We actively use specific hardware and software for our cryptocurrency mining operation. In certain cases, source code and other software assets may be subject to an open source license, as much technology development underway in this sector is open source. For these works, Riot intends to adhere to the terms of any license agreements that may be in place.
We do not currently own, and do not have any current plans to seek, any patents in connection with our existing and planned blockchain and cryptocurrency related operations. We do expect to rely upon trade secrets, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual property rights and expect to license the use of intellectual property rights owned and controlled by others. In addition, we anticipate developing certain proprietary software applications for purposes of our cryptocurrency mining and our planned cryptocurrency exchange operations.
We have an animal health patent portfolio relating to our prior operating activities, which originated under the exclusive license agreement with Washington University in St. Louis ("WU" or “Washington University in St. Louis”), under which we obtained intellectual property rights to WU's patent estate. This extensive portfolio consists of both patents and pending patent applications (approximately 25 patents and numerous patent applications) related to our animal health products that we previously had under development. The term of the WU License Agreement ends upon the expiration of the last patent to expire. Patents in the estate have expiration dates ranging from 2010 to 2019. WU has filed, and continues to expand and extend the patent coverage of the WU technology. We reimburse WU for the costs of such patent filings, namely prosecution and maintenance fees. Additional patents in the animal health portfolio have been filed by us outside of the WU License Agreement.
A patent filing for the recombinant luteinizing hormone technology was submitted in 2004, entitled "Methods and Kits for Maintaining Pregnancy, Treating Follicular Cysts, and Synchronizing Ovulation Using Luteinizing Hormone." This patent family claims methods of administering rLH, the timing of administration, and dosage given in order to increase formation of accessory corpora lutea and maintain pregnancies in treated animals. To date, five foreign patents have been granted for "Methods and Kits for Maintaining Pregnancy, Treating Follicular Cysts, and Synchronizing Ovulation Using Luteinizing Hormone," New Zealand patent 542549 was granted March 12, 2009 (expiring March 2024), Australia 2004218365 was granted May 27, 2010 (expiring March 2024), European patent 1610803 was granted December 15, 2010 (expiring March 2024), Canadian patent 2518268 was granted December 10, 2013 (expiring March 2024) and Brazil was granted May 31, 2016 (expiring March 4, 2026). The patent granted by the European Patent Office and has been validated in the following countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Currently, there are additional foreign patent applications that are in prosecution.
A patent filing for the recombinant bovine follicle stimulating hormone technology was submitted in 2008, entitled "Compositions and Methods Including Expression and Bioactivity of Bovine Follicle Stimulating Hormone." This patent family claims the rbFSH single-chains itself, as well as methods of administering rbFSH, the timing of administration, and dosage given in order to increase reproduction, induce superovulation or increase embryo production in ungulates. The patent family includes filings in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Thailand and the United States.
The patent has also been filed with the European Patent Office. In October of 2011, the first patent in this family was granted by the European Patent Office (2134165), expiring October 12, 2028. The patent has also been granted in New Zealand (579740), expiring October 1, 2028. Following the grant of the patent in 2011 by the European Patent Office, the patent was validated in the following countries: France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. In August 2013, the patent was granted in the United States (8518881 B2) expiring February 8, 2028, followed in November 2013 by the grant in Australia (2008213567) expiring February 8, 2028.
We are actively conducting research and development into advanced methods of managing cryptocurrency mining operations at scale. This includes monitoring software, management tools, and programmable hardware components for gathering data and the configuration of mining equipment. At the core of this work is an investment into software development around at scale management of the Bitmain "Antminer" family of systems. These devices have an application interface that is accessible to users for the purposes of automation, monitoring and software maintenance. The existing software that is provided directly from the manufacturer is not designed for the scale or size of our operation. Our team of engineers have been developing source code designed to support thousands of individual mining devices. The mining operations rely on this technology to streamline our daily system management, provide near real time reporting of faults and deliver configuration updates to the entire fleet of miners. We have also adapted these technologies to leverage cloud computing in order to offer access to these tools across a global footprint of mining sites.
As of March 31, 2018, we had nine employees, all of whom are full-time. In addition, Tess, of which we own 52%, had 13 full time employees as of March 31, 2018. We believe our employee relations to be good. Currently, our activities rely on the services of consultants and operators of data centers under support agreements to maintain our servers and for other activities.
Since entering the blockchain industry in October 2017, we have terminated all of our employees related to our historical businesses with the exception of certain accounting personnel.
You can access, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports as filed with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These documents may also be accessed on our website:
www.riotblockchain.com
. These documents are placed on our website as soon as is reasonably practicable after their filing with the SEC. The information contained in, or that can be accessed through, the website is not part of this Annual Report. These documents may also be found at the SEC's website at
www.sec.gov
.
ITEM 1A. — RISK FACTORS
An investment in the Company's common stock involves a high degree of risk, and an investor should only purchase the Company's securities if he or she can afford to suffer the loss of his or her entire investment. In determining whether to purchase the Company's common stock, an investor should carefully consider all of the material risks described below, together with the other information contained in this report and the Company's other public filings before making a decision to purchase the Company's securities. In addition to the risks discussed below, other risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, perhaps materially. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and actual results and events may differ substantially from those discussed or highlighted in those forward-looking statements. See also "Forward-Looking Statements."
General Risks
We have a history of operating losses, and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability; we have recently shifted to an entirely new business and may not be successful in this new business.
We are not profitable and have incurred losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and these losses could increase as we continue to work to develop our business. We were previously engaged in veterinary and life science‑oriented businesses and were not successful in those businesses. In late 2017, we determined to instead pursue a blockchain and digital currency‑related business, initially through investments in existing companies. Our initial efforts in this new business will focus primarily on bitcoin mining and the establishment of a cryptocurrency exchange and a futures brokerage operation. Currently, however, our only operations are at our bitcoin mining facility ("mine") in Oklahoma, and that mine is still in a relatively early stage of development. Our current strategy is new and unproven, is in an industry that is itself new and evolving, and is subject to the risks discussed below. This strategy, like our prior ones, may not be successful, and we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods.
