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Nvidia has agreed to pay $5.5 million as part of a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC said that the chipmaker failed to fully disclose that crypto mining demand was a major contributor to its 2018 performance.
“The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against technology company NVIDIA Corporation for inadequate disclosures concerning the impact of cryptomining on the company’s gaming business,” the SEC said in a press release on Friday.
According to the regulator, Nvidia failed to disclose that demand from the crypto mining sector was a significant element for the spike in the sales of its gaming graphics processing units (GPUs) during consecutive quarters in the company’s fiscal year 2018.
In fact, Nvidia’s gaming category rose by 52 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter of the company’s 2018 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, 2017, according to CNBC. This is followed by a 25 percent rise in the following quarter. However, the chipmaker did not fully disclose crypto mining’s significant role in that growth.
“In two of its Forms 10-Q for its fiscal year 2018, NVIDIA reported material growth in revenue within its gaming business. NVIDIA had information, however, that this increase in gaming sales was driven in significant part by cryptomining,” the SEC added. “Despite this, NVIDIA did not disclose in its Forms 10-Q, as it was required to do, these significant earnings and cash flow fluctuations related to a volatile business for investors to ascertain the likelihood that past performance was indicative of future performance.”
The regulator added that the company’s omissions of material information were misleading as it gave the impression that crypto mining did not have a significant impact on its gaming business’s performance. “NVIDIA’s disclosure failures deprived investors of critical information to evaluate the company’s business in a key market,” SEC Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit Chief Kristina Littman said. “All issuers, including those that pursue opportunities involving emerging technology, must ensure that their disclosures are timely, complete, and accurate.”
The chipmaker agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $5.5 million fine to settle the case without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.
