GWACU Good Works Acquisition Corp

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

Our business involves significant risks, some of which are described below. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (the “Quarterly Report”), as well as our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes as disclosed in our prospectus, dated October 8, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in accordance with Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act (the “Prospectus”) in connection with the Business Combination. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risk and uncertainties that we are unaware of or that we deem immaterial may also become important factors that adversely affect our business. The realization of any of these risks and uncertainties could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition, results of operations, growth and future prospects as well as our ability to accomplish our strategic objectives. In that event, the market price of our Common Stock could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Quarterly Report to the “Company,” “Cipher,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Cipher Mining Inc.

Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History and Early Stage of Growth

We are in an early stage of development. If we are not able to develop our business as anticipated, we may not be able to generate revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

Having been incorporated only in January 7, 2021, we have no operating history and have not earned any revenues to date. Our primary business activities are focused on the development and operation of our cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Although we believe that our business model has significant profit potential, we may not attain profitable operations and our management may not succeed in realizing our business objectives. If we are not able to develop our business as anticipated, we may not be able to generate revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

Our lack of operating history makes evaluating our business and future prospects difficult and increases the risk of an investment in our securities.

We are a recently formed entity, which currently has no operations and therefore has no meaningful operating history upon which an investor may evaluate our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. Furthermore, we plan to focus our business on cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining, a new and developing field, which could further exacerbate the risks involved in our business, see “—Risks Related to Cryptocurrency—Acceptance and widespread use of cryptocurrency, in general, and Bitcoin, specifically, is uncertain.” In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our business and the markets in which we plan to operate are new and rapidly evolving, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter.

We have not earned any revenues to date and expect to incur losses until we are able to commence our operations. These losses could increase as we continue to work to develop our business. We plan to focus on cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Specifically, we plan to begin our initial buildout phase with a set-up of cryptocurrency mining facilities in four sites in the United States (three in Texas and one in Ohio), see “Business—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline” in the Prospectus. Our business and the markets in which we plan to operate are new and rapidly evolving, which makes it difficult to evaluate and assess our future prospects and the risks and challenges that we may encounter. These risks and challenges include, among others, our ability to:

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Our strategy may not be successful, and we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. If the risks and uncertainties that we plan for when establishing and operating our business are incorrect or change, or if we fail to manage these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

In the future, we may need to raise additional capital, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

From time to time, we may require additional capital to respond to technological advancements, competitive dynamics or technologies, customer demands, business opportunities, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances. Accordingly, we may determine to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for the above-mentioned or other reasons.

We may not be able to timely secure additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds through equity financing, our existing stockholders could experience significant dilution.

Furthermore, any debt financing obtained by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, when we require it, our ability to continue to grow or support our business and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.

Risks Related to Our Business, Industry and Operations

Our operating results may fluctuate due to the highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies in general and, specifically, Bitcoin.

All of our sources of revenue will be dependent on cryptocurrencies and, specifically, Bitcoin and the broader blockchain and Bitcoin mining ecosystem. Due to the highly volatile nature of the cryptocurrency markets and the prices of cryptocurrency assets, our operating results may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter in accordance with market sentiments and movements in the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem. Our operating results may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are unpredictable and in certain instances are outside of our control, including:

As a result of these factors, it may be difficult for us to forecast growth trends accurately and our business and future prospects are difficult to evaluate, particularly in the short term. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of our business and the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance. Quarterly and annual expenses reflected in our financial statements may be significantly different from historical or projected rates, and our operating results in one or more future quarters may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors.

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If we are unable to successfully maintain our power and hosting arrangements or secure the sites for our data centers, on acceptable terms or at all or if we must otherwise relocate to replacement sites, our operations may be disrupted, and our business results may suffer.

As part of our initial buildout phase, we plan to set up cryptocurrency mining facilities (or sites) in at least four cities in the United States, with three in Texas and one in Ohio. We currently anticipate to begin deployment of capacity across some of our planned cryptocurrency mining sites in the first quarter of 2022. We could set up multiple cryptocurrency mining sites per city. For further details on our planned initial buildout phase, see “Business—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline” in the Prospectus. We entered into definitive power and hosting arrangements with Standard Power, WindHQ and Luminant, which intend to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities referenced above. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements” in the Prospectus. Furthermore, although these definitive agreements include provisions allowing us to secure the sites for our data centers, actually securing these sites on terms acceptable to our management team may not occur within our timing expectations or at all. Securing the sites for our data centers may also be subject to various governmental approvals and require entry into ancillary agreements. Our inability to secure the sites for our data centers could adversely impact the anticipated timing of our initial buildout phase and therefore the time by which we are able to commence our operations.

If we are forced to locate alternative sites, we may not be successful in identifying adequate replacement sites to house our miners. Even if we identify such sites, we may not be successful in leasing the necessary facilities at rates that are economically viable to support our mining activities.

Even if we successfully secure the sites for our data centers, in the future, we may not be able to renew those on acceptable terms, in which case we would need to relocate our established mining operations. Relocating any mining operation may force us to incur the costs to transition to a new facility including, but not limited to, transportation expenses and insurance, downtime while we are unable to mine, legal fees to negotiate the new lease, de-installation at our current facility and, ultimately, installation at any new facility we identify. These costs may be substantial, and we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in transitioning our miners to a new facility. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We may depend on third parties to provide us with certain critical equipment and may rely on components and raw materials that may be subject to price fluctuations or shortages, including ASIC chips that have been subject to an ongoing significant shortage. Equipment orders for our initial buildout phase would typically require payments in advance.

In order to build and sustain our operations we will depend on third parties to provide us with ASIC chips and other critical components for our mining equipment, which may be subject to price fluctuations or shortages. For example, the ASIC chip is the key component of a mining machine as it determines the efficiency of the device. The production of ASIC chips typically requires highly sophisticated silicon wafers, which currently only a small number of fabrication facilities, or wafer foundries, in the world are capable of producing. We believe that the current microchip shortage that the entire industry is experiencing leads to price fluctuations and disruption in the supply of key miner components. Specifically, the ASIC chips have recently been subject to a significant price increases and shortages.

We have no operating history and have not earned any revenues to date. We cannot order ASIC chips or other equipment or services without advance payments as ASIC chip manufacturers and suppliers typically do not guarantee reserve foundry capacity or supplies without substantial order deposits. We would generally expect to fund our initial buildout phase, including our purchases of ASIC chips and other equipment and services, with the funds received in connection with the Business Combination. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to timely place our purchase orders to ensure sufficient supply of the required equipment at prices acceptable to us or at all. Thus, there is a risk that we will not be able to initiate or progress our initial buildout phase as planned.

Our ability to source ASIC chips and other critical components in a timely matter and at an acceptable price and quality level is critical to our operational buildout timeline and the development under our current business model. See “Business—Bitcoin Mining Technology—ASIC chips” in the Prospectus. We will be exposed to the risk of disruptions or other failures in the overall global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware. This is particularly relevant to the ASIC chip production since there is only a small number of fabrication facilities capable of such production, which increases our risk exposure to manufacturing disruptions or other supply chain failures. For further details see “—We are exposed to risks related to disruptions or other failures in the supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware and difficulties in obtaining new hardware.”