Our costs are growing rapidly, which could seriously harm our business or increase our losses.
Our mining operations are costly, and we expect our expenses, including those related to acquisitions, to grow in the future. This expense growth will continue as we broaden our network of computers to mine ("miners"), as we develop and implement an exchange feature, which will require more computing infrastructure, and as we hire additional employees to support potential future growth. Our costs will be based on development growth of operations and may not be offset by a corresponding growth of our revenue. We plan to continue to invest in our infrastructure to take advantage of various opportunities, potentially in countries and in activities where we do not expect significant short-term monetization, if any. Our expenses may be greater than we anticipate, and our investments to make our business more efficient may not succeed and may outpace monetization efforts. In addition, we expect to incur marketing and other operating expenses to grow and expand our operations and to remain competitive. Increases in our costs without a corresponding increase in our revenue would increase our losses and could seriously harm our business and financial performance.
We may be unable to raise additional capital needed to grow our business.
We will likely continue to operate at a loss, at least until our business becomes established, and we expect to need to raise additional capital to expand our operations and pursue our growth strategies, including potential acquisitions of complementary businesses, and to respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated working capital requirements. We may not be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, if at all, which could impair our growth and adversely affect our existing operations. If we raise additional equity financing, our shareholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests, and the per share value of our common stock could decline. Furthermore, if we engage in additional debt financing, the holders of debt would have priority over the holders of common stock, and we may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness and take other actions that would otherwise be in the interests of our shareholders, forcing us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios.
Unfavorable general economic conditions in the U.S. and globally can adversely affect our business and our ability to obtain future financing.
Our business could be materially adversely affected by unfavorable general economic conditions, including effects of weak domestic and world economies. Future volatility and disruption in worldwide capital and credit markets and any declines in economic conditions in the U.S., Europe or in other parts of the world could adversely impact our business and results of operations, particularly if the availability of financing for us is limited.
We have an evolving business model.
As cryptocurrency assets and blockchain technologies become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve. In order to stay current with the industry, our business model may need to evolve as well. From time to time, we may modify aspects of our business model relating to our product mix and service offerings. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to our business. We may not be able to manage growth effectively, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth and negatively affect our operating results. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
We may acquire other businesses, form joint ventures or make investments in other companies or technologies that could negatively affect our operating results, dilute our shareholders' ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expense; notwithstanding the foregoing, our growth may depend on our success in uncovering and completing such deals.
We commenced the implementation of our new strategy with our investment in Coinsquare and have made some other investments and acquisitions. Most recently, we acquired Logical Brokerage Corp. to serve as a platform for our planned cryptocurrency exchange. We may pursue, and our growth may depend upon our success in making, other investments in companies and acquisitions of businesses and assets and/or strategic alliances and joint ventures. We have limited experience in acquiring other companies and forming strategic partnerships. We may not be able to find suitable partners or acquisition candidates, and may not be able to complete such transactions on favorable terms, if at all. If we make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully into the existing business, and could assume unknown or contingent liabilities.
Any future acquisitions also could result in the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or future write‑offs of intangible assets or goodwill, any of which could have a negative impact on our cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Integration of an acquired company may also disrupt ongoing operations and require management resources that we would otherwise focus on developing the existing business. We may experience losses related to investments in other companies, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations. Further, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, strategic alliance or joint venture.
To finance any acquisitions or joint ventures, we may choose to issue shares of common stock as consideration, which could dilute the ownership of the shareholders. Additional funds may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. If the price of our common stock is low or volatile, we may not be able to acquire other companies or fund a joint venture project using stock as consideration.
We may pursue international projects, which could subject us to risks not generally applicable to our U.S. operations.
In the future, we may develop bitcoin mines and pursue other business opportunities in foreign countries. Any international expansion efforts may require us to devote significant management and financial resources, diverting our attention from our U.S. operations, and we may not be successful in those efforts. Potential future operations in foreign countries are subject to a number of particular risks, including:
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exposure to local economic conditions;
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potential adverse changes in the diplomatic relations of foreign countries with the U.S.;
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hostility from local populations;
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restrictions and taxes on the withdrawal of foreign investments and earnings;
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imposition of government policies and regulations against business and energy usage by foreigners;
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foreign investment restrictions or requirements;
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limitations on our ability to legally enforce our contractual rights in foreign countries;
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lack of protection of intellectual property rights;
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regulations prohibiting or restricting the mining or exchange of cryptocurrencies;
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conflicts between local laws and U.S. laws;
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exposure to currency fluctuations;
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withholding and other taxes on remittances and other payments by our subsidiaries; and
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changes in and application of foreign taxation structures.
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Any international business operations will also be subject to various anti-corruption laws and regulations, including restrictions imposed by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA"). The FCPA and similar anti‑corruption laws in other jurisdictions generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to government officials for the purpose of obtaining or generating business. We cannot provide assurance that our internal controls and procedures will protect us from the reckless or criminal acts that may be committed by our employees or third parties with whom we work. If we are found to be liable for violations of the FCPA or similar anti-corruption laws in international jurisdictions, criminal or civil penalties could be imposed on us.
We may not be able to compete with other companies, some of whom have greater resources and experience.
We may not be able to compete successfully against present or future competitors. We do not have the resources to compete with larger providers of similar services at this time. The cryptocurrency industry has attracted various high‑profile and well-established operators, some of which have substantially greater liquidity and financial resources than we do. With the limited resources we have available, we may experience great difficulties in building our network of computers and creating an exchange. Competition from existing and future competitors, particularly the many Canadian companies that have access to cheap energy, could result in our inability to secure acquisitions and partnerships that we may need to expand our business. This competition from other entities with greater resources, experience and reputations may result in our failure to maintain or expand our business, as we may never be able to successfully execute our business plan.
