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Core Scientific Inc (CORZ)
NASDAQ:CORZ
Risk Overview Q3, 2024
Risk Distribution
31% Finance & Corporate
21% Production
17% Tech & Innovation
16% Legal & Regulatory
9% Ability to Sell
6% Macro & Political
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
This chart displays the stock's most recent risk distribution according to category. TipRanks has identified 6 major categories: Finance & corporate, legal & regulatory, macro & political, production, tech & innovation, and ability to sell.
Risk Change Over Time
S&P500 Average
Sector Average
Risks removed
Risks added
Risks changed
Core Scientific Inc Risk Factors
New Risk (0)
Risk Changed (0)
Risk Removed (0)
No changes from previous report
The chart shows the number of risks a company has disclosed. You can compare this to the sector average or S&P 500 average.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
The quarters shown in the chart are according to the calendar year (January to December). Businesses set their own financial calendar, known as a fiscal year. For example, Walmart ends their financial year at the end of January to accommodate the holiday season.
Risk Highlights Q3, 2024
Main Risk Category
Finance & Corporate
With 24 Risks
Finance & Corporate
With 24 Risks
Number of Disclosed Risks
77
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 31
77
+1
From last reportS&P 500 Average: 31
Recent Changes
1Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
1Risks added
0Risks removed
0Risks changed
Since Sep 2024
Number of Risk Changed
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 2
0
No changes from last report
S&P 500 Average: 2
See the risk highlights of Core Scientific Inc in the last period.
Risk Word Cloud
The most common phrases about risk factors from the most recent report. Larger texts indicate more widely used phrases.
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 77
Finance & Corporate
Total Risks: 24/77 (31%)Below Sector Average
Share Price & Shareholder Rights5 | 6.5%
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1
Any change in the interpretive positions of the SEC or its staff with respect to digital asset mining firms could have a material adverse effect on us.Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2
The market price and trading volume of our securities could decline if securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business.The trading market for our securities will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. The analysts' estimates are based upon their own opinions and are often different from our estimates or expectations. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our securities or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our securities would likely decline. If few securities analysts commence coverage of us, or if one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our securities could decrease, which might cause the price and trading volume of our securities to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3
Future sales and issuances of our capital stock or rights to purchase capital stock could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our stockholders and could cause our stock price to decline.We may issue additional securities, including shares of New Common Stock as a result of the conversion or exercise, as applicable, of the New Secured Convertible Notes, the New Warrants, options or restricted stock units ("RSUs"). In addition, the Company may choose to issue shares of New Common Stock pursuant to the CVRs or as interest on the New Secured Convertible Notes. Future sales and issuances of our capital stock or rights to purchase our capital stock could result in substantial dilution to our existing stockholders. We may issue and sell New Common Stock, convertible securities, warrants and other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. If we sell any such securities in subsequent transactions, investors may be materially diluted. New investors in such subsequent transactions could gain rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of holders of our New Common Stock.
In addition, we have agreed to register the resale of a significant number of shares of our capital stock held by certain of our stockholders, including Bitmain. As a result of these agreements, capital stock held by these stockholders may become eligible for future sale without restriction. Accordingly, these stockholders then may freely resell their shares in the open market, which could cause our stock price to decline.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4
An investment in our securities is highly speculative. The trading price of our securities may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.The trading price of our securities is likely to be volatile and could be subject to fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our securities as you might be unable to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for those shares. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our securities include the following:
- price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;- volatility in the trading prices and trading volumes of technology stocks;- volatility in the price of bitcoin and other digital assets;- changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular;- sales of shares of our securities by us or our stockholders;- failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;- the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in those projections, or our failure to meet those projections;- announcements by us or our competitors of new products, features, or services;- the public's reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;- rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;- actual or anticipated changes in our results of operations or fluctuations in our results of operations;- actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors' businesses or the competitive landscape generally;- litigation involving us, our industry, or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors;- developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights;- announced or completed acquisitions of businesses, products, services or technologies by us or our competitors;- new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;- changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles;- any significant change in our management; and - general economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets.
In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a particular company's securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management's attention and resources.
Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5
We qualify as an "emerging growth company" within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, such decision could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance to the performance of other public companies.We qualify as an "emerging growth company" as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the "JOBS Act"). As such, we are eligible for and intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not "emerging growth companies" for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including, but not limited to, (a) not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (b) exemptions resulting in reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in the Company's periodic reports and proxy statements and (c) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act until the earliest of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following February 12, 2026, the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of common equity securities of the Company in a registered offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates meets or exceeds $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because of our reliance on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, but that any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with those of another public company, which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of the extended transition period, difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Accounting & Financial Operations7 | 9.1%
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 1
We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 2
Our ability to use some or all of our net operating loss and capital loss carryforwards and other tax attributes to offset future income may be limited.As of December 31, 2023, we had U.S. federal and state net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards of approximately $330.2 million and $106.6 million, respectively, U.S. federal and state capital loss carryforwards of approximately $220.3 million and $109.6 million, respectively, and certain other tax attributes, including disallowed business interest expense carryforwards under Section 163(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Internal Revenue Code"), that could be utilized to offset future taxable income. The amount of our tax attributes are subject to examination and adjustment by applicable taxing authorities. Our federal NOLs can be carried forward indefinitely, our state NOL carryforwards begin to expire in 2033 and our capital loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2027.
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code, if a corporation (or a consolidated group) undergoes an "ownership change," its ability to utilize certain of its federal tax attributes (including NOL and capital loss carryforwards) to offset certain of its taxable income may be subject to certain limitations. In general, an ownership change occurs if the aggregate stock ownership of certain shareholders (generally 5% shareholders, applying certain look-through and aggregation rules) increases by more than 50% over such shareholders' lowest percentage ownership during the testing period (generally three years). Similar rules may apply under applicable state tax law.
Certain equity trading activity and other actions prior to the Effective Date of the Plan of Reorganization could have resulted in an ownership change for purposes of Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code independent of the Plan of Reorganization, which could adversely affect our ability to utilize our tax attributes to a greater extent than an ownership change occurring as a result of the consummation of the Plan of Reorganization. In an attempt to minimize the likelihood of such an ownership change occurring, we obtained a final order from the Bankruptcy Court authorizing certain protective equity trading procedures.
It is likely that we will undergo an ownership change under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code as a result of the consummation of the Plan of Reorganization, which may limit our ability to utilize our federal NOL and capital loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes, subject to the potential application of the special bankruptcy exception in Section 382(l)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code. We have not determined whether or not we would qualify for such special bankruptcy exception, and even if we did so qualify, whether or not we would elect out of such exception. Further, even if the consummation of the Plan of Reorganization does not cause an ownership change, it could increase the likelihood that we undergo such an ownership change in the future.
Limitations imposed by the Internal Revenue Code (or applicable state tax law) on our ability to utilize our NOL or capital loss carryforwards or other tax attributes (whether by reason of an ownership change or otherwise) could significantly increase our future tax liabilities, in each case reducing or eliminating the benefit of such tax attributes, which may impair the value of an investment in our securities.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 3
Our actual financial results after emergence from bankruptcy may not be comparable to our projections filed with the Bankruptcy Court or otherwise made public in the course of the Chapter 11 Cases.In connection with the Disclosure Statement and Plan of Reorganization that we filed with the Bankruptcy Court and the hearing to consider confirmation of our Plan of Reorganization (as well as in certain other filings), we prepared projected financial information for various reasons, including to demonstrate to the Bankruptcy Court the feasibility of the Plan of Reorganization and our ability to continue operations upon our emergence from Chapter 11. Those projections were prepared solely for the purposes stated therein and have not been, and will not be, updated on an ongoing basis and should not be relied upon by investors. At the time they were prepared, the projections reflected numerous assumptions concerning our anticipated future performance with respect to then prevailing and anticipated market and economic conditions that were and remain beyond our control and that may not materialize. Projections are inherently subject to substantial and numerous uncertainties and to a wide variety of significant business, economic and competitive risks and the assumptions underlying the projections or valuation estimates may prove to be wrong in material respects. Actual results may vary significantly from those contemplated by the projections. As a result, investors should not rely on those projections.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 4
We may be subject to risks associated with misleading and/or fraudulent disclosure or use by the creators of digital assets.Generally, we rely primarily on a combination of white papers and other disclosure documents prepared by the creators of applicable digital assets, as well as on our management's ability to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential implications of transacting in these digital assets. However, such white papers and other disclosure documents and information may contain misleading and/or fraudulent statements (which may include statements concerning the creators' ability to deliver in a timely fashion the product and/or service disclosed in their white papers and other disclosure documents) and/or may not reveal any unlawful activities by the creators. Recently, there has been an increasing number of investigations and lawsuits by the SEC and the CFTC involving digital asset creators for fraud and misappropriation, among other charges. Additionally, FinCEN has increased its enforcement efforts involving digital asset creators regarding compliance with anti-money laundering and Know-Your-Customer laws.