There is also a risk that a manufacturer or seller of ASIC chips or other necessary mining equipment may adjust the prices according to Bitcoin, other cryptocurrency prices or otherwise, so the cost of new machines could become unpredictable and extremely high. As a result, at times, we may be forced to obtain miners and other hardware at premium prices, to the extent they are even available. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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Bitcoin mining activities are energy-intensive, which may restrict the geographic locations of miners and have a negative environmental impact. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours, or even fully or partially ban mining operations.

Mining Bitcoin requires massive amounts of electrical power, and electricity costs are expected to account for a significant portion of our overall costs. The availability and cost of electricity will restrict the geographic locations of our mining activities. Any shortage of electricity supply or increase in electricity costs in any location where we plan to operate may negatively impact the viability and the expected economic return for Bitcoin mining activities in that location.

Further, our business model can only be successful and our mining operations can only be profitable if the costs, including electrical power costs, associated with Bitcoin mining are lower than the price of Bitcoin itself. As a result, any mining operation we establish can only be successful if we can obtain sufficient electrical power for that site on a cost-effective basis, and our establishment of new mining data centers requires us to find sites where that is the case. Even if our electrical power costs do not increase, significant fluctuations in, and any prolonged periods of, low Bitcoin prices may also cause our electrical supply to no longer be cost-effective.

In connection with the Business Combination, we entered into separate definitive power and hosting arrangements with each of Standard Power, WindHQ and Luminant, which intend to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities where we expect to begin our initial buildout phase. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements” in the Prospectus. If our counterparties fail to perform their obligations under these agreements, we may be forced to look for alternative power providers. There is no assurance that we will be able to find such alternative suppliers on acceptable terms in a timely manner or at all. See also “—We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.”

Furthermore, there may be significant competition for suitable cryptocurrency mining sites, and government regulators, including local permitting officials, may potentially restrict our ability to set up cryptocurrency mining operations in certain locations. They can also restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage, or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision of electricity to mining operations. For example, in 2018, the board of commissioners of Chelan County Public Utility District in Washington voted to stop reviewing applications for mining facilities following a review of the impact of existing operations. While we are not aware of the existence of any such restrictions in our planned mining locations in Texas and Ohio, new ordinances and other regulations at the federal, state and local levels can be introduced at any time. Specifically, those can be triggered by certain adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, see “—We will be vulnerable to severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, which could severely disrupt the normal operation of our business and adversely affect our results of operations.”

Furthermore, if cryptocurrency mining becomes more widespread, government scrutiny related to restrictions on cryptocurrency mining facilities and their energy consumption may significantly increase. The considerable consumption of electricity by mining operators may also have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which could set the public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities or create a negative consumer sentiment and perception of Bitcoin, specifically, or cryptocurrencies, generally. This, in turn, could lead to governmental measures restricting or prohibiting cryptocurrency mining or the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities. Any such development in the jurisdictions where we plan to operate could increase our compliance burdens and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. Government regulators in other countries may also ban or substantially limit their local cryptocurrency mining activities, which could have a material effect on our supply chains for mining equipment or services and the price of Bitcoin. It could also increase our domestic competition as some of those cryptocurrency miners or new entrants in this market may consider moving their cryptocurrency mining operations or establishing new operations in the United States. For further details on our competition, see “—We will operate in a highly competitive industry and we compete against unregulated or less regulated companies and companies with greater financial and other resources, and our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected if we are unable to respond to our competitors effectively.”

Additionally, our mining operations could be materially adversely affected by power outages and similar disruptions. Given the power requirements for our mining equipment, it would not be feasible to run this equipment on back-up power generators in the event of a government restriction on electricity or a power outage. If we are unable to receive adequate power supply and are forced to reduce our operations due to the availability or cost of electrical power, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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We may be affected by price fluctuations in the wholesale and retail power markets.

While the majority our power and hosting arrangements contain fixed power prices, some also contain certain price adjustment mechanisms in case of certain events. Furthermore, a portion of our power and hosting arrangements includes merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting market movements.

Market prices for power, generation capacity and ancillary services, are unpredictable. Depending upon the effectiveness of any price risk management activity undertaken by us, an increase in market prices for power, generation capacity, and ancillary services may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. Long- and short-term power prices may fluctuate substantially due to a variety of factors outside of our control, including, but not limited to:

If we are unable to secure power supply at prices or on terms acceptable to us, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We will be vulnerable to severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, which could severely disrupt the normal operation of our business and adversely affect our results of operations.

Our business will be subject to the risks of severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, any of which could result in system failures, power supply disruptions and other interruptions that could harm our business. As a substantial portion of our business and operations will be located in Texas and Ohio, we will be particularly vulnerable to disruptions affecting those states.

For example, in February 2021, Texas was hit with a major winter storm, which triggered power outages across the state for several days and left millions of homes, offices and factories without power. Although the power outages did not have a material impact on our power suppliers, future power outages may disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, the grid damages that occurred in Texas could potentially lead to delays and increased prices in our procurement of certain equipment essential to our operations, such as switchgears, cables and transformers. This could adversely impact the anticipated timing of our initial buildout phase and therefore the time by which we are able to commence our operations.

While we the majority of our power and hosting arrangements contain fixed power prices, some portion of our power arrangements have merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting the market movements. In an event of a major power outage, such as the abovementioned power outage in Texas, the merchant power prices could be too high to make Bitcoin mining profitable. Furthermore, even the fixed-price power arrangements would still depend upon prevailing market prices to some degree. To extent the power prices increase significantly as result of severe weather conditions, natural disasters or any other causes, resulting in contract prices for power being significantly lower than current market prices, the counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements may refuse to supply power to us during that period of fluctuating prices, see “—We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.”

From time to time, we may consider protecting against power price movements by adopting a more risk averse power procurement strategy and hedging our power purchase prices, which would translate into additional hedging costs for us.

Furthermore, events such as the aforementioned outage in Texas may lead federal, state or regional government officials to introduce new legislation and requirements on power providers that may result in, among other things, restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations in general.

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We do not plan to carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the losses that may result from interruptions in our operations as a result of system failures. A system outage or data loss, caused by it, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.

We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, whether contractual or otherwise. Risk of nonperformance includes inability or refusal of a counterparty to perform because of a counterparty’s financial condition and liquidity or for any other reason. For example, our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements may be unable to deliver the required amount of power for a variety of technical or economic reasons. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements” in the Prospectus. Furthermore, there is a risk that during a period of power price fluctuations or prolonged or sharp power price increases on the market, our counterparties may find it economically preferable to refuse to supply power to us, despite the contractual arrangements. Any significant nonperformance by counterparties, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We are exposed to risks related to disruptions or other failures in the supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware and difficulties in obtaining new hardware.

