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Datavault AI Stock Crashes — Financials Cannot Be Trusted: What You Need to Know

Benzinga·10/27/2026 16:31:23
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Shares of Datavault AI Inc. (NASDAQ:DVLT) fell nearly 40% after the company told investors to stop relying on financial results stretching back to the third quarter of 2025.

In a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Datavault said its audit committee and management concluded on Oct. 20 that four sets of financial statements should no longer be relied upon. 

The list includes quarterly reports for the periods ended Sept. 30, 2025, March 31, 2026, and June 30, 2026, along with the 2025 annual report. Related earnings releases, press releases and investor presentations are also covered.

The Bitcoin Problem

The issue centers on a $150 million equity deal with Scilex Holding Co. (NASDAQ:SCLX) signed in September 2025. Scilex agreed to buy 15 million Datavault shares and a pre-funded warrant for more than 263.9 million shares, paying in Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC).

Scilex credited 1,309.04 bitcoin to a Datavault account at Biconomy Pte. Ltd. through an off-chain transfer. Between September 2025 and January 2026, Datavault sold 491.431 of those bitcoin back to Scilex for about $40.5 million in cash.

In June 2026, Datavault requested a withdrawal of bitcoin from the Biconomy account to an outside wallet. As of the filing, the withdrawal had not gone through.

After reviewing the deal, the company determined the bitcoin never met the requirements to be recognized as its own digital asset. The company will instead record the holdings as a subscription receivable owed by Scilex, shown as a reduction of stockholders’ equity.

Assets Shrink

The restatements are expected to cut total assets by $8.1 million as of Sept. 30, 2025, and by $92.2 million as of Dec. 31, 2025, according to the filing. The reductions total $57.1 million as of March 31, 2026, and $49.0 million as of June 30, 2026. Previously reported crypto gains and losses will be reversed.

Management is also reassessing its going concern evaluations for 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. Earlier reviews counted the bitcoin as a source of liquidity. With the coins off the balance sheet and collection from Scilex uncertain, management is revisiting those conclusions.

What Comes Next

No date has been set for the restated filings. Datavault described its review as preliminary and unaudited, and warned more errors could surface. Management has not finished evaluating whether the problems point to a material weakness in internal controls.

The filing flags possible delays to the third-quarter 2026 report and lists Nasdaq listing compliance among its risks.

DVLT Stock Price Activity: Datavault stock was down 38.10% at 8 cents at the time of publication Tuesday, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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