To the extent that any of these creators make misleading and/or fraudulent disclosures or do not comply with federal, state or foreign laws, or if we are unable to uncover all material information about these digital assets and/or their creators, we may not be able to make a fully informed business decision relating to our transacting in or otherwise involving such digital assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 5
To the extent that the profit margins of digital asset mining operations are not high, mining participants are more likely to sell their earned bitcoin, which could constrain bitcoin prices.Over the past few years, digital asset mining operations have evolved from individual users mining with computer processors, graphics processing units and first-generation ASIC servers. Currently, new processing power is predominantly added by incorporated and unincorporated "professionalized" mining operations. Professionalized mining operations may use proprietary hardware or sophisticated ASIC machines acquired from ASIC manufacturers. They require the investment of significant capital to acquire this hardware, to lease operating space (often in data centers or warehousing facilities), and to pay the costs of electricity and labor to operate the mining farms. As a result, professionalized mining operations are of a greater scale than prior mining operations and have more defined and regular expenses and liabilities. These regular expenses and liabilities require professionalized mining operations to maintain profit margins on the sale of digital assets. To the extent the price of digital assets decline and such profit margin is constrained, professionalized mining participants are incentivized to more immediately sell digital assets earned from mining operations, whereas it is believed that individual mining participants in past years were more likely to hold newly mined digital assets for more extended periods. The immediate selling of newly earned digital assets greatly increases the trading volume of the digital assets, creating downward pressure on the market price of digital asset rewards. The extent to which the value of digital assets earned by a professionalized mining operation exceeds the allocable capital and operating costs determines the profit margin of such operation. A professionalized mining operation may be more likely to sell a higher percentage of its newly earned digital assets rapidly if it is operating at a low profit margin and it may partially or completely cease operations if its profit margin is negative. In a low profit margin environment, a higher percentage could be sold more rapidly, thereby potentially depressing digital asset prices. Lower digital asset prices could result in further tightening of profit margins for professionalized mining operations creating a network effect that may further reduce the price of digital assets until mining operations with higher operating costs become unprofitable forcing them to reduce mining power or cease mining operations temporarily. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of bitcoin and any other digital assets we earn through self-mining or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 6
We may be required to record long-lived asset impairment charges, which could result in a significant charge to earnings.Under GAAP, we review our long-lived assets, such as fixed assets and intangible assets, for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. A significant portion of our total assets consists of fixed assets. Factors that may be considered in assessing whether long-lived assets may not be recoverable include reduced estimates of future cash flows and slower growth rates in our industry. We may experience unforeseen circumstances that adversely affect the value of our fixed assets and trigger an evaluation of the recoverability of the recorded fixed assets. Our results of operations may be materially impacted if we are required to record a significant charge due to an impairment of our fixed assets. See financial statement Note 5 - Property, Plant and Equipment, Net and Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, for discussions of recently recognized impairments.
Accounting & Financial Operations - Risk 7
We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Such material weaknesses may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations. We may also identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal control.In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023, we and our independent registered public accounting firm identified the following material weaknesses in the Company's internal control over financial reporting: (1) the Company did not design and implement program change management controls for certain financially relevant systems to ensure that IT program and data changes affecting the Company's (i) financial IT applications, (ii) digital currency mining equipment, and (iii) underlying accounting records, are identified, tested, authorized and implemented appropriately to validate that data produced by its relevant IT system(s) were complete and accurate. Automated process-level controls and manual controls that are dependent upon the information derived from such financially relevant systems were also determined to be ineffective as a result of such deficiency. (2) the Company did not design and/or implement user access provisioning controls to ensure appropriate segregation of duties that would adequately restrict user access to the financially relevant systems and data to the appropriate Company personnel; and (3) the Company's internal controls over financial reporting did not operate effectively at all times to ensure transactions were recorded timely and in accordance with GAAP. Appropriate segregation of duties was also not maintained at all times during the year.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. With the oversight of our senior management and audit committee, we have instituted plans to remediate the material weakness and will continue to take remediation steps, including hiring additional key supporting accounting personnel with public company reporting and accounting operations experience. In addition, we are formalizing inter-departmental communication, including establishing appropriate standing and ad hoc committees and enhancing electronic document storage for key financial transactions. We believe the measures described above will remediate the material weaknesses identified and strengthen our internal control.
While we implement our plan to remediate the material weaknesses described above, we cannot predict the success of such plan or the outcome of its assessment of these plans at this time. If our steps are insufficient to remediate the material weaknesses successfully and otherwise establish and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, the reliability of our financial reporting, investor confidence, and the value of our securities could be materially and adversely affected. Implementation of this plan may not remediate these deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting and additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting may be identified in the future. The failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in errors in our financial statements that could result in a restatement of its financial statements, causing us to fail to meet its reporting obligations.
Debt & Financing8 | 10.4%
Debt & Financing - Risk 1
Digital asset transactions are irrevocable and, if incorrectly transferred, digital assets may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed digital asset transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Debt & Financing - Risk 2
As required by the terms of our existing debt agreements, we sell our digital assets, including bitcoin, obtained from mining as they are earned, which limits the amount of digital assets we hold, thus preventing us from recognizing any gain from the appreciation in value of the digital assets we have sold and may sell in the future.The terms of our debt agreements require that we sell our digital assets, including bitcoin, as we receive them. When we sell a digital asset, we are unable to benefit from any future appreciation in the underlying value of that digital asset.
Consequently, our bitcoin may be sold at a time when the price is lower than it otherwise might be in the future, which could reduce the gain we might have realized on the sale of that digital asset at a different time.
Debt & Financing - Risk 3
The Exit Credit Agreement, the New Indentures and the miner equipment lender facility (the "New Miner Equipment Lender Facility") entered into in connection with the Plan of Reorganization contain a number of restrictive covenants which could limit our ability to finance future operations, acquisitions or capital needs or to engage in other business activities that may be in our interest.The Exit Credit Agreement, the New Indentures and the New Miner Equipment Lender Facility contain certain operating and other restrictions on us. Among other things, such restrictions affect and limit or prohibit our ability to:
- incur additional indebtedness;- create or incur liens;- engage in fundamental changes or changes of control;- sell or otherwise dispose of assets;- make investments or acquisitions;- pay dividends and distributions or repurchase capital stock;- prepay, redeem or repurchase certain subordinated indebtedness;- create negative pledge clauses; and - enter into transactions with affiliates.
The restrictions contained in our debt agreements could (i) limit our ability to plan for or react to market or economic conditions or meet capital needs or otherwise restrict our activities or business plans and (ii) adversely affect our ability to finance our operations, acquisitions, investments or strategic alliances or other capital needs or to engage in other business activities that would be in our interest. A breach of any of these covenants or our inability to comply with required financial ratios could result in a default under all or certain of our debt instruments.
Debt & Financing - Risk 4
We may incur additional indebtedness to execute our long-term growth strategy, which may reduce our profitability.Our business requires significant capital, and we may require additional capital in the future to execute our growth strategy. For the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, we incurred approximately $16.2 million and $384.0 million in capital expenditures, respectively. Historically, we have financed these investments through cash flows from operation and external borrowings. These sources of capital may not be available to us in the future, and the Exit Credit Agreement, the New Indentures and other financing arrangements will place certain restrictions on our ability to enter into new debt arrangements. Our ability to arrange new financing, either at the corporate level, a non-recourse project-level subsidiary or otherwise, and the costs of such capital, are dependent on numerous factors, including credit availability from banks and other financial institutions, investor confidence in us and the regional markets in which we operate, maintenance of acceptable credit ratings or our financial performance and level of indebtedness. Other companies with which we compete may have greater liquidity, more unencumbered assets, less indebtedness, greater access to credit and other financial resources, lower cost structures, more effective risk management policies and procedures, greater ability to incur losses, longer-standing relationships with customers, or greater flexibility in the timing of their sale of generation capacity and ancillary services than we do. If we are unable to fund capital expenditures for any reason, we may not be able to capture available growth opportunities and any such failure could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
Debt & Financing - Risk 5
Indebtedness subjects us to the risk of higher interest rates, which could cause our future debt service obligations to increase significantly.Our borrowings under the Exit Credit Agreement are at variable rates of interest and expose us to interest rate risk. Interest rates under these financing arrangements are generally determined by a Secured Overnight Financing ("SOFR") based rate. SOFR-based rates tend to fluctuate based on general interest rates, rates set by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks and general economic conditions. If interest rates increase, our debt service obligations on such variable rate indebtedness would increase even though the amount borrowed remained the same, and our ability to make payments of principal and interest on the New Secured Notes and New Secured Convertible Notes (as well as on loans with respect to the Exit Credit Agreement) may be adversely impacted.
Debt & Financing - Risk 6
Our substantial level of indebtedness and our current liquidity constraints could adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to service our indebtedness, which, together with the impact of the Chapter 11 process, could negatively impact your ability to recover your investment in our securities.We have a substantial amount of indebtedness, which requires significant interest payments. As of December 31, 2023, we and our subsidiaries had approximately $865.5 million aggregate principal amount of indebtedness outstanding. Our substantial level of indebtedness and the current constraints on our liquidity could have important consequences, including the following:
- we must use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay interest and principal on our indebtedness, which reduces or will reduce funds available to us for other purposes such as working capital, capital expenditures, other general corporate purposes and potential acquisitions;- our ability to refinance such indebtedness or to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or general corporate purposes may be impaired;- our leverage may be greater than that of some of our competitors, which may put us at a competitive disadvantage and reduce our flexibility in responding to current and changing industry and financial market conditions;- there are significant constraints on our ability to generate liquidity through incurring additional debt;- we may be more vulnerable to economic downturn and adverse developments in our business;- to the extent our debt with variable interest rates is not swapped at a fixed rate, we may be subject to increased exposure to rising interest rates;- we may be more limited in the types of activities and assets we are permitted to engage in, own or acquire;- consents may be required for certain transactions that we may wish to effect, and such consents may not be granted or granted only on unfavorable terms; and - failure to comply with the financial and other restrictive covenants in our debt instruments which, among other things, require us to maintain specified financial ratios and limit our ability to incur debt and sell assets, could result in an event of default that could have a material adverse effect on our business or prospects if not cured or waived.
We and our subsidiaries may be able to incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, subject to the restrictions contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness. To the extent new indebtedness is added to our debt levels, including as a result of satisfying interest payment obligations on certain of our indebtedness with payments-in-kind, the related risks that we now face could intensify. If we are unable to comply with our covenants under our indebtedness, our liquidity may be further adversely affected.
Our ability to meet our expenses, to remain in compliance with our covenants under our debt instruments and to make future principal and interest payments in respect of our debt depends on, among other factors, our operating performance, competitive developments and financial market conditions, all of which are significantly affected by financial, business, economic and other factors. We are not able to control many of these factors. Given current industry and economic conditions, our cash flow may not be sufficient to allow us to pay principal and interest on our debt and meet our other obligations.
