Bitcoin mining firm Core Scientific is reportedly considering a potential bankruptcy amid a group of its convertible bondholders consulting restructuring lawyers.
According to a Nov. 1 report from Bloomberg Law, the Core Scientific bondholders worked with legal firm Paul Hastings following a United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing suggesting financial distress. The Oct. 26 filing indicated that the mining company was unable to meet its financial obligations in late October and early November, citing the low price of Bitcoin (BTC), rising costs of electricity, an increase in the global BTC hash rate and legal issues with crypto lending firm Celsius.
Core Scientific claimed in an Oct. 19 court filing that Celsius owed the firm more than $2.1 million for post-petition charges, and it would continue to lose roughly $53,000 daily until its financial obligations were met. Celsius has countered that the mining firm delayed deployment of their rigs and supplied less power than required under a previously agreed upon contract.
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The price of shares of the Core Scientific’s stock CORZ on Nasdaq fell more than 87% following the SEC filing, from $1.01 to $0.17 at the time of publication. As of Oct. 26, the mining firm reported it held $26.6 million in cash and 24 BTC, but with a reported $880 million in notes payable as of June 30. As of Nov. 1, the company has continued to mine BTC:
Today’s $CORZ daily self-mined #Bitcoin for the last reported 24-hour period: 41.2 pic.twitter.com/HJyH4lUvFS
— Core Scientific (@Core_Scientific) November 1, 2022
Many companies operating in the crypto space, from mining firms to lending companies, have reported financial difficulties amid the market downturn in May. Compute North, a company based in Minnesota, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, citing financial pressure due to the effects of crypto winter and rising energy costs. Argo Blockchain also announced in October that it was at risk of ceasing operations due to a lack of financing.
Cointelegraph reached out to Core Scientific, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
