Ionic Digital, which acquired the Bitcoin mining assets of collapsed crypto lender Celsius earlier this year, said in a news release that CEO Matt Prusak will be leaving the company, and that its auditor, RMS, has withdrawn from the firm.
“RSM’s decision was not a result of any disagreements with the company on accounting principles, practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure,” according to the release.
Ionic, which had planned to go public within 12 months, will be delayed by its search for a new auditor.
The temporary absence of an auditor has prevented Ionic from updating its SEC filings, which has delayed its efforts to become a public reporting company, the company noted in the release.
Once a new auditor is engaged, Ionic Digital “will work expeditiously to prepare the reviewed financial statements required to make future SEC filings needed to complete the process of becoming a public company,” it said.
Prusak informed the company in July of his decision not to extend his employment agreement beyond its initial term, which concludes on August 14.
The company is searching for a new CEO and expects to appoint Chief Financial Officer John Penver as Interim CEO to maintain operational continuity.
With facilities across North America, Ionic said it expects to develop the ability to deploy up to 12.7 exahash to the Bitcoin network.
Still, Bitcoin mining operations have been strained this year by the “halving” event in April, which slashed the amount of Bitcoin miners receive for producing new blocks.
In some cases, miners have seen their revenue cut in half while operational costs remained the same.