Datavault Ousts CEO, Estimates $92.2 Million Asset Reduction
Key Facts
Datavault AI disclosed that Nathaniel Bradley was removed from his roles as chief executive officer and president, effective November 1, 2026, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All directors approved the decision except Bradley, who voted against it. The disclosure did not state a reason for his removal or link it to the ongoing accounting review of a Bitcoin transaction. Bradley remained a board member after being removed from both roles. The decision comes as the company said prior financial statements can no longer be relied upon and that it expects significant adjustments to its assets.
The review of the reliability of the data covers unaudited statements for the periods ended September 30, 2025, and December 31, 2025, as well as the periods ended March 31 and June 30, 2026. The company said these statements "should no longer be relied upon." The action is related to the accounting treatment of a purchase of Scilex shares paid for with Bitcoin. Datavault said the Bitcoin linked to the transaction did not meet the criteria for recognition as a digital asset owned by the company. Instead, it concluded that the consideration should be recorded as subscription receivables due, presented as a reduction in shareholders' equity.
Datavault estimated that restating the data would 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 estimates are preliminary and the precise effects of the adjustments have not yet been finalized. According to the company's filing, the transaction included 15,000,000 common shares and a pre-funded warrant to purchase 263,914,094 shares. The agreed consideration was $150 million, payable in Bitcoin based on a spot price of $112,915.52 per coin, or about 1,328.43 Bitcoin. The new accounting classification means assets previously recorded on the basis of the transaction will be reassessed in the affected statements.
The company said Scilex deposited 1,309.04 Bitcoin into Datavault's wallet at Biconomy during September and November 2025. Between September 26, 2025, and January 30, 2026, Datavault sold 491.431 Bitcoin to Scilex for about $40.5 million in cash. It also said it received total cash advances of about $18.7 million from Scilex during the first half of 2026, and repaid about $18.1 million of principal and $0.1 million of accrued interest by transferring Bitcoin. In June 2026, the company requested a withdrawal of Bitcoin from its wallet at Biconomy to an external account. It said in its filing that it had been unable to complete the withdrawal as of the report date.
The asset review comes as unaudited results for the first half of 2026 showed net cash used in operating activities of $79,963 thousand, compared with cash and cash equivalents of $1,400 thousand at the end of June. Nasdaq had notified the company on February 24, 2026, that its bid price had remained below the $1.00-per-share minimum for 30 consecutive business days, giving it until August 24 to regain compliance. These figures reflect ongoing financial and listing challenges during the periods covered by the statements under review. DVLT shares closed at $0.0592 in the November 5, 2026, session, according to EL7 data. The evidence did not include verified figures for the intraday trading range.
In a separate development, DataMEDS announced on November 3, 2026, that it had terminated a letter of intent dated October 19 with Datavault and other parties, citing market conditions. It said the termination incurred no fees or obligations and that it would not issue shares related to the letter of intent. It added that its separate agreement with Datavault concerning PharmacyChain, dated November 24, 2025, remains in effect, and that it had issued no shares to the company under it. The announcement concerns termination of a letter of intent, not a completed merger agreement. The development therefore remains separate from Datavault's board decision regarding Bradley and the accounting treatment review.
Datavault has not set a date for filing its restated financial statements. It said the data review and assessment of internal control over financial reporting are ongoing and could reveal additional errors that delay filings. The company intends to reissue the affected statements, complete its review of the accounting and controls, and disclose the additional information required. It also cautioned that the review's findings and timing could change. The estimated asset reduction remains preliminary until the effects of the adjustments are finalized and those procedures are completed.