The properties included in our mining network may experience damages, including damages that are not covered by insurance.
Our current operational mine in Oklahoma City is, and any future mines we establish will be, subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including:
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the presence of construction or repair defects or other structural or building damage;
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any noncompliance with or liabilities under applicable environmental, health or safety regulations or requirements or building permit requirements;
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any damage resulting from natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, fires, floods and windstorms; and
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claims by employees and others for injuries sustained at our properties.
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For example, a mine could be rendered inoperational, temporarily or permanently, as a result of a fire or other natural disaster or by a terrorist or other attack on the mine. The security and other measures we take to protect against these risks may not be sufficient. Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage or loss of access to the electrical grid or loss by the grid of cost-effective sources of electrical power generating capacity. Given the power requirement, it would not be feasible to run miners on back-up power generators in the event of a power outage. Our insurance does not cover any interruption of our mining activities, and may not be adequate to cover the losses we suffer as a result of any of these events. In the event of an uninsured loss, including a loss in excess of insured limits, at any of the mines in our network, such mines may not be adequately repaired in a timely manner or at all and we may lose some or all of the future revenues anticipated to be derived from such mines. The potential impact on our business is currently magnified because we are only operating a single mine.
Our mines are also subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment, natural resources and worker health and safety, including laws and regulations governing and creating liability relating to the management, storage and disposal of hazardous substances and other regulated materials and the cleanup of contaminated sites. Our mines are also subject to various environmental laws and regulations that govern certain aspects of their ongoing operations. These laws and regulations control such things as the nature and volume of wastewater discharges, quality of water supply and waste management practices.
If we fail to maintain the value and reputation of our brand, our value is likely to decline.
Our success depends on the value and reputation of our brand. Our name is integral to our business as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding business. Maintaining, promoting and positioning our reputation will depend largely on our ability to distinguish ourselves from other public cryptocurrency mining and trading companies and build public trust. We have been adversely affected by recent negative publicity, including a CNBC report aired in February 2018. If we continue to be portrayed negatively in the press, our public image and reputation could be tarnished, which could adversely affect our business and result in continued decreases in our stock price.
Our management team is new; loss of key members of management, or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel could adversely affect our business.
Our success and future growth will depend to a significant degree on the skills and services of our senior management team. The members of our senior management team were all recently hired in connection with our transition to our new business model: our chief executive officer was hired in November 2017, our chief operating officer was hired in January 2018, and our chief financial officer was hired in February 2018, and we need to continue to grow our senior management team. If our senior management team, including any new hires that we may make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Furthermore, any future changes in our senior management team may be disruptive to our business.
The loss of key members of management could inhibit our growth prospects. Our future success also depends in large part on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key management and operating personnel. As we continue to develop and expand our operations, we may require personnel with different skills and experiences, and with a sound understanding of our business and the cryptocurrency industry. The market for highly qualified personnel in this industry is very competitive.
We, and some of our current officers, have been named as parties to various lawsuits arising out of, or related to, allegedly false and misleading statements made in prior securities filings, and those lawsuits could adversely affect us, require significant management time and attention, result in significant legal expenses or damages, and cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows to suffer.
A number of securities class action complaints and a shareholder derivative action have been filed against us and certain of our current officers and directors [as detailed more fully in Item 3, Legal Proceedings]. Shareholders have filed three class action complaints against us in three states, accusing us of violations of the federal securities laws based on purported material misrepresentations or omissions allegedly made by the Company. Each class action complaint seeks unspecified money damages and other relief on behalf of a putative class of persons who purchased or otherwise acquired our common stock between November 13, 2017 and February 15, 2018. The shareholder derivative case alleges similar disclosure violations and seeks unspecified monetary damages and corporate governance reforms. If these matters cannot be resolved expeditiously, management's attention may be diverted to this matter and there can be no assurance that the litigation would be settled. If the current litigation proceeds or if additional claims are filed, the legal and other costs associated with the defense of these actions and their ultimate outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we expect insurance to cover many of the costs associated with defending such litigation, insurance coverage may be insufficient and could require a diversion of our resources. There also may be adverse publicity associated with litigation that could negatively affect customer perception of our business, regardless of whether the allegations are valid or whether we are ultimately found liable.
We incur significant costs and demands upon management and accounting and finance resources as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies; if we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements could be impaired, which could harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business and our reputation
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As an SEC‑reporting company, we are required to, among other things, maintain a system of effective internal control over financial reporting. Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. Substantial work will continue to be required to further implement, document, assess, test and remediate our system of internal controls. We will also need to retain a new principal accounting officer and other finance and accounting personnel in the future.
If our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, we may be unable to issue our financial statements in a timely manner, we may be unable to obtain the required audit or review of our financial statements by our independent registered public accounting firm in a timely manner or we may be otherwise unable to comply with the periodic reporting requirements of the SEC, our common stock listing on the NASDAQ could be suspended or terminated and our stock price could materially suffer. In addition, we or members of our management could be subject to investigation and sanction by the SEC and other regulatory authorities and to shareholder lawsuits, which could impose significant additional costs on us and divert management attention.
We may not be able to utilize our net operating loss carry forwards.
At December 31, 2017, we had net operating loss carry forwards ("NOLs") for income tax purposes of approximately $105 million, expiring through 2037, and our subsidiaries had net operating loss carry forwards of approximately $2 million for federal and state tax purposes, which are available to offset future taxable income, if any, expiring through 2037. As of December 31, 2017, a subsidiary had a capital loss carry forward of approximately $1.1 million for federal and state tax purposes, which is available to offset future capital gains, if any, expiring through December 2020. However, we do not know if or when we will have any earnings and capital gains against which we could apply these carry forwards. Furthermore, as a result of changes in the ownership of our common stock, our ability to use our federal NOLs may be limited under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 and 383. State NOLs are subject to similar limitations in many cases. As a result, our substantial NOLs may not have any value to us.