Manufacture, assembly and delivery of certain components and products for mining operations could be complex and long processes, in the course of which various problems could arise, including disruptions or delays in the supply chain, product quality control issues, as well other external factors, over which we have no control.

Our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs associated with Bitcoin mining, including hardware costs, are lower than the price of Bitcoin itself. In the course of the normal operation of our cryptocurrency mining facilities, our miners and other critical equipment and materials related to datacenter construction and maintenance, such as containers, switch gears, transformers and cables, will experience ordinary wear and tear and may also face more significant malfunctions caused by a number of extraneous factors beyond our control. Declines in the condition of our miners and other hardware will require us, over time, to repair or replace those miners. Additionally, as the technology evolves, we may be required to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. Any upgrading process may require substantial capital investment, and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis.

Our business will be subject to limitations inherent within the supply chain of certain of our components, including competitive, governmental, and legal limitations, and other events. For example, we expect that we will significantly rely on foreign imports to obtain certain equipment and materials. We anticipate that the cryptocurrency miners for our operations will be imported from China and other parts of equipment and materials, including ASIC chips, will be manufactured in and imported from South Korea or Taiwan. Any global trade disruption, introductions of tariffs, trade barriers and bilateral trade frictions, together with any potential downturns in the global economy resulting therefrom, could adversely affect our necessary supply chains. Our third-party manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors may also experience disruptions by worker absenteeism, quarantines, restrictions on employees’ ability to work, office and factory closures, disruptions to ports and other shipping infrastructure, border closures, or other travel or health-related restrictions, such as those that were triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, for example. Depending on the magnitude of such effects on our supply chain, shipments of parts for our miners, or any new miners that we order, may be delayed.

Furthermore, the global supply chain for cryptocurrency miners is presently heavily dependent on China, where a large number of cryptocurrency mining equipment suppliers are located. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry experienced some significant supply disruptions from China. China has also in the past limited the shipment of products in and out of its borders. Furthermore, in May 2021, China made cryptocurrency transactions illegal for Chinese citizens in mainland China, and the Chinese government also called for a crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading. Following this, the majority of bitcoin miners in China were taken offline. We cannot anticipate all the ways in which this regulatory action and any additional restrictions could adversely impact our industry and business. If further regulation or government action follows, for example, in the form of prohibition on production of the mining equipment, it is possible that our industry may be severely affected. Should any disruptions to the China-based global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware occur, such as, for example, as result of worsening of the U.S. trade relations with China, including imposition of new tariffs, trade barriers and bilateral trade frictions, we may not be able to obtain adequate equipment from the manufacturer on a timely basis. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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The properties in our mining network may experience damages, including damages that are not covered by insurance.

Our planned mining operations in Ohio and Texas, and any other future cryptocurrency mining sites we establish, will be subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including:

For example, our cryptocurrency mining facilities could be rendered inoperable, temporarily or permanently, as a result of, among others, a fire or other natural disasters. The security and other measures we anticipate to take to protect against these risks may not be sufficient.

Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage or loss of access to the electrical grid or loss by the grid of cost-effective sources of electrical power generating capacity. For further details on our reliance on the power generating capacity, see “—Bitcoin mining activities are energy intensive, which may restrict the geographic locations of miners and have a negative environmental impact. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours.” Our insurance is anticipated to cover the replacement costs of any lost or damaged miners, but will not cover any interruption of our mining activities. Our insurance therefore may not be adequate to cover the losses we suffer as a result of any of these events. In the event of an uninsured loss, including a loss in excess of insured limits, at any of the mines in our network, such mines may not be adequately repaired in a timely manner or at all and we may lose some or all of the future revenues anticipated to be derived from such mines.

We are recently formed and our success and future growth will, to a significant degree, depend on the skills and services of our management. Our loss of any of our management team, our inability to execute an effective succession plan, or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business.

We have no operating history, and our success and future growth will to a significant degree depend on the skills and services of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer. We will need to continue to grow our management in order to alleviate pressure on our existing team and in order to set up and develop our business. If our management, including any new hires that we may make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be significantly harmed. Furthermore, if we fail to execute an effective contingency or succession plan with the loss of any member of management, the loss of such management personnel may significantly disrupt our business.

Furthermore, the loss of key members of our management could inhibit our growth prospects. Our future success depends, in large part, on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key management and operating personnel. As we continue to develop and expand our operations, we may require personnel with different skills and experiences, who have a sound understanding of our business and the cryptocurrency industry, for example, specialists in power contract negotiations and management, as well as data center specialists. As cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining, is a new and developing field, the market for highly qualified personnel in this industry is particularly competitive and we may be unable to attract such personnel. If we are unable to attract such personnel, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We have an evolving business model.

As digital assets and blockchain technologies become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve, including as part of evolution in their regulatory treatment on the international and the U.S. federal, state and local levels. For more detail about the potential regulatory risks, see “Risks Related to Regulatory Framework—There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations”. As a result, our business model may need to evolve in order for us to stay current with the industry and to fully comply with the federal, as well as the applicable, state securities laws.

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Furthermore, from time to time we may modify aspects of our business model or engage in various strategic initiatives, which may be complimentary to our mining operations in the United States. For further information on our strategy, see “Business—Our Strategy—Retain flexibility in considering strategically adjacent opportunities complimentary to our business model” in the Prospectus. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to the business, damage our reputation and limit our growth. Additionally, any such changes to our business model or strategy could cause us to become subject to additional regulatory scrutiny and a number of additional requirements, including licensing and permit requirements. All of the abovementioned factors may impose additional compliance costs on our business and higher expectations from regulators regarding risk management, planning, governance and other aspects of our operations.

Further, we cannot provide any assurance that we will successfully identify all emerging trends and growth opportunities in this business sector and we may fail to capitalize on certain important business and market opportunities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We may experience difficulties in effectively managing our initial buildout phase and, subsequently, managing our growth and expanding our operations.

We expect to experience significant growth in the scope of our operations. Our ability to manage our initial buildout phase and the planned second phase will require us to build upon and to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, compliance programs and reporting systems. We may not be able to implement improvements in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing controls, programs, systems and procedures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Additionally, rapid growth in our business may place a strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources and systems. We may not grow as we expect, if we fail to manage our growth effectively or to develop and expand our managerial, operational and financial resources and systems, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Unfavorable global economic, business or political conditions, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption caused by various countermeasures to reduce its spread, could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets, including conditions that are outside of our control, such as the impact of the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”). The COVID-19 pandemic that was declared on March 11, 2020 has caused significant economic dislocation in the United States and globally as governments of more than 80 countries across the world, including the United States, introduced measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, including, amongst others, travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, quarantines and the imposition of both local and more widespread “work from home” measures. The spread of COVID-19 and the imposition of related public health measures have resulted in, and are expected to continue to result in, increased volatility and uncertainty in the cryptocurrency space. Any severe or prolonged economic downturn, as result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, could result in a variety of risks to our business and we cannot anticipate all the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

