Bitcoin Magazine

SEC Charges Bitcoin Miner for Duping Investors Out of $48.5 Million 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Danh C. Vo, founder and CEO of bitcoin mining company VBit Technologies Corp., with defrauding investors out of $48.5 million. 

According to the SEC, Vo misused the funds for gambling, cryptocurrency purchases, and gifts to family members, while misleading investors about the operations of his business.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleges Vo raised over $95.6 million from approximately 6,400 investors between December 2018 and February 2022. 

He sold “hosting agreements,” which promised investors a share of profits from bitcoin mining rigs operated by VBit. Most customers chose this passive investment option rather than purchasing rigs themselves.

Vo misrepresented how many mining rigs were actually operational, effectively selling more hosting agreements than the company could support. 

“While some investors received returns, others suffered substantial losses,” the complaint stated. Vo either knew or was reckless in not knowing that the company could not meet the obligations tied to the hosting agreements.

Vo, 37, exercised complete authority over VBit, including its promotional materials, website content, and investor account information. 

The SEC said the hosting agreements qualify as securities because investors relied on Vo and VBit’s efforts to generate profits.

SEC: Family members received misappropriated funds

In addition to the misappropriation, Vo allegedly transferred $5 million to family members, including his ex-wife, mother, brother, and sister, the commission said. He reportedly left the U.S. with the remaining misappropriated funds following his divorce in November 2021. 

Several family members are named as relief defendants in the lawsuit and have consented to disgorge the funds they received, pending court approval, per the SEC.

VBit was acquired by Advanced Mining Group in 2022 and is now defunct. The action seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, and a ban on Vo from participating in future securities offerings.

The lawsuit also comes as Congress debates federal measures to address cryptocurrency scams. A bipartisan proposal would create a dedicated task force to identify and address fraud in the digital asset sector.

The SEC said they want Vo’s alleged conduct to be a reminder that investors should carefully evaluate claims of passive income from crypto and confirm that operations are transparent and verifiable.

This post SEC Charges Bitcoin Miner for Duping Investors Out of $48.5 Million  first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Secures Google-Backed Deal to Build Up to 2.3 GW of AI Capacity

Hut 8 Corp. announced a sweeping AI infrastructure partnership on Wednesday with AI model developer Anthropic and compute provider Fluidstack, marking a pretty clear signal that the bitcoin miner is pivoting to a large-scale energy and data center developer.

Under the agreement, Hut 8 will develop between 245 megawatts (MW) and up to 2,295 MW of AI-focused data center capacity in the United States, beginning with a flagship project at its River Bend campus in Louisiana. 

The partnership is structured across multiple tranches, creating a pathway to scale from an initial deployment to gigawatt-level infrastructure over time.

The first phase centers on a 245 MW IT deployment at River Bend, supported by roughly 330 MW of utility power. Hut 8 will develop the site, while Fluidstack will operate high-performance compute clusters for Anthropic. Construction of the initial data halls is expected to be completed by early 2027.

Beyond the initial phase, Fluidstack has secured a right of first offer for up to an additional 1,000 MW of IT capacity at River Bend, contingent on further power expansion. 

A third tranche gives Hut 8 and Anthropic the option to jointly diligence and develop up to 1,050 MW of additional capacity across Hut 8’s broader development pipeline.

Financially, the River Bend project is anchored by a 15-year triple-net lease with Fluidstack valued at approximately $7 billion over the base term, with total contract value rising to roughly $17.7 billion if all renewal options are exercised. 

Alphabet-owned Google is providing a financial backstop covering lease payments and certain operating obligations over the base term, underscoring the strategic importance of securing long-term AI compute capacity, per Reuters reporting. 

JUST IN: #Bitcoin mining company Hut 8 just announced it partnered with Google for financial backing on a 15-year lease.

Bullish pic.twitter.com/NQN9JmW0ob

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 17, 2025

Hut 8 ($HUT) stock soars

Hut 8 shares surged more than 20% in premarket trading following the announcement, extending a rally that has seen the stock rise roughly 80% year-to-date. 

Investors appear to be rewarding the company’s pivot toward AI infrastructure at a time when access to power, cooling, and suitable real estate has become a bottleneck for leading model developers.

“Scaling frontier AI infrastructure is, at its core, a power challenge,” Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot said in a statement, emphasizing the company’s “power-first” development strategy. 