In addition, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Tax Act), the amount of post 2017 NOLs that we are permitted to deduct in any taxable year is limited to 80% of our taxable income in such year, where taxable income is determined without regard to the NOL deduction itself. The Tax Act generally eliminates the ability to carry back any NOL to prior taxable years, while allowing post 2017 unused NOLs to be carried forward indefinitely. There is a risk that due to changes under the Tax Act, regulatory changes or other unforeseen reasons, our existing NOLs could expire or otherwise be unavailable to offset future income tax liabilities.
We will not be able to successfully execute our business strategy if we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
U.S. companies that have more than 100 shareholders or are publicly traded in the U.S. and are, or hold themselves out as being, engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities are subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act. Unless a substantial part of our assets consists of, and a substantial part of our income is derived from, interests in majority-owned subsidiaries and companies that we primarily control, we may be required to register and become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act. If bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were to be deemed securities for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we would have difficulty avoiding classification and regulation as an investment company.
If we were deemed to be, and were required to register as, an investment company, we would be forced to comply with substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act, including limitations on our ability to borrow, limitations on our capital structure; restrictions on acquisitions of interests in associated companies, prohibitions on transactions with affiliates, restrictions on specific investments, and compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations. If we were forced to comply with the rules and regulations of the Investment Company Act, our operations would significantly change, and we would be prevented from successfully executing our business strategy. To avoid regulation under the Investment Company Act and related SEC rules, we could need to sell bitcoin and other assets which we would otherwise want to retain and could be unable to sell assets which we would otherwise want to sell. In addition, we could be forced to acquire additional, or retain existing, income-generating or loss-generating assets which we would not otherwise have acquired or retained and could need to forgo opportunities to acquire bitcoin and other assets that would benefit our business. If we were forced to sell, buy or retain assets in this manner, we could be prevented from successfully executing our business strategy.
We may be classified as an inadvertent investment company
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We believe that we are not engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities, and we do not hold ourselves out as being engaged in those activities. However under the Investment Company Act a company may be deemed an investment company under section 3(a)(1)(C) if the value of its investment securities is more than 40% of its total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on a consolidated basis.
As a result of our investments and our mining activities, including investments in which we do not have a controlling interest, the investment securities we hold could exceed 40% of our total assets, exclusive of cash items and, accordingly, we could determine that we have become an inadvertent investment company. The cryptocurrency we own, acquire or mine may be deemed an investment security by the SEC, although we do not believe any of the cryptocurrencies we own, acquire or mine are securities. An inadvertent investment company can avoid being classified as an investment company if it can rely on one of the exclusions under the 1940 Act. One such exclusion, Rule 3a-2 under the 1940 Act, allows an inadvertent investment company a grace period of one year from the earlier of (a) the date on which an issuer owns securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the issuer's total assets on either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis and (b) the date on which an issuer owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer's total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. As of December 31, 2017, we do not believe we are an inadvertent investment company, however resolution of pending comments received from the SEC have not been concluded and this issue has not been resolved by SEC rules or regulations. For us, any grace period would be unknown until these issues are resolved or the SEC issues rules and regulations concerning cryptocurrency treatment.
We may take actions to cause the investment securities held by us to be less than 40% of our total assets, which may include acquiring assets with our cash and cryptocurrency on hand or liquidating our investment securities or cryptocurrency or seeking a no-action letter 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 a company 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.
Classification as an investment company under the Investment Company Act requires registration with the SEC. If an investment company fails to register, it would have to stop doing almost all business, and its contracts would become voidable. Registration is time consuming and restrictive and would require a restructuring of our operations, and we would be very constrained in the kind of business we could do as a registered investment company. Further, we would become subject to substantial regulation concerning management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons and portfolio composition, and would need to file reports under the Investment Company Act regime. The cost of such compliance would result in the Company incurring substantial additional expenses, and the failure to register if required would have a materially adverse impact to conduct our operations.
Changes in the U.S. tax and other laws and regulations may adversely affect our business.
The U.S. government may revise tax laws, regulations or official interpretations in ways that could have a significant adverse effect on our business, including modifications that could reduce the profits that we can effectively realize from our international operations, or that could require costly changes to those operations, or the way in which they are structured. For example, the effective tax rates for most U.S. companies reflect the fact that income earned and reinvested outside the U.S. is generally taxed at local rates, which may be much lower than U.S. tax rates. If we expand abroad and there are changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations that significantly increase the tax rates on non-U.S. income, our effective tax rate could increase and our profits could be reduced. If such increases resulted from our status as a U.S. company, those changes could place us at a disadvantage to our non-U.S. competitors if those competitors remain subject to lower local tax rates.
Recently enacted U.S. tax reform legislation known colloquially as the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," among other things, makes significant changes to the rules applicable to the taxation of corporations, such as changing the corporate tax rate to a flat 21% rate, modifying the rules regarding limitations on certain deductions for executive compensation, introducing a capital investment deduction in certain circumstances, placing certain limitations on the interest deduction, modifying the rules regarding the usability of certain net operating losses, implementing a minimum tax on the "global intangible low-taxed income" of a "United States shareholder" of a "controlled foreign corporation," modifying certain rules applicable to United States shareholders of controlled foreign corporations, imposing a deemed repatriation tax on certain earnings and adding certain anti-base erosion rules. We are currently in the process of analyzing the effects of this new legislation on us and at this time the ultimate outcome of the new legislation on our business and financial condition is uncertain. It is possible that the application of these new rules may have a material and adverse impact on our operating results, cash flows and financial condition.
The Company has received a subpoena from the SEC.
On April 9, 2018, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC requesting certain information from the Company. The Company intends to fully cooperate with the SEC request. The Company has notified its insurance carrier although there can be no assurance that the costs of compliance with the subpoena or any related matters will be eligible for insurance coverage. Nevertheless, response to the subpoena will entail cost and management's attention. The Company believes that many companies engaged in blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses have received subpoenas from the SEC which presents an addtional industry risk.