For example, in October 2022 the Company determined not to make certain payments with respect to several of its debt facilities, equipment financing facilities and leases and other financings, including its two bridge promissory notes. As a result, the creditors under these debt facilities may exercise remedies following any applicable grace periods and pursuant to any confirmed plan of reorganization, including electing to accelerate the principal amount of such debt, suing the Company for nonpayment, increasing interest rates to default rates, or taking action with respect to collateral, where applicable.
Although our credit and guarantee agreement (the "Exit Credit Agreement"), the indentures and forms of notes governing the New Secured Convertible Notes and the New Secured Notes (the "New Indentures") and other existing indebtedness contain restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and any additional indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial.
Debt & Financing - Risk 7
We have just emerged from bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which could adversely affect our business, reputation and business relationships.It is possible that having just recently emerged from the Chapter 11 Cases could adversely affect our business, reputation and relationships with vendors, suppliers, service providers, customers, employees and other third parties. As a result of our recent emergence, the following risks exist:
- vendors, suppliers, customers, service providers or other contract counterparties could terminate their relationships with us or require financial assurances or other enhanced performances;- we may face challenges in renewing existing contracts and competing for new business;- a significant portion of our assets including our miners and our mining facilities are pledged to various of our creditors;- we may face the tightening of payment or credit terms and/or increases in the price of supplied goods or services;- it may be more difficult to attract, motivate and/or retain key executives and employees;- employees may be distracted from the performance of their duties or more inclined to pursue other employment opportunities; and - competitors may take business away from us, and our ability to attract and retain customers may be negatively impacted.
Debt & Financing - Risk 8
Our business is capital intensive, and failure to obtain the necessary capital when needed will force us to delay, limit or terminate our expansion efforts or other operations, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.The costs of constructing, developing, operating and maintaining digital asset mining and facilities, and owning and operating a large fleet of the latest generation mining equipment, are substantial.
Our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including hardware and electricity costs, associated with earning digital assets are lower than the price of the digital assets we earn. Falling digital asset prices, significantly higher energy prices, inflation and supply chain disruptions have increased electricity costs, delayed miner deployments and reduced our profitability. Our miners experience ordinary wear and tear from operation and may also face more significant malfunctions caused by factors which may be beyond our control, increasing our costs and reducing our revenue and profitability. The continual upgrade and refresh of mining machines requires substantial capital investment, and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely basis based on availability of new miners and our access to adequate capital resources. If we are unable to obtain adequate numbers of new and replacement miners at scale, we may be unable to remain competitive in our highly competitive and evolving industry.
Moreover, in order to grow our hosting business, we need additional facilities to increase our capacity for more miners. The costs of constructing, developing, operating and maintaining hosting facilities and growing our hosting operations have increased significantly and may continue to increase in the future, which have made it difficult for us to attract new customers, expand our business and to operate our facilities profitably.
We may need to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings in order to meet our operating and capital needs. Current market conditions have made raising additional debt or equity financing difficult and may not be available when needed or, if available, may not be available on satisfactory terms. An inability to generate sufficient cash from operations or to obtain additional debt or equity financing have adversely affected our results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth4 | 5.2%
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 1
Upon emergence from the Chapter 11 Cases, the composition of our Board of Directors changed significantly.Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 2
We operate in a rapidly developing industry and have an evolving business model with a limited history of generating revenue from our services. In addition, our evolving business model increases the complexity of our business, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future business prospects and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Our business model has evolved in the past and continues to do so. After originally being founded in order to engage in the business of verifying and confirming transactions on a blockchain (also known as transaction processing, or "mining"), we became engaged primarily in providing infrastructure hosting services to our commercial counterparties. More recently, we decided to substantially increase our focus on digital asset mining for our own account. We have also recently terminated the contracts of several of our hosting customers to improve overall Company profitability and in furtherance of the Company's emphasis on self-mining. We may adjust our business model further from time to time, including trying to offer additional types of products or services, such as a blockchain application designed by us, blockchain services and other related businesses, or entering into strategic partnerships or acquisitions. We have generated limited revenue from such services, and we do not know whether any of them will be successful. The evolution of and modifications to our business strategy will continue to increase the complexity of our business and placed significant strain on our management, personnel, operations, systems, technical performance and financial resources. Future additions to or modifications of our business strategy are likely to have similar effects. Further, any new services that we offer that are not favorably received by the market could damage our reputation or our brand. We may not ever generate sufficient revenues or achieve profitably in the future or have adequate working capital to meet our obligations.
We cannot be certain that our current business strategy or any new or revised business strategies will be successful or that we will successfully address the risks we face. In the event that we do not effectively evaluate future business prospects, successfully implement new strategies or adapt to our evolving industry, it will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 3
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.
Corporate Activity and Growth - Risk 4
Our HPC business strategy may not perform as planned.Added
We believe the potential for HPC hosting complements our current business model with expected stable, long-term and high margin revenue. We also believe that using our existing infrastructure for HPC customers provides more consistent dollar-based revenue and substantially less risk than our traditional bitcoin mining customers or our bitcoin self-mining operations. However, our success in the HPC Hosting segment may not develop as anticipated, and may be affected by factors such as the reliability and timing of power supply, supply chain disruption (including local labor availability) and changes in in-house specialized expertise to manage the business. Our HPC business strategy may not perform as planned.
Production
Total Risks: 16/77 (21%)Above Sector Average
Manufacturing1 | 1.3%
Manufacturing - Risk 1
If we do not accurately predict our facility requirements, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Employment / Personnel2 | 2.6%
Employment / Personnel - Risk 1
Our success is dependent on the ability of our management team and our ability to attract, develop, motivate and retain other well-qualified employees, which may be more difficult, costly or time-consuming than expected.Employment / Personnel - Risk 2
The ability to attract and retain key personnel is critical to the success of our business and may be affected by our emergence from bankruptcy.The success of our business depends on key personnel. The ability to attract and retain these key personnel may be affected by our emergence from bankruptcy, the uncertainties currently facing the business and changes we may make to the organizational structure to adjust to changing circumstances. Any potential delays in adopting our management incentive plan and other executive benefits and compensation may make it difficult to retain key personnel and we may need to enter into retention or other arrangements that could be costly to maintain. If executives, managers or other key personnel resign, retire or are terminated, or their service is otherwise interrupted, we may not be able to replace them in a timely manner and we could experience significant declines in productivity.
Supply Chain4 | 5.2%
Supply Chain - Risk 1
Our reliance on third-party mining pool service providers for our earned mining reward payouts may have a negative impact on our operations.Supply Chain - Risk 2
Miner manufacturers may continue requiring significant advance deposits before orders are fulfilled and delivered.Historically, miner manufacturers have required advance deposits for miner purchases. These deposits tie up significant amounts of cash several months before mining machines are received and operable to generate revenue. These advance deposits further drive the financial burden of operating a capital-intensive business. Miner manufacturers holding a deposit from the Company may go out of business before delivering purchased miners, or for other reasons fail to deliver the miners associated with the deposit. There is no certainty that, in such circumstances, the Company would succeed in recovering any of its deposit, which could materially and adversely affect its business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Supply Chain - Risk 3
Our business is highly dependent on a small number of digital asset mining equipment suppliers.Our business is highly dependent upon digital asset mining equipment suppliers such as Bitmain (as defined herein) providing an adequate and timely supply of new generation digital asset mining machines at economical prices to customers intending to purchase our hosting and other solutions. The growth in our business is directly related to increased demand for hosting services and digital assets such as bitcoin which is dependent in large part on the availability of new generation mining machines offered for sale at a price conducive to profitable digital asset mining, as well as the trading price of digital assets such as bitcoin. The market price and availability of new mining machines fluctuates with the price of bitcoin and can be volatile. Higher bitcoin prices increase the demand for mining equipment and increases the cost. In addition, as more companies seek to enter the mining industry, the demand for machines may outpace supply and create mining machine equipment shortages. Digital asset mining equipment suppliers, such as Bitmain, may not be able to keep pace with any surge in demand for mining equipment. Further, manufacturing mining machine purchase contracts are not favorable to purchasers and we may have little or no recourse in the event a mining machine manufacturer defaults on its mining machine delivery commitments. If we and our customers are not able to obtain a sufficient number of digital asset mining machines at favorable prices, our growth expectations, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations will be negatively impacted.
Supply Chain - Risk 4
We may not have adequate sources of recovery if the bitcoin held by us are lost, stolen or destroyed due to third-party digital asset services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Certain digital assets held by us are stored using Coinbase Global, Inc. ("Coinbase"), a third-party digital asset service. We believe that the security procedures that Coinbase utilizes, such as dual authentication security, secured facilities, segregated accounts and cold storage, are reasonably designed to safeguard our bitcoin and other digital assets from theft, loss, destruction or other issues relating to hackers and technological attack. Nevertheless, the security procedures cannot guarantee the prevention of any loss due to a security breach, software defect or act of God that may be borne by us. In addition, Coinbase's limited liability under its services agreement with us may limit our ability to recover losses relating to our bitcoin. If such digital assets are lost, stolen or destroyed under circumstances rendering a third party liable to us, it is possible that the responsible third party may not have the financial resources or insurance sufficient to satisfy any or all of our claims against the third party, or have the ability to retrieve, restore or replace the lost, stolen or destroyed digital assets due to governing network protocols and the strength of the cryptographic systems associated with such digital assets. To the extent that we are unable to recover on any of our claims against any such third party, such loss could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Costs9 | 11.7%
Costs - Risk 1
Mining operators may sell a substantial amount of digital assets into the market, which may exert downward pressure on the price of the applicable digital asset and, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Costs - Risk 2
If the award of bitcoin and/or transaction fees for solving blocks is not sufficiently high to incentivize transaction processors, such processors may reduce or cease expending processing power on a particular network, which could negatively impact the utility of the network, reduce the value of its bitcoin and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.As the number of bitcoin rewarded to transaction processors for validating blocks in the Bitcoin network decreases, the incentive for transaction processors to continue contributing processing power to the network may shift toward transaction fees. Such a shift may increase the transaction fees on a network. Higher transaction fees may reduce the utility of a network for an end user, which may cause end users to reduce or stop their use of that network. Existing users may be motivated to switch from one digital asset to another or back to fiat currency. In such case, the price of the relevant digital asset may decline substantially and could go to zero. Such reduced price and demand for, and use of, the relevant digital asset and network, either as it applies to our mining services or to those of our potential hosting customers, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Costs - Risk 3
Digital assets, and bitcoin in particular, are subject to price volatility. The value of bitcoin is dependent on a number of factors, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.We currently generate almost all of our revenue from bitcoin rewards that we earn through self-mining in our facilities. Investing in bitcoin and other digital assets is speculative. Bitcoin and other digital assets have historically experienced significant intraday and long-term price volatility, significantly impacted by momentum pricing. Momentum pricing typically is associated with growth stocks and other assets whose valuation, as determined by the investing public, accounts for anticipated future appreciation in value. We believe that momentum pricing may have resulted, and may continue to result, in significant and rampant speculation regarding future appreciation (or depreciation) in the value of digital assets, inflating and making their market prices more volatile. In addition, there is currently growing but limited acceptance of digital assets in the retail and commercial marketplace, as compared to the demand generated by investors seeking a long-term value retention or by speculators seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of such digital assets, which may contribute to their levels of price volatility.
