Shalini Nagarajan

Marathon Digital was set to report financial results for the fourth quarter on Tuesday but postponed its earnings release. The crypto miner is set to recast some figures after the US securities regulator flagged inaccuracies.



The Las Vegas, Nevada-based company received a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s corporation finance staff on Feb. 22 that picked out some accounting errors, according to a <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1507605/000149315223006169/form8-k.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filing</a> published Tuesday.&nbsp;



The issues raised in the letter included the calculation of impairment of digital assets and its determination of revenue from contracts with customers. Impairment refers to how a digital asset is recorded when its price dips below its initial purchase price.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/marathon-digital">Marathon</a> said it recently determined its prior assessment that it acted as an agent in operating a third-party mining pool was incorrect, and concluded that it was acting as a principal instead.&nbsp; Portions of its financial statements in 2021 and as-yet unaudited quarterly reports for 2022 should not be relied upon, it added.



“The company estimates that both its revenues and its cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2021 were understated due to the ‘net’ vs. ‘gross’ presentation of revenues in its financial statements,” it said.



A number of figures are expected to change as a result of the restatement, including revenue, cost of revenue, energy and hosting.



The restatement is not expected to have an impact on total margin, operating income or net income in 2021 or 2022.



Marathon said because of the SEC’s letter, the company will be unable to file and make corrections to its 2022 annual report on Form 10-K by its March 1 deadline. However, it expects to file within 15 days of this deadline.



Marathon Digital’s stock is down nearly 70% in the last 12 months, but has risen over 17% in the last three months. It ended Tuesday trading <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/MARA/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roughly flat</a> at $7.10 per share on the Nasdaq.



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Marathon Digital to Correct Earnings Figures After SEC Letter

Ben Strack

<div id="highlights-block_6201490781b67" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>KPMG in Canada is bullish on cryptoassets and could consider investments beyond BTC and ETH in the future, executive says</li>
 <li>The firm is educating institutions about the metaverse, NFTs and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs)</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



The Canadian arm of accounting giant KPMG International has joined a growing list of companies adding crypto to corporate treasury accounts.



The Toronto-based company, which offers ​​consulting, accounting, auditing and tax services, has added bitcoin and ether to its corporate treasury, the company said Monday.



KPMG International, a global network of firms headquartered in the Netherlands, reported roughly $32 billion in revenue for its 2021 fiscal year. The latest crypto investment was made by KPMG in Canada.



Since Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/microstrategy-buys-1900-more-bitcoins/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">added</a> bitcoin to its balance sheet, dozens of companies have followed suit in what industry participants view as a growth area for the space.



The assets were acquired through Gemini Trust Company’s execution and custody services. KPMG formed a governance committee to review the regulatory, reputational and custodial risks before approving the treasury allocation.



The company declined to disclose the amount of BTC and ETH purchased.



Kareem Sadek, a partner and advisory and risk consulting blockchain leader for KPMG Canada, told Blockworks the company is taking a “prudent” approach to the space and has so far only considered buying bitcoin and ether.



“This is one of the many initiatives in the cryptoasset space that we&#8217;re looking at,” Sadek said. “KPMG in Canada is bullish on cryptoassets. We believe they are here to stay, and we’ll consider other innovative investment opportunities in the future.”



Benjie Thomas, Canadian managing partner of advisory services for KPMG in Canada, said that hedge funds, family offices, insurers and pension funds are increasingly snapping up crypto.



Others, such as banks, financial advisors and brokerages, he added, are exploring the space, as well.



About 90% of institutions interested in crypto expect to allocate to the space by 2026, according to a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/fidelity-exec-fairly-long-tail-of-institutions-driving-mainstream-crypto-adoption/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent Fidelity study</a>.



Next, KPMG Canada is looking to enable institutional participation in Web3, Sadek told Blockworks, with a focus on the metaverse, NFTs and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs).



The firm offers crypto-related services when it comes to taxes, accounting and legal matters.



“Our DeFi workshops now include live demos of multiple applications, which inform how institutions can engage with applications and manage the associated risks,” Sadek said. “Being a multi-faceted professional services firm, we are uniquely positioned to engage with our clients in these workshops to share our insights that form the foundation of our support when helping in developing their strategy, roadmap and even proof-of-concepts.”



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