Argo Blockchain reports insufficient funds, 'no assurance' it can avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy

According to the crypto mining firm, “inadvertently published materials” led its suspension from trading on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq on Dec. 9.

Crypto mining firm Argo Blockchain says it has been negotiating to sell its assets and trying to “engage in an equipment financing transaction” in an attempt to avoid filing for bankruptcy.

Argo Blockchain said in a Dec. 12 announcement it was at risk of having insufficient funds to continue operating within a month, and was in the middle of “advanced negotiations” to sell certain assets. Though the mining firm said it had not filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, “inadvertently published materials” related to the company’s financial situation led to its Dec. 9 suspension of trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Nasdaq.

Argo reported it had resumed trading on the London Stock Exchange as of Dec. 12, but there was no data recorded with the LSE at the time of publication. Shares of the mining firm closed at $0.69 on the Nasdaq on Dec. 8, and 6.70 pounds on the LSE.

“The Company is hopeful that it will be able to consummate the transaction outside of a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the United States, although there is no assurance that the Company can avoid such a filing,” Argo said. “The Company has requested that the UK Financial Conduct Authority restore the listing of its ordinary shares and that is expected to happen as soon as practicable.”

New RNS just out with an update on the restoration of trading on the LSE:https://t.co/6vH9PX8SET#ARB $ARBK #BTC pic.twitter.com/Oqu7oZ9sSH

— Argo (@ArgoBlockchain) December 12, 2022

The mining firm reported in October that it was at risk of becoming cash flow negative “in the near term” should it fail to raise needed capital to continue operations. Amid the bear market, Argo reported selling some of its mined Bitcoin (BTC) holdings to pay down a loan from Galaxy Digital, from which it secured crypto-backed loan agreements in 2021.

As of Nov. 30, Argo reported holding 126 BTC and Bitcoin equivalents. The price of the cryptocurrency was $17,033 at the time of publication.

Related: Argo Blockchain facility in West Texas expects to start mining Bitcoin in May

Should Argo file for Chapter 11, it would be the latest in a string of crypto firms reporting financial difficulties amid a bear market. Many global regulators and lawmakers have pointed to the collapse of Terraform Labs, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, BlockFi, and most recently FTX in criticisms of the crypto market.