We believe the value of digital assets related to our business is dependent on a number of factors, including, but not limited to:
- global digital asset supply;- global digital asset demand, which can be influenced by the growth of retail merchants' and commercial businesses' acceptance of digital assets as payment for goods and services, the security of online digital asset exchanges and digital wallets that hold digital assets, the perception that the use and holding of digital assets is safe and secure, transaction fees, and the regulatory restrictions on their use;- investors' expectations with respect to the rate of inflation of fiat currencies;- investors' expectations with respect to the rate of deflation of digital assets;- cyber theft of digital assets from online wallet providers, or news of such theft from such providers or from individuals' online wallets;- the availability and popularity of businesses that provide digital asset-related services;- fees associated with processing a digital asset transaction;- changes in the software, software requirements or hardware requirements underlying digital assets;- changes in the rights, obligations, incentives, or rewards for the various participants in digital asset mining;- interest rates;- currency exchange rates, including the rates at which digital assets may be exchanged for fiat currencies;- fiat currency withdrawal and deposit policies on digital asset exchanges and liquidity on such exchanges;- interruptions in service or failures of major digital asset exchanges;- investment and trading activities of large investors and holders, including private and registered funds, that may directly or indirectly invest in or hold digital assets;- momentum pricing;- monetary policies of governments, trade restrictions, currency devaluations and revaluations;- regulatory measures, if any, that affect the use of digital assets, restrict digital assets as a form of payment, or limit the purchase of digital assets;- global or regional political, economic or financial events and conditions;- expectations that the value of digital assets will change in the near or long term. A decrease in the price of a single digital asset may cause volatility in the entire digital asset industry and may affect other digital assets. For example, a security breach that affects investor or user confidence in bitcoin, Ethereum, litecoin or another digital asset may affect the industry as a whole and may also cause the price of other digital assets to fluctuate; or - with respect to bitcoin, increased competition from other forms of digital assets or payments services.
Even if shareholders are able to hold their securities for the long-term, their securities may never generate a profit, since digital asset markets have historically experienced extended periods of flat or declining prices, in addition to sharp fluctuations. Investors should be aware that bitcoin and other digital assets may not maintain their long-term value in terms of future purchasing power and that the acceptance of digital asset payments by mainstream retail merchants and commercial businesses may not continue to grow. If the price of bitcoin or other digital assets declines, our profitability will decline.
Costs - Risk 4
Losses relating to our business may be uninsured, or insurance may be limited.Our hosting operations are subject to hazards and risks normally associated with the daily operations of facilities. Currently, we maintain various insurance policies for business interruption for lost profits, property and casualty, public liability, commercial employee, workers' compensation, personal property and auto liability. Our business interruption insurance for lost profits includes coverage for business interruptions, our property and casualty insurance includes coverage for equipment breakdowns and our commercial employee insurance includes employee group insurance. We believe our insurance coverage adequately covers the risks of our daily business operations. However, our current insurance policies may be insufficient in the case of prolonged, catastrophic or certain other events. Further, the digital assets held by us are not insured. The occurrence of any event that is not entirely covered by our insurance policies may result in interruption of our operations, subject us to significant losses or liabilities and damage our reputation as a provider of business continuity services.
Costs - Risk 5
Delays in the expansion of existing facilities or the construction of new facilities or significant cost overruns could present significant risks to our business and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.The servers used for digital asset mining and hosting require the use of facilities with a highly specialized infrastructure and considerable, reliable power in order to compete effectively. Our strategy is to increase our mining capacity and increase substantially the number of miners we operate. In order to meet our financial plan, we need to expand our existing facilities or build new facilities. Our debt covenants may limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make certain investments or needed capital expenditures or complete other significant transactions, and therefore may restrict our ability to pursue certain opportunities. We may face challenges in obtaining suitable land to build new facilities or to develop facilities on land we currently own or lease and need to work closely with the local power suppliers and local governments of the places where our proposed facilitates are located. We also may face challenges in generating sufficient cash or obtaining financing necessary to complete or develop planned facilities on time. Delays in actions that require the assistance of such third parties, in receiving required permits and approvals or in mediations with local communities, if any, and lack of available capital, will negatively impact our construction timelines and budget or result in any new facilities not being completed at all.
Expansion of existing facilities, construction of new facilities, and sales of one or more existing facilities is being evaluated. Expansion and construction require us to procure and rely on the experience of one or more designers, general contractors and subcontractors, and we or such designers or contractors may experience financial or other problems during the design or construction process that could delay completion of planned facilities. We may also experience quality control issues as we implement any upgrades in our hosting capacity through the installation and maintenance of chipsets and servers or new cooling technologies such as immersion and water curtain cooling. Our business will be negatively impacted if we are unable to run our mining operations in a way that is technologically advanced, economically and energy efficient and temperature controlled. If we are unsuccessful, we will damage our miners and the miners of third parties and the profitability of our mining operations.
Delays in the supply of power required to support a facility would cause material and negative effects on our revenue growth, profitability and results of operations. Delay in completing a project, or any substantial cost increase or failure to obtain sufficient capital to complete a project, would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Costs - Risk 6
A portion of our revenue comes from the fees we receive for the services we provide to a small number of hosting customers, and the insolvency of, loss of, or significant decrease in business from, a number of these customers or our failure to continually attract new customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.We previously generated a significant portion of our hosting revenue from a small number of hosting customers. Since December 2022, we have terminated most of our hosting customers to increase the Company's overall profitability. As of December 31, 2023, our largest hosting customer accounts for 49% of our overall hosting revenue and 11% of our total revenue. Any failure to meet our end-users' expectations, including, but not limited to, any inability to meet their requirements for increased hosting capacity at attractive rates, could result in cancellation or non-renewal of our business relationships. Our increased focus on self-mining could be interpreted by our current and prospective customers as being competitive or inconsistent with our third-party hosting operations. If these customers reduced spending on our services, or changed their outsourcing strategy by moving to in-house facilities or outsourcing to other service providers, and we are not able to offset that lost revenue or replace the reduced capacity utilization with our own mining equipment, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have made significant investments in our business, such as acquiring additional facilities and equipment, and incurring additional costs in connection with the expansion of our business to meet our anticipated mining needs as well as the anticipated needs of both current and future customers. Accordingly, if we fail to obtain significant additional customers or fail to increase our self-mining operations, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
To the extent one or more of our key customers commences bankruptcy proceedings pursuant to Title 11 of the United States Code, our contracts with such customers may be subject to rejection under applicable provisions of the Bankruptcy Code or, if we so agree, may be renegotiated. Further, during any such bankruptcy proceeding, prior to assignment and assumption, rejection or renegotiation of such contracts, the bankruptcy court may temporarily authorize the payment of value for our services less than contractually required, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows. The resolution of any outstanding claims against such a customer or counterparty is dependent on the terms of the plan of reorganization and is inherently uncertain and subject to factors outside of our control.
Costs - Risk 7
We are subject to risks associated with our need for significant electric power and the limited availability of power resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. An inability to purchase and develop additional sources of low-cost renewable sources of energy effectively will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Our mining and hosting services require a significant amount of electric power. The costs of electric power account for a significant portion of our cost of revenue. We require a significant electric power supply to conduct our mining activity and to provide many hosting services we offer, such as powering and cooling our and our customers' servers and network equipment and operating critical mining and facility and equipment infrastructure.
The amount of power required by us and our customers will increase commensurate with the demand for our services and the increase in miners we operate for ourselves and our hosting customers. Energy costs and availability are vulnerable to seasonality, with increased costs primarily in the summer months and risks of outages and power grid damage as a result of inclement weather, animal incursion, sabotage and other events out of our control. Higher than expected power rates in 2022 materially impacted our operations.
We aim to build and operate energy efficient facilities, but such facilities may not be able to deliver sufficient power to meet the growing needs of our business. The cost of power at our facilities is dependent on our ability to perform under the terms in the power contracts we are a party to, which we may be unable to do successfully. Pursuant to these power contracts, if we fail to curtail our power usage when called upon or fail to satisfy certain eligibility requirements for monthly bill credits, our power costs would increase. Further, governments and government regulators may potentially seek to restrict or prohibit the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to our facilities and mining operators in times of electricity shortage or otherwise. Any system downtime resulting from disruptions, curtailments, insufficient power resources or power outages could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our operations do not run on back-up generators in the event of a power outage or curtailment. Increased power costs and limited availability and curtailment of power resources will reduce our revenue and have a material and adverse effect on our cost of revenue and results of operations.
