“but one hunch I have is that Mark knows the SEC is going to be shutting down dark tickers.“
The SEC can’t “shut down” a non-reporting ticker. There is no registration to revoke.
They just sit on the greys until it stops trading and then sometime after that, usually years, FINRA deletes the ticker. Given MIKP has had small but not infrequent trading there was little risk of that anytime soon.
Corporate audits start at ~$10,000.00, the auditors have to cover their licensing and bonding costs. And, as I think Niko pointed out, MIKP's wouldn't be as simple as one may think. The auditor can't just take Mark's word for it as to the value of the IP. They will have to get a minimum of 2, preferably 3, outside appraisals of the IP assets; which means another $3,000 - $5,000 out the door.