We may experience disruptions to our business operations resulting from supply interruptions, quarantines, self- isolations, or other movement and restrictions on the ability of our employees to perform their jobs. For example, we may experience delays in construction and delays in obtaining necessary equipment in a timely fashion. If we are unable to effectively set up and service our miners, our ability to mine Bitcoin will be adversely affected. The future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still highly uncertain and there is no assurance that the COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic, or other unfavorable global economic, business or political conditions, will not materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We will operate in a highly competitive industry and we compete against unregulated or less regulated companies and companies with greater financial and other resources, and our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected if we are unable to respond to our competitors effectively.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is highly innovative, rapidly evolving, and characterized by competition, experimentation, changing customer needs, frequent introductions of new products and services, and subject to uncertain and evolving industry and regulatory requirements. In the future, we expect competition to further intensify with existing and new competitors, some of which may have substantially greater liquidity and financial resources than we do. We compete against a number of companies operating both within the United States and abroad. Furthermore, increased regulatory focus and governmental scrutiny of cryptomining operations could lead to partial or full prohibitions on cryptocurrency mining activities in certain jurisdictions. For example, in May and June 2021, in their efforts to curb cryptocurrency trading and mining, regulators in several Chinese provinces, including Qinghai, Inner Mongolia

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and Sichuan, announced policies to curb or ban local cryptomining operations. Following the ban announcement, the price of Bitcoin experienced a drop of over 30% in May 2021.

Furthermore, such regulatory actions may lead to increase our domestic competition as some of those cryptocurrency miners or new entrants in this market may consider moving their cryptocurrency mining operations or establishing new operations in the United States. We may not be able to compete successfully against present or future competitors. We may not have the resources to compete with larger providers of similar services and, consequently, may experience great difficulties in expanding and improving our operations to remain competitive. For details on our current competitive landscape, see “Business—Competition” in the Prospectus.

Competition from existing and future competitors could result in our inability to secure acquisitions and partnerships that we may need to build-up or expand our business in the future. This competition from other entities with greater resources, experience and reputations may result in our failure to maintain or expand our business, as we may never be able to successfully execute our business model. Furthermore, we anticipate encountering new competition if we expand our operations to new locations geographically and into wider applications of blockchain, cryptocurrency mining and mining farm operations. If we are unable to expand and remain competitive, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Facebook’s development of a cryptocurrency may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

In May 2019, Facebook announced its plans for a cryptocurrency called Libra, which faced significant government scrutiny. In July 2019, Facebook announced that Libra will not launch until all regulatory concerns have been met. Facebook rebranded the cryptocurrency to Diem in 2020. The massive social network and 27 other partners are estimating that the Diem digital coin and Facebook’s corresponding digital wallet, would be a way to make sending payments around the world as easy as it is to send a photo. Facebook’s significant resources and ability to engage the world via social media may enable it to bring Diem to market rapidly and to deploy it across industries more rapidly and successfully than previous cryptocurrencies. Facebook’s size and market share may cause its cryptocurrency to succeed to the detriment and potential exclusion of existing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.

We may acquire other businesses, form joint ventures or make other investments that could negatively affect our operating results, dilute our stockholders’ ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expenses.

From time to time, we may consider potential acquisitions, joint venture or other investment opportunities. We cannot offer any assurance that acquisitions of businesses, assets and/or entering into strategic alliances or joint ventures will be successful. We may not be able to find suitable partners or acquisition candidates and may not be able to complete such transactions on favorable terms, if at all. If we make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully into the existing business and could assume unknown or contingent liabilities.

Any future acquisitions also could result in the issuance of stock, incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or future write-offs of intangible assets or goodwill, any of which could have a negative impact on our cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Integration of an acquired company may also disrupt ongoing operations and require management resources that otherwise would be focused on developing and expanding our existing business. We may experience losses related to potential investments in other companies, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations. Further, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, strategic alliance or joint venture if such investments do not materialize.

To finance any acquisitions or joint ventures, we may choose to issue shares of common stock, preferred stock or a combination of debt and equity as consideration, which could significantly dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders or provide rights to such preferred stock holders in priority over our common stock holders. Additional funds may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. If the price of our common stock is low or volatile, we may not be able to acquire other companies or fund a joint venture project using stock as consideration.

If we fail to develop, maintain, and enhance our brand and reputation, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We anticipate that our brand and reputation, particularly in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, will be an important factor in success and development of our business. As part of our strategy, we will seek to structure our relationships with equipment and service providers, our power suppliers and other potential partners as long-term partnerships, see “Business—Our Strategy—Position ourselves as a leader on the global cost curve and maintain strong relationships with our industry partners” in the Prospectus. Thus, maintaining, protecting, and enhancing our reputation is also important to our development plans and relationships with our power suppliers, service providers and other counterparties.

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Furthermore, we believe that the importance of our brand and reputation may increase as competition further intensifies. Our brand and reputation could be harmed if we fail to perform under our agreements or if our public image were to be tarnished by negative publicity, unexpected events or actions by third parties. Unfavorable publicity about us, including our technology, personnel, and Bitcoin and cryptoassets generally could have an adverse effect on the engagement of our partners and suppliers and may result in our failure to maintain or expand our business and successfully execute our business model.

Our compliance and risk management methods might not be effective and may result in outcomes that could adversely affect our reputation, operating results, and financial condition.

Our ability to comply with applicable complex and evolving laws, regulations, and rules is largely dependent on the establishment and maintenance of our compliance, audit, and reporting systems, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified compliance and other risk management personnel. While we plan to devote significant resources to develop policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage our risks, we cannot assure you that our policies and procedures will always be effective against all types of risks, including unidentified or unanticipated risks, or that we will always be successful in monitoring or evaluating the risks to which we are or may be exposed in all market environments.

We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

Our success depends significantly on our ability to operate without infringing the patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. In recent years, there has been considerable patent, copyright, trademark, domain name, trade secret and other intellectual property development activity in the cryptocurrency space, as well as litigation, based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property, including by large financial institutions. Furthermore, individuals and groups can purchase patents and other intellectual property assets solely for the purpose of making claims of infringement to extract settlements from companies like ours.

Our use of third-party intellectual property rights may be subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation. From time to time, third parties may claim that we are infringing upon or misappropriating their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to be infringing upon such rights. Any claims or litigation could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial damages or ongoing royalty payments.

Furthermore, the occurrence of infringement claims may be likely to grow as the cryptocurrency ecosystem grows and matures. Accordingly, our exposure to damages resulting from infringement claims could increase and this could further exhaust our financial and management resources. Even if intellectual property claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and require significant expenditures. Any of the foregoing could prevent us from competing effectively and could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position could be harmed.

To protect all of our confidential and proprietary information, we plan to rely upon trademarks, copyright and trade secret protection, as well as potentially patents, non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with employees, consultants and third parties. Some elements of our business model are based on unpatented trade secrets and know-how that are not publicly disclosed. In addition to contractual measures, we plan to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information using physical and technological security measures. Such measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information.