He added that the partnership aligns power sourcing, data center design, and compute deployment into a single integrated platform capable of operating at gigawatt scale.

For Anthropic, the deal expands an existing relationship with Fluidstack and provides a new channel for bringing capacity online as demand for advanced models continues to grow.

“Hut 8’s ability to source and deliver infrastructure at scale provides the runway necessary to continue advancing the capabilities of our models,” said James Bradbury, Anthropic’s head of compute.

The agreement also reflects a broader industry shift. Former crypto miners such as Hut 8, CoreWeave, or Bitfarms are increasingly repurposing their energy-heavy infrastructure for AI workloads as demand for Nvidia-powered compute accelerates. 

While execution risk remains — particularly around power delivery timelines and construction— Hut 8’s latest deal positions it among a small but growing group of firms bridging the worlds of energy, AI, and large-scale digital infrastructure.

Hut 8 recently reduced some of its bitcoin holdings by 389 BTC during the last month, standing out among a small group of miners and corporates trimming exposure.

While some firms added modest amounts and ETF flows turned positive, the data points to a split market in which Hut 8 and a few others acted as sellers amid pressure, contrasting with disciplined treasury buyers and programmatic accumulation elsewhere.

At the time of writing, Hut 8 shares are up 17%. Earlier in pre-market trading, shares were up over 25% at times. The price per share is currently $43.75.

This post Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Secures Google-Backed Deal to Build Up to 2.3 GW of AI Capacity first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.

Bitcoin Magazine

American Bitcoin ($ABTC) Enters Top 20 Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Holds 5,098 BTC

American Bitcoin Corp. (Nasdaq: ABTC) has entered the top 20 publicly traded bitcoin treasury companies by holdings after growing its strategic reserve to approximately 5,098 BTC as of December 14, according to company disclosures.

The Miami-based firm said its bitcoin was accumulated through a combination of in-house mining and strategic market purchases. The total includes bitcoin held in custody as well as BTC pledged as collateral for miner purchases under a supply agreement with hardware manufacturer Bitmain, per the company release. 

Based on rankings from BitcoinTreasuries.net, the milestone places American Bitcoin among the largest public bitcoin holders globally, just over three months after its Nasdaq listing.

As part of its treasury reporting, the company also highlighted growth in its proprietary Satoshis Per Share (SPS) metric, which measures the amount of bitcoin attributable to each outstanding common share. As of December 8, SPS stood at 507 satoshis per share, representing a more than 17% increase in just over one month.

American Bitcoin is also introducing a new disclosure metric, Bitcoin Yield, which tracks the percentage change in SPS over a defined period. The company said the combined metrics are intended to give investors clearer insight into both per-share bitcoin exposure and how that exposure evolves over time.

“I am incredibly proud of our tremendous growth,” said Eric Trump, co-founder and chief strategy officer of American Bitcoin. “In just over three months since our Nasdaq listing, we have surged past dozens of companies — propelling us into the top 20 publicly traded bitcoin treasury companies.”

Earlier this month, American Bitcoin reported adding roughly 416 BTC in a single week, lifting holdings from approximately 4,783 BTC as of December 8. 

The company said its accumulation strategy prioritizes long-term bitcoin exposure over short-term price movements, supported by an operating model designed to maximize BTC retention.

JUST IN: Trump family backed American #Bitcoin increases its BTC holdings to 5,098 BTC.

Nothing stops this train pic.twitter.com/I9ub8DuWBP

— Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) December 16, 2025

American Bitcoin ($ABTC) stock struggles

In early December, the American Bitcoin stock (ABTC) plunged more than 50% shortly after markets opened, triggering multiple trading halts and erasing months of speculative gains. 

The stock fell to an intraday low of $1.75 before recovering slightly, though it remained down over 35% at the time of writing. 

The sell-off followed a broader downturn in crypto markets, with bitcoin sliding into the mid-$85,000 range. Nearly $1 billion in leveraged crypto positions were liquidated the day before, worsening already fragile market conditions.

Now, with Bitcoin trading above $87,000, $ABTC shares trade down at $1.61 per share. 

This post American Bitcoin ($ABTC) Enters Top 20 Public Bitcoin Treasury Companies, Holds 5,098 BTC first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Micah Zimmerman.