Datavault AI’s $92.2M Bitcoin Bind Sends DVLT Stock to the Crypt

Datavault AI shares plunged nearly 50% on Tuesday after disclosing that it has been unable to withdraw Bitcoin from the Biconomy exchange since June. The Nasdaq-listed company closed at $0.067, down 49.55%, on trading volume of roughly 244 million shares, and said four sets of financial statements can no longer be relied upon.

In a Form 8-K filed Oct. 26, Datavault said it requested a withdrawal to an external account in June and has been “unable to complete the withdrawal.” The filing does not explain the reason, and Biconomy did not respond to a CoinDesk request for comment as of Asian afternoon hours Wednesday.

The Bitcoin originated in a Sept. 25, 2025 agreement under which Scilex Holding, a pain-medicine company, agreed to pay $150 million in Bitcoin for 15 million Datavault shares and a pre-funded warrant covering another 263.9 million shares. At $112,915.52 per Bitcoin, the deal amounted to about 1,328.43 BTC. Scilex credited 1,309.04 BTC to Datavault’s Biconomy account on Sept. 26 and Nov. 25, 2025, reflecting a 19.39 BTC deduction for cash advances Scilex had made. The credits were off-chain transfers, meaning Biconomy changed balances on its own books rather than moving coins across the Bitcoin blockchain.

Between Sept. 26, 2025, and Jan. 30, 2026, Datavault sold 491.431 BTC back to Scilex through the same mechanism for about $40.5 million in cash. After reviewing the arrangement, Datavault concluded that the Bitcoin never qualified as a digital asset belonging to the company. It will instead record the transaction as a subscription receivable, with the $40.5 million in cash reducing the amount owed by Scilex.

The restatements are expected to reduce total assets by $8.1 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, $92.2 million at the end of 2025, $57.1 million as of March 31, and $49 million as of June 30. They cover the 2025 annual report and three quarterly reports filed between November 2025 and August 2026. Datavault expects to reverse the cryptocurrency gains and losses it recorded on the Bitcoin and is reassessing whether it can continue as a going concern after previously counting the balances as a source of liquidity. The filing says collection of the amounts owed by Scilex is uncertain and lists Scilex’s creditworthiness, reliance on a third-party custodian, Nasdaq listing compliance and potential litigation or regulatory inquiries among the company’s risks.

Scilex’s own quarterly filing shows that Biconomy supplied the Bitcoin used in the transaction. Scilex said it sold 12.5 million shares of its Semnur Pharmaceuticals subsidiary to Biconomy on Sept. 23, 2025 for $200 million in Bitcoin, then used $150 million of the proceeds to buy Datavault stock.