The existence of an investigation of the Company specifically and the industry generally could have a materially adverse effect on the Company, its business or operations, and the industry as a whole.
Our management team is new.
Our management team suffers from limited experience in blockchain, digital assets and cryptocurrency. Inasmuch as the industry is in its infancy and few people would be able to describe themselves as having extensive experience when it comes to cryptocurrency, the Company nevertheless believes blockchain, digital assets and cryptocurrency are an emerging asset class. The Company believes it has attracted persons from a diverse community of entrepreneurs, programmers and others who have embraced a common belief and value system that blockchain based transactions and digital assets including cryptocurrency can evolve into a means to conduct business and effect payments. Our employees and management team possess skillsets aligned with blockchain, digital assets and cryptocurrency, including Christopher Ensey, our Chief Operating Officer, experienced in cybersecurity, and employees who have experience managing and operating large data center sites and employment with Bitcoin computer manufacturing. Should these skills not be compatible with the needs of our business, and we cannot hire qualified personnel or management, the results could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
Cryptocurrency-Related Risks
Regulatory changes or actions may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of cryptocurrencies in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.
As cryptocurrencies have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently to cryptocurrencies, with certain governments deeming them illegal, and others allowing their use and trade but, in some jurisdictions, such as in the U.S., subject to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, regulatory requirements, as well as unclear and evolving requirements. Ongoing and future regulatory actions may impact our ability to continue to operate, and such actions could affect our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
Our change in our business strategy and name could subject us to increased SEC scrutiny.
We previously were engaged in veterinary‑ and life science‑oriented businesses (as a diagnostics company and then a research tools company), under the name Bioptix. In late 2017, we determined to instead pursue a blockchain and digital currency (specifically bitcoin)‑related business, initially through investments in existing companies. The SEC has announced that it is scrutinizing public companies that change their name or business model in a bid to capitalize upon the hype surrounding blockchain technology, and has suspended trading of certain of such companies. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton warned that it is not acceptable for companies without a meaningful track record in the sector to dabble in blockchain technology, change their name and immediately offer investors securities without providing adequate disclosures about the risks involved. As a result, we could be subject to substantial SEC scrutiny that could require devotion of significant management and other resources and potentially have an adverse impact on the trading of our stock.
The development and acceptance of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of and transactions in cryptocurrencies is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate.
The use of cryptocurrencies to, among other things, buy and sell goods and services and complete transactions, is part of a new and rapidly evolving industry that employs digital assets based upon a computer-generated mathematical and/or cryptographic protocol. The growth of this industry in general, and the use of cryptocurrencies in particular, is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, and the slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of developing protocols may occur and is unpredictable. The factors include, but are not limited to:
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continued worldwide growth in the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies;
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governmental and quasi-governmental regulation of cryptocurrencies and their use, or restrictions on or regulation of access to and operation of the network or similar cryptocurrency systems;
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changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences;
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the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the network;
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the availability and popularity of other forms or methods of buying and selling goods and services, including new means of using fiat currencies;
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the use of the networks supporting cryptocurrencies for developing smart contracts and distributed applications;
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general economic conditions and the regulatory environment relating to digital assets; and
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negative consumer sentiment and perception of bitcoin specifically and cryptocurrencies generally.
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Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations of and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors in our securities.
Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that provide cryptocurrency-related services or that accept cryptocurrencies as payment, including financial institutions of investors in our securities.
A number of companies that provide bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrency-related services have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Similarly, a number of companies and individuals or businesses associated with cryptocurrencies may have had and may continue to have their existing bank accounts closed or services discontinued with financial institutions. We also may be unable to obtain or maintain these services for our business. The difficulty that many businesses that provide bitcoin and/or derivatives on other cryptocurrency-related services have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may be decreasing the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and harming public perception of cryptocurrencies, and could decrease their usefulness and harm their public perception in the future. Similarly, the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and the public perception of cryptocurrencies could be damaged if banks or financial institutions were to close the accounts of businesses providing bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrency-related services. This could occur as a result of compliance risk, cost, government regulation or public pressure. The risk applies to securities firms, clearance and settlement firms, national stock and derivatives on commodities exchanges, the over‑the‑counter market, and the Depository Trust Company, which, if any of such entities adopts or implements similar policies, rules or regulations, could negatively affect our relationships with financial institutions and impede our ability to convert cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies. Such factors could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and harm investors.
We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have an adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.
A disruption of the Internet may affect the use of cryptocurrencies and subsequently the value of our securities. Generally, cryptocurrencies are dependent upon the Internet. A significant disruption in Internet connectivity could disrupt a currency's network operations until the disruption is resolved and have an adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.
The impact of geopolitical events on the supply and demand for cryptocurrencies is uncertain.
Crises may motivate large-scale purchases of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which could increase the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rapidly. This may increase the likelihood of a subsequent price decrease as crisis-driven purchasing behavior wanes, adversely affecting the value of our inventory. Such risks are similar to the risks of purchasing commodities in general uncertain times, such as the risk of purchasing, holding or selling gold.
As an alternative to gold currencies that are backed by central governments, cryptocurrencies, which are relatively new, are subject to supply and demand forces. How such supply and demand will be impacted by geopolitical events is largely uncertain but could be harmful to us and investors in our securities. Political or economic crises may motivate large-scale acquisitions or sales of cryptocurrencies either globally or locally. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Acceptance and/or widespread use of cryptocurrency is uncertain.
Currently, there is a relatively limited use of any cryptocurrency in the retail and commercial marketplace, thus contributing to price volatility that could adversely affect an investment in our securities. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for cryptocurrency transactions, process wire transfers to or from cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in cryptocurrency. Conversely, a significant portion of cryptocurrency demand is generated by investors seeking a long-term store of value or speculators seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of the asset. Price volatility undermines any cryptocurrency's role as a medium of exchange, as retailers are much less likely to accept it as a form of payment. Market capitalization for a cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange and payment method may always be low.