The security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and the recourse we take against such misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret can be difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. If any of our confidential or proprietary information, such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any such information was independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be harmed, which could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition

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Risks Related to Regulatory Framework

If we were deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

An issuer will generally be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the 1940 Act if:

We believe that we are not and will not be primarily engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, and we do not hold ourselves out as being engaged in those activities. We intend to hold ourselves out as a cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an “orthodox” investment company as described in the first bullet point above.

While certain cryptocurrencies may be deemed to be securities, we do not believe that certain other cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, are securities. Our cryptocurrency mining activities will focus on Bitcoin; therefore, we believe that less than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis will comprise cryptocurrencies or assets that could be considered investment securities. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an inadvertent investment company by virtue of the 40% inadvertent investment company test as described in the second bullet point above. Although we do not believe any of the cryptocurrencies we may own, acquire or mine are securities, there is still some regulatory uncertainty on the subject, see “—There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.” If certain cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, were to be deemed securities, and consequently, investment securities by the SEC, we could be deemed an inadvertent investment company.

If we were to be deemed an inadvertent investment company, we may seek to rely on Rule 3a-2 under the 1940 Act, which allows an inadvertent investment company a grace period of one year from the earlier of (a) the date on which the issuer owns securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the issuer’s total assets on either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis or (b) the date on which the issuer owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We are putting in place policies that we expect will work to keep the investment securities held by us at less than 40% of our total assets, which may include acquiring assets with our cash, liquidating our investment securities or seeking no-action relief or exemptive relief from the SEC if we are unable to acquire sufficient assets or liquidate sufficient investment securities in a timely manner. As Rule 3a-2 is available to an issuer no more than once every three years, and assuming no other exclusion were available to us, we would have to keep within the 40% limit for at least three years after we cease being an inadvertent investment company. This may limit our ability to make certain investments or enter into joint ventures that could otherwise have a positive impact on our earnings. In any event, we do not intend to become an investment company engaged in the business of investing and trading securities.

Finally, we believe we are not an investment company under Section 3(b)(1) of the 1940 Act because we are primarily engaged in a non-investment company business.

The 1940 Act and the rules thereunder contain detailed parameters for the organization and operations of investment companies. Among other things, the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder limit or prohibit transactions with affiliates, impose limitations on the issuance of debt and equity securities, prohibit the issuance of stock options, and impose certain governance requirements. We intend to continue to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed to be an investment company under the 1940 Act. However, if anything were to happen that would cause us to be deemed to be an investment company under the 1940 Act, requirements imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on our capital structure, ability to transact business with affiliates and ability to compensate key employees, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as currently conducted, impair the agreements and arrangements between and among us and our senior management team and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Any change in the interpretive positions of the SEC or its staff with respect to cryptocurrencies or digital asset mining firms could have a material adverse effect on us.

We intend to conduct our operations so that we are not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Specifically, we do not believe that cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, are securities. The SEC Staff has not provided guidance with respect to the treatment of these assets under the 1940 Act. To the extent the SEC Staff publishes new guidance with respect to these matters, we may be required to adjust our strategy or assets accordingly. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our exclusion from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. In addition, as a consequence of our seeking to avoid the need to register under the 1940 Act on an ongoing basis, we may be limited in our ability to engage in cryptocurrency mining operations or otherwise make certain investments, and these limitations could result in our holding assets we may wish to sell or selling assets we may wish to hold, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If regulatory changes or interpretations of our activities require our registration as a money services business (“MSB”) under the regulations promulgated by FinCEN under the authority of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, or otherwise under state laws, we may incur significant compliance costs, which could be substantial or cost-prohibitive. If we become subject to these regulations, our costs in complying with them may have a material negative effect on our business and the results of our operations.

To the extent that our activities cause us to be deemed an MSB under the regulations promulgated by FinCEN under the authority of the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act, we may be required to comply with FinCEN regulations, including those that would mandate us to implement anti-money laundering programs, make certain reports to FinCEN and maintain certain records.

To the extent that our activities would cause us to be deemed a “money transmitter” (“MT”) or equivalent designation, under state law in any state in which we may operate, we may be required to seek a license or otherwise register with a state regulator and comply with state regulations that may include the implementation of anti-money laundering programs, maintenance of certain records and other operational requirements. For example, in August 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services enacted the first U.S. regulatory framework for licensing participants in “virtual currency business activity”. The regulations, known as the “BitLicense”, are intended to focus on consumer protection and regulate the conduct of businesses that are involved in “virtual currencies” in New York or with New York customers and prohibit any person or entity involved in such activity to conduct activities without a license.

Such additional federal or state regulatory obligations may cause us to incur extraordinary expenses. Furthermore, we may not be capable of complying with certain federal or state regulatory obligations applicable to MSBs and MTs. If we are deemed to be subject to and determine not to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may act to dissolve and liquidate.

There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.

As cryptocurrencies have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently, with certain governments deeming cryptocurrencies illegal, and others allowing their use and trade without restriction. In some jurisdictions, such as in the U.S., digital assets, like cryptocurrencies, are subject to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, unclear and evolving regulatory requirements.

Bitcoin is the oldest and most well-known form of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrencies have been the source of much regulatory consternation, resulting in differing definitional outcomes without a single unifying statement. Bitcoin and other digital assets are viewed differently by different regulatory and standards setting organizations globally as well as in the United States on the federal and state levels. For example, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) consider a cryptocurrency as currency or an asset or property. Further, the IRS applies general tax principles that apply to property transactions to transactions involving virtual currency.

Furthermore, in the several applications to establish an Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) of cryptocurrency, and in the questions raised by the Staff under the 1940 Act, no clear principles emerge from the regulators as to how they view these issues and how to regulate cryptocurrency under the applicable securities acts. It has been widely reported that the SEC has recently issued letters and requested various ETF applications be withdrawn because of concerns over liquidity and valuation and unanswered questions about absence of reporting and compliance procedures capable of being implemented under the current state of the markets for exchange traded funds. On April 20, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill titled “Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021” (H.R. 1602). If passed by the Senate and enacted into law, the bipartisan bill would create a digital assets working group to evaluate

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the current legal and regulatory framework around digital assets in the United States and define when the SEC may have jurisdiction over a particular token or cryptocurrency (i.e., when it is a security) and when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) may have jurisdiction (i.e., when it is a commodity).

If regulatory changes or interpretations require the regulation of Bitcoin or other digital assets under the securities laws of the United States or elsewhere, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Exchange Act and the 1940 Act or similar laws of other jurisdictions and interpretations by the SEC, the CFTC, the IRS, Department of Treasury or other agencies or authorities, we may be required to register and comply with such regulations, including at a state or local level. To the extent that we decide to continue operations, the required registrations and regulatory compliance steps may result in extraordinary expense or burdens to us. We may also decide to cease certain operations and change our business model. Any disruption of our operations in response to the changed regulatory circumstances may be at a time that is disadvantageous to us.

