Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Hits Out at Short-Selling Report

Hut's shares slid more than 23% on Jan. 18 when short-selling firm JCapital Research said the USBTC merger had the makings of a pump and dump.

AccessTimeIconJan 24, 2024 at 1:33 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 8, 2024 at 8:24 p.m. UTC
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Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) Wednesday morning called last week's report from JCapital Research "a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation about Hut 8, its operations, finances, management practices, and key executives."

In a press release, Hut 8 sad the report was "filled with inaccuracies, misrepresented data, speculative claims, and unfounded character attacks."

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  • The mining firm's Nasdaq-listed stock fell from $9.17 on Jan.18 to $7 a little over 24 hours later after short-selling firm JCapital Research released a report claiming that Hut 8's merger with fellow miner US Bitcoin was a pump and dump waiting to happen.

    The report said that USBTC had a history of legal trouble, had defaulted on a loan and paid two government fines, one of which was for committing securities violations.

    "We will not be derailed by activists who stand to profit from spreading misinformation and making defamatory character attacks,” said Hut 8 CEO Jaime Leverton. "The short report is riddled with speculative accusations and misinformation."

    HUT shares thus far have failed to bounce since Jan. 18 tumble, closing lower by 5.3% yesterday to $6.33. Shares are higher by 5.7% premarket alongside a modest bounce in the price of bitcoin.

    Edited by Stephen Alpher.




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    Jamie Crawley

    Jamie Crawley is a CoinDesk news reporter based in London.


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