The relative lack of acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the retail and commercial marketplace, or a reduction of such use, limits the ability of end users to use them to pay for goods and services. Such lack of acceptance or decline in acceptances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Transactional fees may decrease demand for bitcoin and prevent expansion.
As the number of bitcoin awarded for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, the incentive for miners to continue to contribute to the bitcoin network will transition from a set reward to transaction fees. Either the requirement from miners of higher transaction fees in exchange for recording transactions in a blockchain or a software upgrade that automatically charges fees for all transactions may decrease demand for bitcoin and prevent the expansion of the bitcoin network to retail merchants and commercial businesses, resulting in a reduction in the price of bitcoin that could adversely impact an investment in our securities.
In order to incentivize miners to continue to contribute to the bitcoin network, the bitcoin network may either formally or informally transition from a set reward to transaction fees earned upon solving a block. This transition could be accomplished by miners independently electing to record in the blocks they solve only those transactions that include payment of a transaction fee. If transaction fees paid for bitcoin transactions become too high, the marketplace may be reluctant to accept bitcoin as a means of payment and existing users may be motivated to switch from bitcoin to another cryptocurrency or to fiat currency. Decreased use and demand for bitcoin may adversely affect its value and result in a reduction in the price of bitcoin and the value of our securities.
We face risks from the lack of clarity in the corporate governance of many cryptocurrency systems
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Lack of clarity in the corporate governance of many cryptocurrency systems may lead to ineffective decision making that slows development or prevents a network from overcoming important obstacles. Governance of many cryptocurrency systems is by voluntary consensus and open competition. To the extent lack of clarity in corporate governance of cryptocurrency systems leads to ineffective decision making that slows development and growth, the value of our securities may be adversely affected.
Political or economic crises may motivate large-scale sales of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, which could result in a reduction in value and adversely affect us.
As an alternative to fiat currencies that are backed by central governments, digital assets such as bitcoin and ether, which are relatively new, are subject to supply and demand forces based upon the desirability of an alternative, decentralized means of buying and selling goods and services, and it is unclear how such supply and demand will be impacted by geopolitical events. Nevertheless, political or economic crises may motivate large-scale acquisitions or sales of bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies either globally or locally. Large-scale sales of bitcoin and ether or other cryptocurrencies would result in a reduction in their value and could adversely affect us. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
It may be illegal now, or in the future, to acquire, own, hold, sell or use bitcoin, ether, or other cryptocurrencies, participate in blockchains or utilize similar digital assets in one or more countries, the ruling of which would adversely affect us.
Although currently cryptocurrencies generally are not regulated or are lightly regulated in most countries, one or more countries such as China and Russia may take regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use these digital assets or to exchange for fiat currency. Such restrictions may adversely affect us. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
There is a lack of liquid markets, and possible manipulation of blockchain/cryptocurrency‑based assets.
Digital assets that are represented and trade on a ledger-based platform may not necessarily benefit from viable trading markets. Stock exchanges have listing requirements, vet issuers, requiring them to be subjected to rigorous listing standards and rules, and monitor investors transacting on such platform for fraud and other improprieties. These conditions may not necessarily be replicated on a distributed ledger platform, depending on the platform's controls and other policies. The more lax a distributed ledger platform is about vetting issuers of digital assets or users that transact on the platform, the higher the potential risk for fraud or the manipulation of digital assets. These factors may decrease liquidity or volume, or increase volatility of digital securities or other assets trading on a ledger-based system, which may adversely affect us. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
Our operations, investment strategies and profitability may be adversely affected by competition from other methods of investing in cryptocurrencies.
We compete with other users and/or companies that are mining cryptocurrencies and other potential financial vehicles, including securities backed by or linked to cryptocurrencies through entities similar to us. 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 cryptocurrencies directly, which could limit the market for our shares and reduce their liquidity. The emergence of other financial vehicles and exchange‑traded funds have been scrutinized by regulators and such scrutiny and negative impressions or conclusions could be applicable to us and impact our ability to successfully pursue our new strategy or operate at all, or to establish or maintain a public market for our securities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or other alternatives.
The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or an alternative to distributed ledgers altogether. This may adversely affect us and our exposure to various blockchain technologies and prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
Our operations, investment strategies and profitability may be adversely affected by competition from other methods of investing in cryptocurrencies.
We compete with other users and/or companies that mine cryptocurrencies and other potential financial vehicles, possibly including securities backed by or linked to cryptocurrencies through entities similar to us. 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 cryptocurrencies directly, which could limit the market for our shares and reduce their liquidity.
Our cryptocurrencies may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.
There is a risk that some or all of our cryptocurrencies could be lost or stolen. Access to our coins could also be restricted by cybercrime (such as a denial of service attack) against a service at which we maintain a hosted hot wallet. A hot wallet refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up and access, but they are also more susceptible to hackers and other technical vulnerabilities. Cold storage refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold storage is generally more secure, but is not ideal for quick or regular transactions. We expect to hold the majority of our cryptocurrencies in cold storage to reduce the risk of malfeasance, but this risk cannot be eliminated.
Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal, compromise or secure cryptocurrencies, such as by attacking the cryptocurrency network source code, exchange servers, third-party platforms, cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. We may be in control and possession of one of the more substantial holdings of cryptocurrency. As we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Any of these events may adversely affect our operations and, consequently, our investments and profitability. The loss or destruction of a private key required to access our digital wallets may be irreversible and we may be denied access for all time to our cryptocurrency holdings or the holdings of others. Our loss of access to our private keys or our experience of a data loss relating to our digital wallets could adversely affect our investments and assets.