Current and future legislation and SEC-rulemaking and other regulatory developments, including interpretations released by a regulatory authority, may impact the manner in which Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are viewed or treated for classification and clearing purposes. In particular, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may not be excluded from the definition of “security” by SEC rulemaking or interpretation requiring registration of all transactions unless another exemption is available, including transacting in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency among owners and require registration of trading platforms as “exchanges”.

Furthermore, when the interests of investor protection are paramount, for example in the offer or sale of Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”) tokens, the SEC has no difficulty determining that the token offerings are securities under the “Howey” test as stated by the United States Supreme Court. As such, ICO offerings would require registration under the Securities Act or an available exemption therefrom for offers or sales in the United States to be lawful. Section 5(a) of the Securities Act provides that, unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to engage in the offer or sale of securities in interstate commerce. Section 5(c) of the Securities Act provides a similar prohibition against offers to sell, or offers to buy, unless a registration statement has been filed. Although, since we do not intend to be engaged in the offer or sale of securities in the form of ICO offerings, and we do not believe our planned mining activities would require registration for us to conduct such activities and accumulate digital assets the SEC, CFTC, Nasdaq or other governmental or quasi-governmental agency or organization may conclude that our activities involve the offer or sale of “securities”, or ownership of “investment securities”, and we may face regulation under the Securities Act or the 1940 Act. Such regulation or the inability to meet the requirements to continue operations, would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. We may also face similar issues with various state securities regulators who may interpret our actions as requiring registration under state securities laws, banking laws, or money transmitter and similar laws, which are also an unsettled area or regulation that exposes us to risks.

We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the law. If we fail to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain of our operations or be subjected to fines, penalties and other governmental action. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business model at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any cryptocurrencies we plan to hold or expect to acquire for our own account.

Regulatory actions in one or more countries could severely affect the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use certain cryptocurrencies or to exchange them for fiat currency.

One or more countries, such as China, India or Russia, may take regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies or to exchange them for fiat currency. In some nations, it is illegal to accept payment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for consumer transactions and banking institutions are barred from accepting deposits of cryptocurrencies. Such restrictions may adversely affect us as the large-scale use of cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange is presently confined to certain regions.

Furthermore, in the future, foreign governments may decide to subsidize or in some other way support certain large-scale cryptocurrency mining projects, thus adding hashrate to the overall network. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on the amount of Bitcoin we may be able to mine, the value of Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future and, consequently, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Competition from central bank digital currencies (“CBDCs”) could adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets.

Central banks in some countries have started to introduce digital forms of legal tender. For example, China’s CBDC project, known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment, has reportedly been tested in a live pilot program conducted in multiple cities in China. A 2021 survey of central banks by the Bank for International Settlements found that 86% are actively researching the potential for CBDCs,

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60% were experimenting with the technology and 14% were deploying pilot projects. Whether or not they incorporate blockchain or similar technology, CBDCs, as legal tender in the issuing jurisdiction, could have an advantage in competing with, or replacing, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange or store of value. As a result, the value of Bitcoin could decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States, and our tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Cryptocurrency

We may lose our private key to our digital wallet, causing a loss of all of our digital assets.

Digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, are stored in a so-called “digital wallet”, which may be accessed to exchange a holder’s digital assets, and is controllable by the processor of both the public key and the private key relating to this digital wallet in which the digital assets are held, both of which are unique. We will publish the public key relating to digital wallets in use when we verify the receipt of transfers and disseminate such information into the network, but we will need to safeguard the private keys relating to such digital wallets. If the private key is lost, destroyed, or otherwise compromised, we may be unable to access our cryptocurrencies held in the related digital wallet which will essentially be lost. If the private key is acquired by a third party, then this third party may be able to gain access to our cryptocurrencies. Any loss of private keys relating to digital wallets used to store our cryptocurrencies could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The storage and custody of our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies that we may potentially acquire or hold in the future are subject to cybersecurity breaches and adverse software events.

In addition to the risk of a private key loss to our digital wallet, see “—We may lose our private key to our digital wallet, destroying all of our digital assets”, the storage and custody of our digital assets could also be subject to cybersecurity breaches and adverse software events. In order to minimize risk, we plan to establish processes to manage wallets, or software programs where assets are held, that are associated with our cryptocurrency holdings.

A “hot wallet” refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up and access than wallets in “cold” storage, but they are also more susceptible to hackers and other technical vulnerabilities. “Cold storage” refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold storage is generally more secure than hot storage, but is not ideal for quick or regular transactions and we may experience lag time in our ability to respond to market fluctuations in the price of our digital assets.

We generally plan to hold the majority of our cryptocurrencies in cold storage to reduce the risk of malfeasance; however we may also use third-party custodial wallets and, from time to time, we may use hot wallets or rely on other options that may develop in the future. If we use a custodial wallet, there can be no assurance that such services will be more secure than cold storage or other alternatives. Human error and the constantly evolving state of cybercrime and hacking techniques may render present security protocols and procedures ineffective in ways which we cannot predict.

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Regardless of the storage method, the risk of damage to or loss of our digital assets cannot be wholly eliminated. If our security procedures and protocols are ineffective and our cryptocurrency assets are compromised by cybercriminals, we may not have adequate recourse to recover our losses stemming from such compromise. A security breach could also harm our reputation. A resulting perception that our measures do not adequately protect our digital assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future may be subject to loss, theft, hacking, fraud risks and restriction on access.

There is a risk that some or all of our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future could be lost or stolen. Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal or compromise cryptocurrencies, such as by attacking the cryptocurrency network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms, cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. Cryptocurrency transactions and accounts are not insured by any type of government program and cryptocurrency transactions generally are permanent by design of the networks. Certain features of cryptocurrency networks, such as decentralization, the open source protocols, and the reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response.

Cryptocurrencies have suffered from a number of recent hacking incidents and several cryptocurrency exchanges and miners have reported large cryptocurrency losses, which highlight concerns over the security of cryptocurrencies and in turn affect the demand and the market price of cryptocurrencies. For example, in August 2016, it was reported that almost 120,000 Bitcoin worth around $78 million were stolen from Bitfinex, a large Bitcoin exchange. The value of Bitcoin immediately decreased by more than 10% following reports of the theft at Bitfinex. In addition, in December 2017, Yapian, the operator of Seoul-based digital asset exchange Youbit, suspended digital asset trading and filed for bankruptcy following a hack that resulted in a loss of 17% of Yapian’s assets. Following the hack, Youbit users were allowed to withdraw approximately 75% of the digital assets in their exchange accounts, with any potential further distributions to be made following Yapian’s pending bankruptcy proceedings. In January 2018, Japan-based exchange Coincheck reported that over $500 million worth of the digital asset NEM had been lost due to hacking attacks, resulting in significant decreases in the prices of Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets as the market grew increasingly concerned about the security of digital assets. Following South Korean-based exchange Coinrail’s announcement in early June 2018 about a hacking incident, the price of Bitcoin and Ether dropped more than 10%. In September 2018, Japan-based exchange Zaif also announced that approximately $60 million worth of digital assets, including Bitcoin, was stolen due to hacking activities.

