Core Scientific, the heavyweight champ of publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the U.S., might be the next crypto domino to fall, staring down bankruptcy after a brutal third-quarter loss of $434 million. That bombshell, dropped in a fresh SEC filing, pushes their 2022 losses to a staggering $1.7 billion—a hole so deep it’s got the industry buzzing about what’s next.
The company’s scrambling to stop the bleeding, slashing operational costs, shelving expansion plans, and tweaking hosting deals to squeeze out more cash. But here’s the kicker: they skipped debt payments due in October, and now they’re bracing for creditors to come knocking with lawsuits. Back in October, Core admitted they were on the brink, even hiring big-shot law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and financial whizzes PJT Partners LP to map out a Plan B.
Their piggy bank’s looking grim—just $32 million in cash and 62 Bitcoins last month, a far cry from the 8,000 BTC they held before dumping most of it in Q2. The latest filing doesn’t mince words: they’re on track to run dry “by the end of 2022 or sooner,” raising “serious questions” about keeping the lights on. For a Nasdaq-listed giant like Core, a bankruptcy could send shockwaves through Bitcoin and crypto mining, with their stock already cratering 20% Tuesday after the news and down 99% for the year.
They’re not alone in the struggle bus. Argo Blockchain’s scrambling to sell shares to stay afloat, warning it might shut down if the cash doesn’t come through. Over in Australia, Iris Energy’s yanking hardware offline, citing “insufficient cash flow” in a November 21 SEC filing. Charles Edwards from Capriole Investments isn’t shocked, tweeting on November 22 that this mess is par for the course when Bitcoin’s price dips below mining costs. For Core Scientific and its peers, it’s a fight to survive a crypto winter that’s hitting miners where it hurts.