Costs - Risk 8
Our success depends in large part on our ability to earn bitcoin and attract customers for our hosting capabilities in a profitable manner. Increases in power costs have impacted our ability to earn digital assets efficiently and reduced bitcoin pricing have reduced our operating margins. Continued increases in power costs and unfavorable prices for digital assets will impact our ability to attract customers for our services, harm our growth prospects and could have a continuing material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Our success depends in large part on our ability to earn bitcoin and to attract customers for our hosting capabilities in a profitable manner, which we may not be able to do if:
- there is a reduction in the demand for bitcoin causing the price of bitcoin to fall and the demand for our hosted mining solutions to be negatively impacted, reducing our revenue. Falling bitcoin prices will also reduce revenue from our self-mining operations.
- high energy costs, supply chain disruptions or government regulation compliance costs increase mining costs and reduce revenue and profitability;- we fail to provide competitive hosting terms or effectively market them to potential customers;- we provide hosting services that are deemed by existing and potential customers or suppliers to be inferior to those of our competitors, or that fail to meet customers' or suppliers' ongoing and evolving program qualification standards, based on a range of factors, including available power, preferred design features, security considerations and connectivity;- businesses decide to host internally as an alternative to the use of our services;- we fail to successfully communicate the benefits of our services to potential customers;- we are unable to strengthen awareness of our brand;- we are unable to provide services that our existing and potential customers desire;- either we or our customers are unable to secure an adequate supply of new generation digital asset mining equipment to host with us; or - there is a slowdown in the growth of the internet generally as a medium for commerce and communication.
Costs - Risk 9
To the extent that any miners cease to record transactions in solved blocks, transactions that do not include the payment of a transaction fee will not be recorded on the blockchain until a block is solved by a miner who does not require the payment of transaction fees. Any widespread delays in the recording of transactions could result in a loss of confidence in that digital asset network, which could adversely impact an investment in us.To the extent that any miners cease to record transactions in solved blocks, such transactions will not be recorded on the blockchain. Currently, there are no known incentives for miners to elect to exclude the recording of transactions in solved blocks; however, to the extent that any such incentives arise (e.g., a collective movement among miners or one or more mining pools forcing bitcoin users to pay transaction fees as a substitute for or in addition to the award of new bitcoins upon the solving of a block), actions of miners solving a significant number of blocks could delay the recording and confirmation of transactions on the blockchain.
Any systemic delays in the recording and confirmation of transactions on the blockchain could result in greater exposure to double-spending transactions and a loss of confidence in certain or all digital asset networks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Tech & Innovation
Total Risks: 13/77 (17%)Above Sector Average
Innovation / R&D1 | 1.3%
Innovation / R&D - Risk 1
Our future success depends on our ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes that could make our current or future technologies less competitive or obsolete.Trade Secrets3 | 3.9%
Trade Secrets - Risk 1
We may infringe on third-party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Trade Secrets - Risk 2
We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.We may not be able to obtain broad protection in the United States or internationally for all of our existing and future intellectual property and other proprietary rights, and we may not be able to obtain effective protection for our intellectual property and other proprietary rights in every country in which we operate. Protecting our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights may require significant expenditure of our financial, managerial and operational resources. Moreover, the steps that we may take to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights may not be adequate to protect such rights or prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating such rights. Any of our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights, whether registered, unregistered, issued or unissued, may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative proceedings and/or litigation.
We may be required to spend significant resources to secure, maintain, monitor and protect our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights. Despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights. We may initiate claims, administrative proceedings and/or litigation against others for infringement, misappropriation or violation of our intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights to enforce and/or maintain the validity of such rights. Any such action, if initiated, whether or not it is resolved in our favor, could result in significant expense to us, and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Trade Secrets - Risk 3
Intellectual property rights claims may adversely affect the operation of any or all networks.Third parties may assert intellectual property rights claims relating to the operation of digital assets and the holding and transfer of such assets. Regardless of the merit of any intellectual property rights claims or other legal action, any threatened action that reduces confidence in the long-term viability of any or all of the networks or other similar peer-to-peer networks, or in the ability of end-users to hold and transfer digital assets, may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, a meritorious intellectual property rights claim could prevent us and other end-users from holding or transferring the digital assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Cyber Security4 | 5.2%
Cyber Security - Risk 1
We may be vulnerable to physical security breaches, which could disrupt our operations and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Cyber Security - Risk 2
Our digital infrastructure could be breached despite our security procedures.Our operational digital infrastructure may be breached due to the actions of outside parties, error or malfeasance of one of our employees, or otherwise, and, as a result, an unauthorized party may obtain access to our digital asset accounts, private keys, data or digital assets. Although we implement a number of security procedures with various elements such as two-factor verification, segregated accounts and secured facilities and plan to implement the maintenance of data on computers and/or storage media that is not directly connected to, or accessible from, the internet and/or networked with other computers ("cold storage"), to minimize the risk of loss, damage and theft, and we update such security procedures whenever reasonably practicable, we may be unable to prevent such loss, damage or theft, whether caused intentionally, accidentally or by an act of God.
Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce our employees to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our infrastructure. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems change frequently, or may be designed to remain dormant until a predetermined event, and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or implement adequate preventative measures. As technological change occurs, the security threats to our bitcoin will likely adapt and previously unknown threats may emerge. Our ability to adopt technology in response to changing security needs or trends may pose a challenge to the safekeeping of our digital assets. To the extent we are unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats, our digital assets may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack.
Any of these events could expose us to liability, damage our reputation, reduce customer confidence in our services and otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, we believe that as our assets grow, we may become a more appealing target for security threats, such as hackers and malware. If an actual or perceived breach of our digital asset accounts occurs, the market perception of our effectiveness could be harmed.
Cyber Security - Risk 3
We may be exposed to cybersecurity threats and breaches, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Threats to network and data security are increasingly diverse and sophisticated. Security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in the bitcoin exchange market since the launch of the Bitcoin network. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent these, our computer servers and computer systems may be vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, including denial-of-service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins, employee theft or misuse and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer servers and computer systems. The preventive actions we take to reduce the risk of cyber incidents and protect our information technology and networks may be insufficient to repel a major cyber-attack in the future. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in a loss or damage to our network, in unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or in a loss of our digital assets, it could cause significant damage to our reputation, lead to claims against us and ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, we may be required to incur significant costs to protect against damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches in the future.
In addition, any assertions of alleged security breaches or systems failure made against us, whether true or not, could harm our reputation, cause us to incur substantial legal fees and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Cyber Security - Risk 4
Any loss or destruction of a private key required to access a digital asset is irreversible. Loss of access to digital assets may be permanent.Digital assets are each accessible and controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public key and private key associated with the digital asset. Although we utilize the services of third-party holders of digital assets and sell digital assets as soon as practicable after receiving them, it is possible that digital assets in our possession can be lost or stolen and irretrievable which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Technology5 | 6.5%
Technology - Risk 1
The further development and acceptance of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing transaction validation and the issuance of, and transactions in, digital assets are subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate. The slowing or stoppage of development or acceptance of blockchain networks and digital assets would have an adverse material effect on the successful development of the mining operation and value of earned digital assets.Technology - Risk 2
Any failure in our critical systems, facilities or services we provide could lead to disruptions in our and our customers' businesses and could harm our reputation and result in financial penalty and legal liabilities, which would reduce our revenue and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.The critical systems of the facilities we operate and the services we provide are subject to failure. Any failure in the critical systems of any facility we operate or services that we provide, including a breakdown in critical plant, equipment or services, routers, switches or other equipment, power supplies or network connectivity, whether or not within our control, could result in service interruptions impacting our operations as well as equipment damage, which could significantly disrupt our business operations and the operations of our customers, harm our reputation and reduce our revenue. Any failure or downtime in one of the facilities that we operate impact mining rewards generated by us and reduce the profitability of our customers.
The total destruction or severe impairment of any of the facilities we operate could result in significant downtime of our operations and services and loss of customer data. Since our ability to generate revenue depends on our ability to provide highly reliable service, even minor interruptions in our operations could harm our reputation and negatively impact our revenue and profitability. Our ability to generate revenue and the services we provide are subject to failures resulting from numerous factors, including:
- power loss, curtailment and disruption;- equipment failure;- human error or accidents;- theft, sabotage and vandalism;- failure by us or our suppliers to provide adequate service or maintain our equipment;- network connectivity downtime and fiber cuts;- service interruptions resulting from server relocation;- security breaches of our infrastructure;- improper building maintenance;- physical, electronic and cybersecurity breaches;- animal incursions;- fire, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, flood and other natural disasters;- extreme temperatures;- water damage;- public health emergencies;- riots, protests and disorder; and - terrorism, war and hostilities.
Moreover, service interruptions and equipment failures may expose us to potential legal liability. As our services are critical to our customers' business operations, any disruption in our services could result in lost profits of or other indirect or consequential damages to our customers. Our customer contracts typically contain provisions limiting our liability for breach of such agreements, a court may not enforce any contractual limitations on our liability in the event that one of our customers brings a lawsuit against us as the result of a service interruption that they may ascribe to us. The outcome of any such lawsuit would depend on the specific facts of the case and any legal and policy considerations that we may not be able to mitigate. In such cases, we could be liable for substantial damage awards, which would as a result have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Technology - Risk 3
Malicious actors or botnet may obtain control of more than 50% of the processing power on the bitcoin or other network.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 the bitcoin or other network, it may be able to alter the blockchain on which the bitcoin or other network and most bitcoin or other digital asset transactions rely by constructing fraudulent blocks or preventing certain transactions from completing in a timely manner, or at all. The malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude, or modify the ordering of transactions, though it could not generate new bitcoin or digital assets or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could "double-spend" its own bitcoin or digital assets (i.e., spend the same bitcoin or digital assets in more than one transaction) and prevent the confirmation of other users' transactions for so long as it maintained control. To the extent that such malicious actor or botnet did not yield its control of the processing power on the bitcoin or other network, or the bitcoin or other community did not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to the blockchain may not be possible.
Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of the bitcoin blockchain achieved through controlling over 50% of the processing power on the network, it is believed that certain mining pools may have exceeded the 50% threshold. The possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicates a greater risk in that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the Bitcoin or other digital asset ecosystems, including developers and administrators of mining pools, do not act to ensure greater decentralization of bitcoin or other digital asset mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power on the bitcoin or other network will increase, which may adversely affect an investment in us.
Technology - Risk 4
Latency in confirming transactions on a network could result in a loss of confidence in the network, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Latency in confirming transactions on a network can be caused by a number of factors, such as transaction processors ceasing to support the network and/or supporting a different network. To the extent that any transaction processors cease to record transactions on a network, such transactions will not be recorded on the blockchain of the network until a block is solved by a transaction processor that does not require the payment of transaction fees or other incentives. Currently, there are no known incentives for transaction processors to elect to exclude the recording of transactions in solved blocks. However, to the extent that any such incentives arise (for example, with respect to bitcoin, a collective movement among transaction processors or one or more mining pools forcing bitcoin users to pay transaction fees as a substitute for, or in addition to, the award of new bitcoin upon the solving of a block), transaction processors could delay the recording and verification of a significant number of transactions on a network's blockchain. If such latency became systemic, and sustained, it could result in greater exposure to double-spending transactions and a loss of confidence in the applicable network, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, increasing growth and popularity of digital assets, ICOs and security token offerings, as well as non-digital asset related applications that utilize blockchain technology on certain networks, can cause congestion and backlog, and as result, increase latency on such networks. An increase in congestion and backlogs could result in longer transaction confirmation times, an increase in unconfirmed transactions (that is, transactions that have yet to be included in a block on a network and therefore are not yet completed transactions), higher transaction fees and an overall decrease in confidence in a particular network, which could ultimately affect our ability to transact on that particular network and, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Technology - Risk 5
A soft or hard fork on a network could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.The rules governing a network's protocol are subject to constant change and, at any given time, there may be different groups of developers that can modify a network's protocol. As network protocols are not sold and their use does not generate revenues for their development teams, the core developers are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the network protocols. Consequently, there is a lack of financial incentive for developers to maintain or develop networks and the core developers may lack the resources to adequately address emerging issues with network protocols. Although the bitcoin and other leading networks are currently supported by core developers, such support may not continue or be sufficient in the future. To the extent that material issues arise with the bitcoin or another network protocol and the core developers and open-source contributors are unable to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner, the networks may be adversely affected.
Any individual can download the applicable network software and make any desired modifications that alter the protocols and software of the network, which are proposed to developers, users and transaction processors on the applicable network through software downloads and upgrades, typically posted to development forums such as GitHub.com. Such proposed modifications can be agreed upon, developed, adopted and implemented by a substantial majority of developers, transaction processors and users, which, in such event, results in a "soft fork" or "hard fork" on the relevant network. A "soft fork" occurs when an updated version of the validating protocol is still "backwards compatible" with previous versions of the protocol. As a result, non-upgraded network participants with an older version of the validating protocol will still recognize new blocks or transactions and may be able to confirm and validate a transaction; however, the functionality of the non-upgraded network participant may be limited. Thus, non-upgraded network participants are incentivized to adopt the updated version of the protocol. The occurrence of a soft fork could potentially destabilize mining and increase transaction and development costs and decrease trustworthiness of a network.
A "hard fork" occurs when the updated version of the validating protocol is not "backwards compatible" with previous versions of the protocol, and therefore, requires forward adoption by network participants in order to recognize new blocks, validate and verify transactions and maintain consensus on the relevant blockchain. Since the updated version of the protocol is not backwards compatible, a hard fork can cause the relevant blockchain to permanently diverge into two separate blockchains on a network. For example, in the case of bitcoin, a hard fork created two new digital assets: Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. The value of a newly created digital asset from a hard fork ("forked digital asset") may or may not have value in the long-run and may affect the price of other digital assets if interest and resources are shifted away from previously existing digital assets to the forked digital asset. The value of a previously existing digital asset after a hard fork is subject to many factors, including the market reaction and value of the forked digital asset and the occurrence of other soft or hard forks in the future. As such, the value of certain digital assets could be materially reduced if existing and future hard forks have a negative effect on their value.
If a soft fork or hard fork occurs on a network, which we or our hosting customers are processing transactions or hold digital assets in, we may be required to upgrade our hardware or software in order to continue our mining operations, and we may not be able to make such upgrades. A soft fork or hard fork in a particular digital asset that we process could have a negative effect on the value of that digital asset and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Legal & Regulatory
Total Risks: 12/77 (16%)Above Sector Average
Regulation9 | 11.7%
Regulation - Risk 1
The digital assets held by us are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.Regulation - Risk 2
Changes in tariffs or import restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Equipment necessary for digital asset mining is almost entirely manufactured outside of the United States. There is currently significant uncertainty about the future relationship between the United States and various other countries, including China, the European Union, Canada, and Mexico, with respect to trade policies, treaties, tariffs and customs duties, and taxes. For example, since 2019, the U.S. government has implemented significant changes to U.S. trade policy with respect to China. These tariffs have subjected certain digital asset mining equipment manufactured overseas to additional import duties of up to 25%. The amount of the additional tariffs and the number of products subject to them has changed numerous times based on action by the U.S. government. These tariffs have increased costs of digital asset mining equipment, and new or additional tariffs or other restrictions on the import of equipment necessary for digital asset mining could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 3
Increasing scrutiny and changing expectations from government regulators, investors, lenders, customers, and other market participants with respect to our Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") policies may impose additional costs on us or expose us to additional risks.Companies across all industries and around the globe are facing increasing scrutiny relating to their ESG policies and disclosures. Regulators, investors, lenders, customers and other market participants are increasingly focused on ESG practices and in recent years have placed increasing importance on the implications and social cost of investments. The increased focus and activism related to ESG may hinder our access to capital, as investors and lenders may reconsider their capital investment allocation as a result of their assessment of our ESG practices. If our ESG practices do not meet evolving regulator, investor, lender, customer or other industry stakeholder expectations and standards or if we do not adapt to or comply with regulator, investor, lender, customer or other industry shareholder expectations and standards, our reputation, ability to attract and/or retain employees, financial condition and/or share price could be negatively impacted. We may also incur additional costs if we do not adapt to or comply with stakeholder expectations about our electricity usage and other ESG concerns. Our failure or perceived failure to adapt to or comply with existing and potential government regulations, which are evolving but may relate to the suitable deployment of electric power, or which are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, our reputation would suffer which would have similar negative impacts that could result in a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 4
Regulatory actions may restrict the use of digital assets or the operation of digital asset networks or may impose additional regulatory burdens on our business. Changing enforcement policies and priorities have the potential to cause additional expenditures, restrictions, delays and strategic changes in connection with our business operations.Laws and regulations may be subject to changes in enforcement policies or priorities, including changes that may result from changes in the political landscape and technologies. Recently, there has been a significant amount of regulatory attention directed toward digital assets, digital asset networks and other industry participants by United States federal and state governments, foreign governments and self-regulatory agencies. For example, as digital assets such as bitcoin have grown in popularity and in market size, the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Congress and certain U.S. agencies (e.g., FinCEN, the SEC, the CFTC and the Federal Bureau of Investigation) have begun to examine the operations of the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin users and Bitcoin exchange markets. In addition, state regulators such as the Texas State Securities Board, the Massachusetts Securities Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the New Jersey Bureau of Securities, the North Carolina Secretary of State's Securities Division and the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation have initiated actions against, and investigations of, individuals and companies involved in digital assets.
Governments may in the future take regulatory actions that prohibit or severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell, use or trade digital assets or to exchange digital assets for fiat currency. Ownership of, holding or trading in digital assets may then be considered illegal and subject to sanction. Governments may also take regulatory action that may increase the cost and/or subject digital asset mining companies to additional regulation.
By extension, similar actions by governments may result in the restriction of the acquisition, ownership, holding, selling, use or trading in the capital stock of digital asset mining companies, including our securities. Such a restriction could result in us liquidating our digital asset inventory at unfavorable prices and may adversely affect our shareholders. The effect of any regulatory change, either by federal, state, local or foreign governments or any self-regulatory agencies, on us or our potential hosting customers is impossible to predict, but such change could be substantial and may require us or our potential hosting customers to cease certain or all operations and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Regulation - Risk 5
There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of digital assets nor whether digital assets are securities in any particular context. 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 in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.As digital assets have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently, with certain governments deeming digital assets illegal, and others allowing their use and trade without restriction. In some jurisdictions, such as in the U.S., digital assets are subject to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, unclear and evolving regulatory requirements. Bitcoin is the oldest and most well-known form of digital asset. Bitcoin and other forms of digital assets 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 considers a digital asset as currency or an asset, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") considers a digital asset as property and not currency. 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 digital assets, 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 digital assets 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 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 digital asset (i.e., when it is a security) and when 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, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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 federal, 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.
In addition, various foreign jurisdictions either have adopted or may adopt laws, regulations or directives that affect digital assets, digital asset networks and their users and hosting service providers that fall within such jurisdictions' regulatory scope. Such laws, regulations or directives may conflict with those of the United States, and may negatively impact the acceptance of digital assets by users, merchants and service providers outside of the United States and therefore impede the growth of digital asset use. A number of countries, including India, China, South Korea and Russia, among others, currently have a more restrictive or unclear stance toward digital assets and, thereby, have reduced the rate of expansion of digital asset use, as well as digital asset mining, in each of those countries.