We may be in control and possession of one of the more substantial holdings of cryptocurrency. As we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Cyber-attacks may also target our miners or third-parties and other services on which we depend. Any potential security breaches, cyber-attacks on our operations and any other loss or theft of our cryptocurrency assets, which could expose us to liability and reputational harm and could seriously curtail the utilization of our services.

Incorrect or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions may be irreversible.

Cryptocurrency transactions are irrevocable and stolen or incorrectly transferred cryptocurrencies may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions could adversely affect our investments and assets.

Cryptocurrency transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the cryptocurrencies from the transaction. While theoretically cryptocurrency transactions may be reversible with the control or consent of a majority of processing power on the network, we do not now, nor is it feasible that we could in the future, possess sufficient processing power to effect this reversal.

Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to a blockchain, an incorrect transfer of a cryptocurrency or a theft thereof generally will not be reversible and we may not have sufficient recourse to recover our losses from any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, our cryptocurrency rewards could be transferred in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts.

Further, according to the SEC, at this time, there is no specifically enumerated U.S. or foreign governmental, regulatory, investigative or prosecutorial authority or mechanism through which to bring an action or complaint regarding missing or stolen cryptocurrency. The market participants, therefore, are presently reliant on existing private investigative entities to investigate any potential loss of our digital assets. These third-party service providers rely on data analysis and compliance of ISPs with traditional court orders to reveal information such as the IP addresses of any attackers. To the extent that we are unable to recover our losses from such action, error or theft, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results, including our ability to continue as a going concern.

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Acceptance and widespread use of cryptocurrency, in general, and Bitcoin, specifically, is uncertain.

Currently, there is a relatively limited use of any cryptocurrency in the retail and commercial marketplace, contributing to price volatility of cryptocurrencies. Price volatility undermines any cryptocurrency’s role as a medium of exchange, as retailers are much less likely to accept it as a form of payment. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for cryptocurrency transactions, process wire transfers to or from cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in cryptocurrency. Furthermore, a significant portion of cryptocurrency demand, including demand for Bitcoin, is generated by investors seeking a long-term store of value or speculators seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of the asset.

The relative lack of acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the retail and commercial marketplace, or a reduction of such use, limits the ability of end users to use them to pay for goods and services. Such lack of acceptance or decline in acceptances could have a material adverse effect on the value of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies, and consequently our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Ownership of Bitcoin is pseudonymous, and the supply of accessible Bitcoin is unknown. Individuals or entities with substantial holdings in Bitcoin may engage in large-scale sales or distributions, either on non- market terms or in the ordinary course, which could disproportionately and negatively affect the cryptocurrency market, result in a reduction in the price of Bitcoin and materially and adversely affect the price of our common stock.

There is no registry showing which individuals or entities own Bitcoin or the quantity of Bitcoin that is owned by any particular person or entity. It is possible, and in fact, reasonably likely, that a small group of early Bitcoin adopters hold a significant proportion of the Bitcoin that has been created to date. There are no regulations in place that would prevent a large holder of Bitcoin from selling Bitcoin it holds. To the extent such large holders of Bitcoin engage in large-scale sales or distributions, either on non-market terms or in the ordinary course, it could negatively affect the cryptocurrency market and result in a reduction in the price of Bitcoin. This, in turn, could materially and adversely affect the price of our stock, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The open-source structure of the Bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol.

The Bitcoin network operates based on an open-source protocol, not represented by an official organization or authority. Instead it is maintained by a group of core contributors, largely on the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub.com. This group of contributors is currently headed by Wladimir J. van der Laan, the current lead maintainer. As the Bitcoin network protocol is not sold and its use does not generate revenues for contributors, contributors are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the Bitcoin network protocol. Although the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative funds the current maintainer Wladimir J. van der Laan, among others, this type of financial incentive is not typical. The lack of guaranteed financial incentive for contributors to maintain or develop the Bitcoin network and the lack of guaranteed resources to adequately address emerging issues with the Bitcoin network may reduce incentives to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner.

There can be no guarantee that developer support will continue or be sufficient in the future. Additionally, some development and developers are funded by companies whose interests may be at odds with other participants in the network or with investors’ interests. To the extent that material issues arise with the Bitcoin network protocol and the core developers and open-source contributors are unable or unwilling to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner, the Bitcoin network and consequently our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Significant contributors to all or a network for any particular digital asset, such as Bitcoin, could propose amendments to the respective network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by such network, could adversely affect our business.

The Bitcoin network is maintained by a group of contributors, largely on the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub.com, currently headed by Wladimir J. van der Laan, see “—The open-source structure of the Bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol.” These individuals can propose refinements or improvements to the Bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the Bitcoin network and the properties of Bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new Bitcoin. Proposals for upgrades and discussions relating thereto take place on online forums.

If a developer or group of developers proposes a modification to the Bitcoin network that is not accepted by a majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial plurality of miners and users, two or more competing and incompatible

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blockchain implementations could result, with one running the pre-modification software program and the other running the modified version (i.e., a second “Bitcoin network”).

This is known as a “hard fork”. Such a hard fork in the blockchain typically would be addressed by community-led efforts to reunite the forked blockchains, and several prior forks have been resolved successfully. However, a “hard fork” in the blockchain could materially and adversely affect the perceived value of Bitcoin as reflected on one or both incompatible blockchains. Additionally, a “hard fork” will decrease the number of users and miners available to each fork of the blockchain as the users and miners on each fork blockchain will not be accessible to the other blockchain and, consequently, there will be fewer block rewards and transaction fees may decline in value. Any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

A temporary or permanent blockchain “fork” could have a negative effect on digital assets’ value.

In August 2017, Bitcoin “forked” into Bitcoin and a new digital asset, Bitcoin Cash, as a result of a several-year dispute over how to increase the rate of transactions that the Bitcoin network can process. Since then, Bitcoin has been forked numerous times to launch new digital assets, such as Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Silver and Bitcoin Diamond. These forks effectively result in a new blockchain being created with a shared history, and new path forward, and they have a different “proof of work” algorithm and other technical changes.

The value of the newly created Bitcoin Cash and the other similar digital assets may or may not have value in the long run and may affect the price of Bitcoin if interest is shifted away from Bitcoin to these newly created digital assets. The value of Bitcoin after the creation of a fork is subject to many factors including the value of the fork product, market reaction to the creation of the fork product, and the occurrence of forks in the future.

Furthermore, a hard fork can introduce new security risks. For example, when Ethereum and Ethereum Classic split in July 2016, replay attacks, in which transactions from one network were rebroadcast to nefarious effect on the other network, plagued trading venues through at least October 2016. An exchange announced in July 2016 that it had lost 40,000 Ether from the Ethereum Classic network, which was worth about $100,000 at that time, as a result of replay attacks. Another possible result of a hard fork is an inherent decrease in the level of security.

After a hard fork, it may become easier for an individual miner or mining pool’s hashing power to exceed 50% of the processing power of the Bitcoin network, thereby making the network more susceptible to attack.

