Datavault AI Says It Can't Access Its Bitcoin; Shares Plunge as Financial Restatements Loom
Key Takeaways
- •Datavault AI shares dropped 49.55% to $0.067 on Oct. 27 after the company revealed it has been unable to withdraw Bitcoin from crypto exchange Biconomy since requesting the transfer in June.
- •Datavault will restate four financial reports, reducing reported assets by up to $92.2 million, after concluding the Bitcoin from its $150 million stock deal with Scilex Holding should be booked as a subscription receivable rather than a corporate digital asset.
- •Scilex credited 1,309.04 BTC to Datavault's Biconomy account through off-chain transfers, meaning Datavault's access to the coins depended on the exchange's records rather than direct control of the Bitcoin.
- •Management is reassessing whether Datavault can continue as a going concern, citing uncertain collection from Scilex, reliance on a third-party custodian, Nasdaq listing compliance, and potential litigation or regulatory inquiries.
- •Scilex signed a binding term sheet on June 24, 2026, to buy 837 BTC from Datavault's Biconomy wallet for $50 million, structured as $30 million upfront with $20 million in quarterly installments through Dec. 31, 2028, subject to a definitive agreement.

Datavault AI shares fell 49.55% to $0.067 on Oct. 27 after the Nasdaq-listed company disclosed that it has been unable to withdraw Bitcoin held on the crypto exchange Biconomy since June, and that four sets of its financial statements can no longer be relied upon.
The disclosure came in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 26, in which 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 what is holding it up.
The company also said it will restate four financial reports, cutting reported assets by up to $92.2 million, after concluding that Bitcoin received under a $150 million stock deal with Scilex Holding should be reclassified as a subscription receivable rather than a corporate digital asset.
The Bitcoin traces to a Sept. 25, 2025, agreement in 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. A pre-funded warrant is a right to buy stock in which nearly the whole price is paid upfront.
At $112,915.52 per Bitcoin, the deal came to about 1,328.43 BTC. According to the filing, Scilex credited 1,309.04 BTC to Datavault's account at Biconomy on Sept. 26 and Nov. 25, 2025, a figure that reflects a 19.39 BTC deduction for cash advances Scilex had made. Those credits were off-chain transfers, meaning the exchange changed balances on its own books rather than moving coins across the Bitcoin blockchain. For a holder, that structure means access to the coins depends on the exchange's books and its withdrawal process rather than on direct control of the Bitcoin itself.
Between Sept. 26, 2025, and Jan. 30, 2026, Datavault sold 491.431 BTC back to Scilex the same way, for about $40.5 million in cash.
After reviewing the transaction, Datavault concluded the Bitcoin never qualified as a digital asset of the company. It will instead book the deal as a subscription receivable, meaning money a buyer owes for newly issued stock, shown as a reduction of stockholders' equity, with the $40.5 million in cash reducing what Scilex owes. The distinction drives how the arrangement shows up in the accounts: coins booked as a corporate digital asset count as company property on the balance sheet, while a receivable is a claim on what the counterparty still owes.
The restatements are expected to cut 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, 2026; and $49 million as of June 30, 2026. They cover the 2025 annual report plus three quarterly reports filed between November 2025 and August 2026, and Datavault expects to reverse the crypto gains and losses it had recorded on the coins.
Because Datavault had counted those Bitcoin balances as a source of liquidity, management is reassessing whether the company can continue as a going concern, the accounting test of whether a business can keep operating and meet its obligations. The filing says collection of the amounts owed by Scilex is uncertain, and the company's risk list includes Scilex's creditworthiness, Datavault's reliance on a third-party custodian, Nasdaq listing compliance, and potential litigation or regulatory inquiries tied to the restatement.
Scilex's own quarterly filing shows Biconomy was already part of the deal. 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 that to buy Datavault stock.
On June 24, 2026, the same month Datavault says it asked to withdraw its Bitcoin, Scilex signed a binding term sheet to buy 837 BTC held in Datavault's Biconomy wallet for $50 million, subject to a definitive agreement. Scilex agreed to an initial $30 million payment and the remaining $20 million in quarterly installments through Dec. 31, 2028, payable in cash or Scilex securities at its discretion. The 837 BTC, added to the 491.431 BTC already sold back, equals the 1,328.43 BTC of the original agreement.
Datavault shares, which closed at $0.06 on Tuesday after losing more than half their value, bounced to near $0.085 on Wednesday. Scilex's purchase price under the 2025 agreement worked out to an effective $0.5378 per share.
Datavault has not said when it will file the restated statements, and it warned that delays could extend to its quarterly report for the period ended Sept. 30, 2026. The open items in the company's own disclosures give readers a checklist to follow: whether the June withdrawal request is resolved, whether the Scilex term sheet for the 837 BTC advances to a definitive agreement, when the restated filings are submitted, and how management settles the going-concern, Nasdaq listing compliance, and litigation questions it has flagged.