Regulation - Risk 6
Recent developments have increased the likelihood that U.S. federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies will enact laws and regulations to regulate digital assets and digital asset intermediaries, such as digital asset exchanges and custodians.Beginning in the fourth quarter of 2021 and continuing throughout 2022 and much of 2023, digital asset prices fell. This decline and other factors have led to volatility and disruption in the digital asset markets and financial difficulties for several prominent industry participants, including digital asset trading platforms, hedge funds and lending platforms. The collapse of TerraUSD and Luna and the bankruptcy filings of FTX and its subsidiaries, Three Arrows Capital, Ltd. ("Three Arrows"), Celsius Mining LLC ("Celsius"), Voyager Digital Ltd. ("Voyager"), Genesis Global Holdco, LLC ("Genesis Global") and BlockFi Inc. have resulted in calls for heightened scrutiny and regulation of the digital asset industry, with a specific focus on digital asset exchanges, platforms, and custodians. The failures of risk management and other control functions at other companies that played a role in these events could accelerate an existing regulatory trend toward stricter oversight of crypto asset platforms and the crypto economy. Federal and state legislatures and regulatory agencies are expected to introduce and enact new laws and regulations to regulate digital asset intermediaries, such as digital asset exchanges and custodians. The Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Congress and certain U.S. agencies (including the SEC, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the "CFTC"), FinCEN, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation), among other regulators, as well as the White House, have issued reports and releases concerning digital assets, including bitcoin and digital asset markets. However, the extent and content of any forthcoming laws and regulations are not yet ascertainable with certainty, and they may not be ascertainable in the near future.
It is possible that new laws and increased regulation and regulatory scrutiny may require the Company to comply with certain regulatory regimes, which could result in new costs for the Company. In addition, new laws, regulations, and regulatory actions could significantly restrict or eliminate the market for, or uses of, digital assets including bitcoin, which could have a negative effect on the value of bitcoin, which in turn would have a negative effect on the value of the Company's securities.
Regulation - Risk 7
If regulatory changes or interpretations of our activities require our registration as a money services business ("MSB") under the regulations promulgated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("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.
Regulation - Risk 8
Our interactions with a blockchain may expose us to specially designated nationals ("SDN") or blocked persons or cause us to violate provisions of law that did not contemplate distributed ledger technology.The Office of Financial Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Treasury ("OFAC") requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its SDN list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, we may inadvertently and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC's SDN list. Our internal policies prohibit any transactions with such SDN individuals, but we may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the individual with whom we transact with respect to selling digital assets. In addition, in the future, OFAC or another regulator, may require us to screen transactions for OFAC addresses or other bad actors before including such transactions in a block, which may increase our compliance costs, decrease our anticipated transaction fees and lead to decreased traffic on our network. Any of these factors, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Moreover, federal law prohibits any U.S. person from knowingly or unknowingly possessing any visual depiction commonly known as child pornography. Recent media reports have suggested that persons have imbedded such depictions on one or more blockchains. Because our business requires us to download and retain one or more blockchains to effectuate our ongoing business, it is possible that such digital ledgers contain prohibited depictions without our knowledge or consent. To the extent government enforcement authorities literally enforce these and other laws and regulations that are impacted by decentralized distributed ledger technology, we may be subject to investigation, administrative or court proceedings, and civil or criminal monetary fines and penalties, all of which could harm our reputation and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Regulation - Risk 9
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:
- it is an "orthodox" investment company because it is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities; or - it is an inadvertent investment company because, absent an applicable exemption, it owns or proposes to acquire "investment securities" having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.
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 digital asset mining business. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an "orthodox" investment company as described in the first bullet point above.
While certain digital assets may be deemed to be securities, we do not believe that certain other digital assets, in particular bitcoin, are securities; 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 digital 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 digital assets we may own, acquire, earn 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 digital assets nor whether digital assets are securities in any particular context. 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 in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations." If certain digital assets, including bitcoin, were to be deemed securities, and consequently, investment securities by the SEC, we could be deemed an inadvertent investment company. Similarly, if we were to acquire digital assets deemed investment securities to hold for our own account or to engage in certain transactions, such as loan or repurchase transactions, 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.
Taxation & Government Incentives2 | 2.6%
Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 1
Changes to, or changes to interpretations of, the U.S. federal, state, local or other jurisdictional tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Taxation & Government Incentives - Risk 2
The IRS and certain states have taken the position that digital assets are "property" for income tax purposes.In early 2014, the IRS issued basic guidance on the tax treatment of digital assets. The IRS has taken the position that a digital asset is "property" instead of "currency" for income tax purposes. As such, general tax principles applicable to property transactions apply to the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of digital assets. This overall treatment creates a potential tax liability for, and potential tax reporting requirements applicable to, us in any circumstance where we earn or otherwise acquire, mine, own, use, or dispose of a digital asset. In 2019, the IRS issued additional guidance specifically relating to the income tax consequences that could arise from a digital asset hard fork event in which a new unit of digital asset may or may not be received, and released frequently asked questions to address certain digital asset topics such as tax basis, gain, or loss on the sale or exchange of certain kinds of digital assets and how to determine the fair market value of such digital assets.
There is no guarantee that the IRS will not alter its position with respect to the taxation of digital assets, or that legislation or judicial determinations in the future will not result in a tax treatment of digital assets and transactions in digital assets for tax purposes that differs from the treatment described above. You are urged to consult your own tax advisor as to the tax implications of our acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of digital assets. The taxation of digital assets for state, local, or non-U.S. tax purposes may not be the same as the taxation of digital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
In addition, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, as of January 1, 2018, "like-kind exchange" treatment does not apply to digital assets. This means that gain from the sale or exchange of digital assets cannot be deferred by undertaking an exchange of one type of virtual currency for another.
Certain states, including New York and New Jersey, generally follow IRS guidance with respect to the treatment of digital assets for state income tax purposes, but it is unclear if other states will do so. Transactions involving digital assets for other goods and services may also be subject to sales and use or similar taxes under barter transaction treatment or otherwise. The treatment of digital assets for state income tax and sales tax purposes may have negative consequences, including the imposition of a greater tax burden on investors in digital assets or a higher cost with respect to the acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of digital assets generally. In either case, this could have a negative effect on prices in the relevant digital asset exchange market and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Non-U.S. jurisdictions may also elect to treat digital assets in a manner that results in adverse tax consequences. To the extent a non-U.S. jurisdiction with a significant share of the market of digital asset owners or users imposes onerous tax burdens on such owners or users, or imposes sales, use, or value added tax on acquisitions and dispositions of digital assets for fiat currency, such actions could result in decreased demand for digital assets in such jurisdiction, which could impact the price of digital assets and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Environmental / Social1 | 1.3%
Environmental / Social - Risk 1
Physical risks and regulatory changes relating to climate change may impact our costs, our access to materials and resources and demand for cryptocurrencies, potentially adversely impacting our business, capital expenditures, results of operations, financial condition and competitive position.Ability to Sell
Total Risks: 7/77 (9%)Above Sector Average
Competition2 | 2.6%
Competition - Risk 1
We may not be able to maintain our competitive position as the Bitcoin network experiences increases in total network hash rate.Competition - Risk 2
We may not be able to compete effectively against our current and future competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.The digital asset mining industry is highly innovative, rapidly evolving and characterized by healthy competition, experimentation, frequent introductions of new products and services and uncertain and evolving industry and regulatory requirements. We expect competition to further intensify in the future as existing and new competitors introduce new products or enhance existing products. We compete against a number of companies operating both within the United States and abroad, that have greater financial and other resources and that focus on digital asset mining, including businesses focused on developing substantial bitcoin mining operations. If we are unable to compete successfully, or if competing successfully requires us to take costly actions in response to the actions of our competitors, our business, operating results and financial condition could be adversely affected.
We compete with other bitcoin miners and with a range of hosting providers and blockchain providers for some or all of the services we offer. We face competition from numerous developers, owners and operators in the blockchain industry, including technology companies, such as hyperscale cloud players, managed service providers and real estate investment trusts ("REITs"), some of which own or lease properties similar to ours, or may do so in the future, in the same submarkets in which our properties are located. Cloud offerings may also influence our customers to move workloads to cloud providers, which may reduce the services they obtain from us. Our current and future competitors may vary from us in size, service offerings and geographic presence.
Competition is primarily centered on reputation and track record; design, size, quality, available power and geographic coverage of hosting space; quality of installation and customer equipment repair services; relationships with equipment manufacturers and ability to obtain replacement parts; technical and software expertise; and financial strength and price. Some of our current and future competitors may have greater brand recognition, longer operating histories, stronger marketing, technical and financial resources and access to greater and less expensive power than we do. In addition, many companies in the industry are consolidating, which could further increase the market power of our competitors. Further, we also face significant competition from other users and/or companies that are processing transactions on one or more digital asset networks, as well as other potential financial vehicles, including securities, derivatives or futures backed by, or linked to, digital assets through entities similar to us, such as exchange-traded funds. Market and financial conditions, and other conditions beyond our control, may make it more attractive to invest in other financial vehicles, or to invest in digital assets directly. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and potentially the value of any digital assets we hold or expect to acquire for our own account.