A fork could also be introduced by an unintentional, unanticipated software flaw in the multiple versions of otherwise compatible software that users run. It is possible, however, that a substantial number of users and miners could adopt an incompatible version of Bitcoin while resisting community-led efforts to merge the two chains. This would result in a permanent fork, as in the case of Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, as detailed above.

If a fork occurs on a digital asset network which we are mining, such as Bitcoin, or hold digital assets in, it may have a negative effect on the value of the digital asset and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Because there has been limited precedent set for financial accounting for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets, the determinations that we have made for how to account for cryptocurrency assets transactions may be subject to change.

Because there has been limited precedent set for the financial accounting for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency assets and related revenue recognition and no official guidance has yet been provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the SEC, it is unclear how companies may in the future be required to account for cryptocurrency transactions and assets and related revenue recognition. A change in regulatory or financial accounting standards could result in the necessity to change the accounting methods we currently intend to employ in respect of our anticipated revenues and assets and restate any financial statements produced based on those methods. Such a restatement could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation.

The development and acceptance of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of and transactions in cryptocurrencies is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate.

Digital assets, such as Bitcoin, that may be used, among other things, to buy and sell goods and services are a new and rapidly evolving industry of which the digital asset networks are prominent, but not unique, parts. The growth of the digital asset industry, in

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general, and the digital asset networks, in particular, are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The factors affecting the further development of the digital asset industry, as well as the digital asset networks, include:

The outcome of these factors could have negative effects on our ability to pursue our business strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results as well as potentially negative effect on the value of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future.

Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that provide cryptocurrency-related services or that accept cryptocurrencies as payment.

A number of companies that provide Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Similarly, a number of companies and individuals or businesses associated with cryptocurrencies may have had and may continue to have their existing bank accounts closed or services discontinued with financial institutions. We also may be unable to maintain these services for our business.

The difficulty that many businesses that provide Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may decrease the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and harm public perception of cryptocurrencies. Similarly, the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and the public perception of cryptocurrencies could be damaged if banks or financial institutions were to close the accounts of businesses providing Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services. This could occur as a result of compliance risk, cost, government regulation or public pressure. The risk applies to securities firms, clearance and settlement firms, national stock and commodities exchanges, the over the counter market and the Depository Trust Company. Such factors would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times and any mechanisms of increasing the scale of cryptocurrency settlement may significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the market.

Cryptocurrencies face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times, and attempts to increase the volume of transactions may not be effective. Scaling cryptocurrencies, and particularly Bitcoin, is essential to the widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, which is necessary to the growth and development of our business.

Many cryptocurrency networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, cryptocurrencies are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. In this respect, Bitcoin may be particularly affected as it relies on the “proof of work” validation, which due to its inherent characteristics may be particularly hard to scale to allow simultaneous processing of multiple daily transactions by users. Participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem debate potential approaches to increasing the average number of transactions per second that the network can handle and have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as “sharding”, which is a term for a horizontal partition of data in a database or search engine, which would not require every single transaction to be included in every single miner’s or validator’s block. For example, the Ethereum network is in the process of implementing software upgrades and other changes to its protocol, the so- called Ethereum 2.0, which are intended to be a new iteration of the Ethereum network that changes its consensus mechanism from “proof-of-work” to “proof-of-stake” and incorporate the use of “sharding”. This version aims to address: a clogged network that can only handle limited number of transactions per second and the large consumption of energy that comes with the “proof-of-work” mechanism. This new upgrade is envisioned to be more scalable, secure, and sustainable, although it remains unclear whether and how it may ultimately be implemented.

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There is no guarantee that any of the mechanisms in place or being explored for increasing the scale of settlement of cryptocurrency transactions will be effective, how long they will take to become effective or whether such mechanisms will be effective for all cryptocurrencies. There is also a risk that any mechanisms of increasing the scale of cryptocurrency settlement, such as the ongoing upgrades as part of Ethereum 2.0, may significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the cryptocurrency market and may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and the price of our common stock. Any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or other alternatives.

The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or an alternative to distributed ledgers altogether. Our business intends to rely on presently existent digital ledgers and blockchains and we could face difficulty adapting to emergent digital ledgers, blockchains, or alternatives thereto. This may adversely affect us and our exposure to various blockchain technologies and prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results and potentially the value of any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future.

If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control in excess of 50% of the processing power active on any digital asset network, including the Bitcoin network, it is possible that such actor or botnet could manipulate the blockchain in a manner that may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

If a malicious actor or botnet (a volunteer or hacked collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers) obtains a majority of the processing power dedicated to mining on any digital asset network (the so-called “double-spend” or “51%” attacks), including the Bitcoin network, it may be able to alter the blockchain by constructing alternate blocks if it is able to solve for such blocks faster than the remainder of the miners on the blockchain can add valid blocks. In such alternate blocks, the malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude or modify the ordering of transactions, though it could not generate new digital assets or transactions using such control.

Using alternate blocks, the malicious actor could “double-spend” its own digital assets (i.e., spend the same digital assets in more than one transaction) and prevent the confirmation of other users’ transactions for so long as it maintains control. To the extent that such malicious actor or botnet does not yield its majority control of the processing power or the digital asset community does not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to the blockchain may not be possible.

For example, in late May and early June 2014, a mining pool known as GHash.io approached and, during a 24- to 48-hour period in early June may have exceeded, the threshold of 50% of the processing power on the Bitcoin network. To the extent that GHash.io did exceed 50% of the processing power on the network, reports indicate that such threshold was surpassed for only a short period, and there are no reports of any malicious activity or control of the blockchain performed by GHash.io. Furthermore, the processing power in the mining pool appears to have been redirected to other pools on a voluntary basis by participants in the GHash.io pool, as had been done in prior instances when a mining pool exceeded 40% of the processing power on the Bitcoin network. In the recent years, there have been also a series of 51% attacks on a number of other cryptocurrencies, including Verge and Ethereum Classic, which suffered three consecutive attacks in August 2020.

The approach towards and possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicate a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of digital asset transactions. To the extent that the cryptocurrency ecosystem does not act to ensure greater decentralization of cryptocurrency mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining in excess of 50% of the processing power on any digital asset network (e.g., through control of a large mining pool or through hacking such a mining pool) will increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The price of cryptocurrencies may be affected by the sale of such cryptocurrencies by other vehicles investing in cryptocurrencies or tracking cryptocurrency markets.

The global market for cryptocurrency is characterized by supply constraints that differ from those present in the markets for commodities or other assets such as gold and silver. The mathematical protocols under which certain cryptocurrencies are mined permit the creation of a limited, predetermined amount of currency, while others have no limit established on total supply. To the extent that other vehicles investing in cryptocurrencies or tracking cryptocurrency markets form and come to represent a significant proportion of the demand for cryptocurrencies, large redemptions of the securities of those vehicles and the subsequent sale of cryptocurrencies by such vehicles could negatively affect cryptocurrency prices and therefore affect the value of the cryptocurrency inventory we plan to hold. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have a material adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.