Cryptocurrencies are controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public and private keys relating to the local or online digital wallet in which they are held, which wallet's public key or address is reflected in the network's public blockchain. We will publish the public key relating to digital wallets in use when we verify the receipt of transfers and disseminate such information into the network, but we will need to safeguard the private keys relating to such digital wallets. To the extent such private keys are lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised, we will be unable to access our cryptocurrency coins and such private keys may not be capable of being restored by any network. Any loss of private keys relating to digital wallets used to store our or our client's cryptocurrencies could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Risks Due to Hacking or Adverse Software Event
In order to minimize risk, Riot has established processes to manage wallets that are associated with our cryptocurrency holdings. There can be no assurances that any processes we have adopted or will adopt in the future are or will be secure or effective, and we would suffer significant and immediate adverse effects if we suffered a loss of our cryptocurrency due to an adverse software or cybersecurity event. Riot utilizes several layers of threat reduction techniques, including: (i) the use of hardware wallets to store sensitive private key information; (ii) performance of transactions offline; and (iii) offline generation and use of private keys.
At present, the Company is evaluating several third-party custodial wallet alternatives, but there can be no assurance Riot will utilize such services, as other new options may develop in the future, and if a custodial wallet is used there can be no assurance that such services will be more secure than those the Company presently employs.
Incorrect or fraudulent coin transactions may be irreversible.
Cryptocurrency transactions are irrevocable and stolen or incorrectly transferred coins may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent coin transactions could adversely affect our investments and assets.
Coin transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction. In theory, cryptocurrency transactions may be reversible with the control or consent of a majority of processing power on the network. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to a blockchain, an incorrect transfer of a coin or a theft of coin generally will not be reversible and we may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, our coins could be transferred in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Further, at this time, there is no U.S. or foreign governmental, regulatory, investigative or prosecutorial authority or mechanism through which to bring an action or complaint regarding missing or stolen cryptocurrency. To the extent that we are unable to seek redress for such action, error or theft, such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations of and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Our interactions with a blockchain may expose us to SDN or blocked persons or cause us to violate provisions of law that did not contemplate distribute ledger technology.
The Office of Financial Assets Control of the US Department of Treasury requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its specially designated nationals ("SDN") list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions we may inadvertently without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC's SDN list. Moreover, federal law prohibits any US 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. To the extent government enforcement authorities or regulators 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 affect the value of our securities.
Cryptocurrencies face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times.
Cryptocurrencies face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times, and attempts to increase the volume of transactions may not be effective. Many cryptocurrency networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, cryptocurrencies are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. Participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem debate potential approaches to increasing the average number of transactions per second that the network can handle and have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as increasing the allowable sizes of blocks, and therefore the number of transactions per block, and sharding, which would not require every single transaction to be included in every single miner's or validator's block. However, there is no guarantee that any of the mechanisms in place or being explored for increasing the scale of settlement of cryptocurrency transactions will be effective, or how long they will take to become effective, which could adversely affect an investment in our securities.
The price of coins may be affected by the sale of coins by other vehicles investing in coins or tracking cryptocurrency markets.
The global market for cryptocurrency is characterized by supply constraints that differ from those present in the markets for commodities or other assets such as gold and silver. The mathematical protocols under which certain cryptocurrencies are mined permit the creation of a limited, predetermined amount of currency, while others have no limit established on total supply. To the extent that other vehicles investing in coins or tracking cryptocurrency markets form and come to represent a significant proportion of the demand for coins, large redemptions of the securities of those vehicles and the subsequent sale of coins by such vehicles could negatively affect cryptocurrency prices and therefore affect the value of the inventory we hold. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
There are risks related to shortages, technological obsolescence and difficulty in obtaining hardware.
Our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including hardware and electricity costs, associated with mining a bitcoin are lower than the price of a bitcoin. The increase in interest and demand for cryptocurrencies has led to a shortage of mining hardware as individuals purchase equipment for mining at home and large‑scale mining evolves. Furthermore, we currently exclusively use Bitmain Antminer bitcoin miners, which are the most advanced and powerful bitcoin miners currently available, and expect to need to obtain additional such miners. Reports have been released which indicate that Bitmain adjusts the prices of its miners according to bitcoin prices, so the cost of new machines is unpredictable but could be extremely high. Further, given supply limitations and competition from other industry participants, those miners can be difficult to obtain from Bitmain on a timely basis. As a result, at times, we may obtain Bitmain miners and other hardware from third parties for increased prices, to the extent available. For example, [in November 2017,] in order to facilitate the launch of our mining operations without the potential delay associated with acquiring miners directly from Bitmain, we purchased Bitmain miners at substantially above Bitmain's list prices. Additionally, to keep pace with technologic advances and competition from other bitcoin mining companies, we will need to replace our miners and other equipment from time to time. We may require substantial capital to replace our equipment and face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis. Also, because our miners are expected to require replacement in a relatively short amount of time, we expect to depreciate them over only a two-year period for financial reporting purposes, adversely affecting our reported operating results. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and the value of our stock.
Our reputation and financial condition may be harmed by system failures, computer viruses and any inability to keep pace with advancements in technology.
The performance and reliability of our miners and our technology is critical to our reputation and our operations. Because we currently only use Bitmain miners, if there are issues with those machines, our entire system could be affected. Any system error or failure may significantly delay response times or even cause our system to fail. Any disruption in our ability to continue mining could result in lower yields and harm our reputation and business. Our system and operations are vulnerable to interruption or malfunction due to certain events beyond our control, including natural disasters, power loss, telecommunication failures, data and other security breaches, break-ins, sabotage, computer viruses, intentional acts of vandalism, and similar events. Any interruption, delay or system failure could result in financial losses, a decrease in share prices and damage to our reputation.
Because there has been limited precedent set for financial accounting of bitcoin and other digital assets, the determination that we have made for how to account for digital assets transactions may be subject to change.