Sales & Marketing5 | 6.5%
Sales & Marketing - Risk 1
We have experienced difficulties in establishing relationships with banks, leasing companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions to provide us with customary financial products and services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Sales & Marketing - Risk 2
The "halving" of rewards available on the Bitcoin network, or the reduction of rewards on other networks, has had and in the future could have a negative impact on our ability to generate revenue as our customers may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and customers may cease mining operations altogether, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Under the current protocols governing the Bitcoin network, the reward for validating a new block on that network is cut in half from time to time, which has been referred to in our industry as the "halving." When the Bitcoin network was first launched, the reward for validating a new block was 50 bitcoin. In 2012, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 25 bitcoin. In July 2016, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 12.5 bitcoin, and in May 2020, the reward was further reduced to 6.25 bitcoin. The next halving for the bitcoin blockchain is anticipated to occur in April 2024 at block 840,000. In addition, other networks may operate under rules that, or may alter their rules to, limit the distribution of new digital assets. We, and to our knowledge, our potential hosting customers, currently rely on these rewards to generate a significant portion of our total revenue. If the award of digital assets for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, neither we nor our customers may have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease mining operations altogether, which as a result may significantly reduce demand for our hosting services. As a result, the halving of available rewards on the Bitcoin network, or any reduction of rewards on other networks, would have a negative impact on our revenues and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 3
If there are significant changes to the method of validating blockchain transactions, such changes could reduce demand for our blockchain hosting services.New digital asset transaction protocols are continuously being deployed, and existing and new protocols are in a state of constant change and development. While certain validation protocols currently employ a "proof-of-work" consensus algorithm, whereby transaction processors are required to expend significant amounts of electrical and computing power to solve complex mathematical problems in order to validate transactions and create new blocks in a blockchain, there may be a shift towards adopting alternative validating protocols. These protocols may include a "proof-of-stake" algorithm or an algorithm based on a protocol other than proof-of-work, which may decrease the reliance on computing power as an advantage to validating blocks. Our mining operations, and, to our knowledge, the operations of our potential hosting customers, are currently designed to primarily support a proof-of-work consensus algorithm. Should the algorithm shift from a proof-of-work validation method to a proof-of-stake method, mining would require less energy and may render any company that maintains advantages in the current climate (for example, from lower priced electricity, processing, real estate or hosting) less competitive.
As a result of our efforts to optimize and improve the efficiency of our digital asset mining operations, we may be exposed to the risk in the future of losing the benefit of our capital investments and the competitive advantage we hope to gain from this as a result, and may be negatively impacted if a switch to proof-of-stake validation were to occur. Any such change to transaction validating protocols could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 4
As more processing power is added to a network, our relative percentage of total processing power on that network is expected to decline absent significant capital investment, which has an adverse impact on our ability to generate revenue from processing transactions on that network and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Processing power on networks has been increasing rapidly over time while the rewards and transaction fees available on those networks tends to decline over time. In order to grow or maintain the revenue we generate from processing transactions on such networks, we are required to invest significant capital to acquire new computer servers, expand our power capacity and otherwise increase our effective processing power on such networks. In the event we are unable to invest sufficient capital to grow or maintain the level of our processing power on a network relative to the total processing power of such network, our revenue from the applicable network will decline over time and as a result, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
In addition, a decrease in the price of computer servers may result in an increase in transaction processors, which may lead to more competition for fees in a particular network. In the event we are unable to realize adequate fees on a network due to increased competition, our revenue from the applicable network will decline over time and in turn, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Sales & Marketing - Risk 5
If we fail to accurately estimate the factors upon which we base our contract pricing, we may generate less profit than expected or incur losses on those contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.Our hosting contracts are generally priced on the basis of estimated power consumption by our clients, along with other costs of service, as adjusted for actual costs. Our ability to earn a profit on such contracts requires that we accurately estimate the costs involved and outcomes likely to be achieved and assess the probability of generating sufficient hosting capacity within the contracted time period. In addition, we may not be able to obtain all expected benefits, including tax abatements or government incentives offered in opportunity zones. The inability to accurately estimate the factors upon which we base our contract pricing could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Macro & Political
Total Risks: 5/77 (6%)Above Sector Average
Economy & Political Environment4 | 5.2%
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 1
Digital assets, 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 digital asset settlement may significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the market.Economy & Political Environment - Risk 2
Global conflict could negatively impact the Company's business, results of operations and financial conditions.Unforeseen global events, such as the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict, could adversely affect our business and results of operations. These and similar conflicts, including any resulting sanctions, export controls or other restrictive actions that may be imposed by the United States and/or other countries, have created global security concerns that could result in a regional conflict and otherwise have a lasting impact on regional and global economies, any or all of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. To the extent that these conflicts have increased the global cost of energy and disrupted the demand for and price of bitcoin, it has and could continue to have an impact on our business. Sanctions, bans or other economic actions in response to conflicts could result in an increase in costs and disruptions to the Company. The extent of such items is not presently known, and any of them could negatively impact the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 3
Our business is heavily impacted by social, political, economic and other events and circumstances in the United States and in countries outside of the United States, most particularly Asian and other non-Western countries.Our business is heavily impacted by social, political, economic and other events and circumstances in the United States and in countries outside of the United States, most particularly in Asian and other non-Western countries. These events and circumstances are largely outside of our influence and control. We are heavily dependent on Chinese manufacture of equipment, much of which has historically been for sale within China and other countries outside the United States. We believe that historically China was a location of significant digital asset mining at low electric power rates. Recently, China and other foreign governments have taken action to prohibit or significantly restrict digital asset mining. For example, in May and June 2021, in their efforts to curb digital asset trading and mining, regulators in several Chinese Provinces, including Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Sichuan, announced policies to curb or ban local digital asset mining operations. The long-term impact of such restrictions is unknown and could be detrimental to our business and profitability. Whether or not the lack of mining activity in China will negatively impact Chinese miner manufacturing and the development, price, availability of new and enhanced mining equipment is unknown. Should China or other countries that currently restrict digital asset mining eliminate such restrictions or actually seek to enhance such mining activity, the likely increase in mining activity would likely reduce our revenue and profitability.
Economy & Political Environment - Risk 4
A slowdown in market and economic conditions, particularly those impacting the blockchain industry and the blockchain hosting market, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.We and our customers are affected by general business and economic conditions in the United States and globally, particularly those impacting the blockchain industry and the blockchain hosting market. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, money supply, political issues, legislative and regulatory changes, including the imposition of new tariffs affecting our or our customers' products and services, fluctuations in both debt and equity capital markets and broad trends in industry and finance, all of which are beyond our control. Macroeconomic conditions that affect the economy and the economic outlook of the United States and the rest of the world could adversely affect our customers and vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Capital Markets1 | 1.3%
Capital Markets - Risk 1
Digital assets exchanges and other trading venues are relatively new and, in some cases, unregulated and some have experienced fraud and failure.See a full breakdown of risk according to category and subcategory. The list starts with the category with the most risk. Click on subcategories to read relevant extracts from the most recent report.
FAQ
What are “Risk Factors”?
Risk factors are any situations or occurrences that could make investing in a company risky.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that publicly traded companies disclose their most significant risk factors. This is so that potential investors can consider any risks before they make an investment.
They also offer companies protection, as a company can use risk factors as liability protection. This could happen if a company underperforms and investors take legal action as a result.
It is worth noting that smaller companies, that is those with a public float of under $75 million on the last business day, do not have to include risk factors in their 10-K and 10-Q forms, although some may choose to do so.
How do companies disclose their risk factors?
Publicly traded companies initially disclose their risk factors to the SEC through their S-1 filings as part of the IPO process.
Additionally, companies must provide a complete list of risk factors in their Annual Reports (Form 10-K) or (Form 20-F) for “foreign private issuers”.
Quarterly Reports also include a section on risk factors (Form 10-Q) where companies are only required to update any changes since the previous report.
According to the SEC, risk factors should be reported concisely, logically and in “plain English” so investors can understand them.
How can I use TipRanks risk factors in my stock research?
Use the Risk Factors tab to get data about the risk factors of any company in which you are considering investing.
You can easily see the most significant risks a company is facing. Additionally, you can find out which risk factors a company has added, removed or adjusted since its previous disclosure. You can also see how a company’s risk factors compare to others in its sector.
Without reading company reports or participating in conference calls, you would most likely not have access to this sort of information, which is usually not included in press releases or other public announcements.
A simplified analysis of risk factors is unique to TipRanks.
What are all the risk factor categories?
TipRanks has identified 6 major categories of risk factors and a number of subcategories for each. You can see how these categories are broken down in the list below.
1. Financial & Corporate
- Accounting & Financial Operations - risks related to accounting loss, value of intangible assets, financial statements, value of intangible assets, financial reporting, estimates, guidance, company profitability, dividends, fluctuating results.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights – risks related to things that impact share prices and the rights of shareholders, including analyst ratings, major shareholder activity, trade volatility, liquidity of shares, anti-takeover provisions, international listing, dual listing.
- Debt & Financing – risks related to debt, funding, financing and interest rates, financial investments.
- Corporate Activity and Growth – risks related to restructuring, M&As, joint ventures, execution of corporate strategy, strategic alliances.
2. Legal & Regulatory
- Litigation and Legal Liabilities – risks related to litigation/ lawsuits against the company.
- Regulation – risks related to compliance, GDPR, and new legislation.
- Environmental / Social – risks related to environmental regulation and to data privacy.
- Taxation & Government Incentives – risks related to taxation and changes in government incentives.
3. Production
- Costs – risks related to costs of production including commodity prices, future contracts, inventory.
- Supply Chain – risks related to the company’s suppliers.
- Manufacturing – risks related to the company’s manufacturing process including product quality and product recalls.
- Human Capital – risks related to recruitment, training and retention of key employees, employee relationships & unions labor disputes, pension, and post retirement benefits, medical, health and welfare benefits, employee misconduct, employee litigation.
4. Technology & Innovation
- Innovation / R&D – risks related to innovation and new product development.
- Technology – risks related to the company’s reliance on technology.
- Cyber Security – risks related to securing the company’s digital assets and from cyber attacks.
- Trade Secrets & Patents – risks related to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property and to infringement claims against the company as well as piracy and unlicensed copying.
5. Ability to Sell
- Demand – risks related to the demand of the company’s goods and services including seasonality, reliance on key customers.
- Competition – risks related to the company’s competition including substitutes.
- Sales & Marketing – risks related to sales, marketing, and distribution channels, pricing, and market penetration.
- Brand & Reputation – risks related to the company’s brand and reputation.
6. Macro & Political
- Economy & Political Environment – risks related to changes in economic and political conditions.
- Natural and Human Disruptions – risks related to catastrophes, floods, storms, terror, earthquakes, coronavirus pandemic/COVID-19.
- International Operations – risks related to the global nature of the company.
- Capital Markets – risks related to exchange rates and trade, cryptocurrency.