57.1 million as of March 31, 2026, and $49.0 million as of June 30, 2026. It said the precise effects are still being determined, including adjustments to income and cash-flow items and disclosures. These adjustments indicate that the matter’s effects extend beyond the balance-sheet asset balance, while the final scope of the accounting treatment remains uncertain.
In trading, the stock closed at about $0.067 on October 27, down 49.6% from the previous day’s close of $0.133, according to The Block; EL7 data show a close of $0.1328 on October 26 and $0.067 on October 27. Investors traded about 250 million shares in the declining session, nearly eight times the previous session’s volume, according to The Block. The publication reported that the disclosure offered no further explanation for the incomplete withdrawal and that it had requested comment from Datavault and Scilex. The disclosure does not say the company permanently lost the bitcoin; it says it was unable to complete the transfer to the external account. The stock’s decline alone also does not establish that the stalled withdrawal was the sole cause of the move.
Datavault said it intends to restate the affected financial statements and file them with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not specify a filing date. It added that its review of the financial statements and assessment of internal controls over financial reporting are ongoing, and that it may identify additional errors that could cause delays. It is also continuing to determine the necessary adjustments to the statements, including effects related to income, cash flows and disclosures. At the same time, management is reassessing the company’s ability to continue as a going concern in light of uncertainty over collecting amounts owed by Scilex. The next step will depend on the results of that assessment and completion of the review, while the company has not announced a timetable for filing the restated statements.