Because there has been limited precedent set for the financial accounting of digital assets and related revenue recognition and no guidance has yet been provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the SEC, it is unclear how companies may in the future be required to account for digital asset transactions and assets and related revenue recognition. A change in regulatory or financial accounting standards could result in the necessity to change our accounting methods and restate our financial statements. Such a restatement could adversely affect the accounting for our newly mined coins and more generally negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation. Such circumstances would have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations [and potentially the value of any cryptocurrencies we hold or expects to acquire for our own account and harm investors].
We must comply with applicable laws, rules and regulations; the effect of any future regulatory change that affects us, our business or any cryptocurrency that we may mine or hold for others is impossible to predict, and such change could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
Regulation of cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency exchanges is currently undeveloped and likely to evolve rapidly, vary significantly among international, federal, state and local jurisdictions and is subject to significant uncertainty. Failure by our company to comply with any laws, rules and regulations, some of which may not exist yet or are subject to interpretation and may be subject to change, could result in a variety of adverse consequences, including civil penalties and fines imposed by governmental authorities, including the SEC, the FTC, the FinCEN and one or more state regulatory authorities. Under certain circumstances, such failure by our company could also result in criminal sanctions.
As blockchain networks and blockchain assets have grown in popularity and in market size, governments and regulatory agencies have begun to take interest in, and in some cases regulate, their use and operation to the extent that a government or quasi-governmental agency exerts regulatory authority over a blockchain network or asset upon which our business relies, our business could be adversely affected. Blockchain networks currently face an uncertain regulatory landscape in many jurisdictions. The effect of any future legal or regulatory change is impossible to predict, but such laws, regulations or directives may directly and negatively impact our business.
Governments may in the future curtail or outlaw the acquisition, use or redemption of cryptocurrencies. Ownership of, holding or trading in cryptocurrencies may then be considered illegal and subject to sanction. Governments may also take regulatory action that may increase the cost and/or subject cryptocurrency companies to additional regulation. Judicial determinations may also have an adverse impact on the trading of cryptocurrencies.
On July 25, 2017, the SEC released an investigative report which states that the United States would, in some circumstances, consider the offer and sale of cryptocurrencies pursuant to an initial coin offering ("ICO") subject to federal securities laws. Thereafter, China released statements and took similar actions, but subsequently blocked ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges. Although we do not currently participate in ICOs, our potential clients and customers related to our cryptocurrency exchange business, if and when we launch such an exchange, may participate in ICOs and these actions may be a prelude to further action that chills widespread acceptance of blockchain and cryptocurrency adoption and have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations. In particular, China is a large market that might indicate larger worldwide trends, so its restrictions related to ICOs and domestic and foreign exchanges may have wider implications for the cryptocurrency industry. Moreover, in the United States some cryptocurrencies that we may wish to offer, such as ether, may have been issued in whole or part as part of an ICO. It is unclear what view the SEC might ultimately take with regard to cryptocurrencies that are of the character of cryptocurrencies if they were initially issued in whole or part as part of an ICO. If the SEC were to deem all cryptocurrencies issued as part of ICOs as securities, we may be required to seek certain licenses we currently are not intending to acquire, and this could have an adverse impact on our operations.
Governments may in the future take regulatory actions that prohibit or severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell, use or trade cryptocurrencies or to exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat currency. Similar actions by governments or regulatory bodies (such as an exchange on which our securities are listed, quoted or traded) could result in restriction of the acquisition, ownership, holding, selling, use or trading in our securities. Such a restriction could result in us liquidating our inventory at unfavorable prices and may adversely affect our shareholders and have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, raise new capital or maintain a securities listing with an exchange (such as our current listing with NASDAQ), which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and harm investors in our securities.
Cryptocurrency Mining-Related Risks
Our future success will depend in large part upon the value of bitcoin; the value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings.
Our operating results will depend in large part upon the value of bitcoin. Specifically, our revenues from our bitcoin mining operations will be based upon two factors: (1) the number of bitcoins we mine and (2) the value of bitcoin. In addition, our operating results will be directly impacted by changes in the value of bitcoin, because under the value measurement model, both realized and unrealized changes will be reflected in our statement of operations (i.e., we will be marking bitcoin to fair value each quarter). This means that our operating results will be subject to swings based upon increases or decreases in the value of bitcoin. Furthermore, our new strategy initially focuses almost entirely on bitcoin (as opposed to other cryptocurrencies). Further, our current application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC") machines (which we refer to as "miners") are principally utilized for mining bitcoin and bitcoin cash and cannot mine other cryptocurrencies, such as ether, that are not mined utilizing the "SHA-256 algorithm." If other cryptocurrencies were to achieve acceptance at the expense of bitcoin or bitcoin cash causing the value of bitcoin or bitcoin cash to decline, or bitcoin were to switch its proof of work algorithm from SHA-256 to another algorithm our miners were not specialized for, or the value of bitcoin or bitcoin cash were to decline for other reasons, particularly if such decline were significant or over an extended period of time, our operating results would be adversely affected, and there could be a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations, and harm investors.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency market prices, which have historically been volatile and are impacted by a variety of factors (including those discussed below), are determined primarily using data from various exchanges, over-the-counter markets and derivative platforms. Furthermore, such prices may be subject to factors such as those that impact commodities, more so than business activities, which could be subjected to additional influence from fraudulent or illegitimate actors, real or perceived scarcity, and political, economic, regulatory or other conditions. Pricing may be the result of, and may continue to result in, speculation regarding future appreciation in the value of cryptocurrencies, or our share price, inflating and making their market prices more volatile or creating "bubble"‑type risks.
We may not be able to realize the benefits of forks.
To the extent that a significant majority of users and miners on a cryptocurrency network install software that changes the cryptocurrency network or properties of a cryptocurrency, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new cryptocurrency, the cryptocurrency network would be subject to new protocols and software. However, if less than a significant majority of users and miners on the cryptocurrency network consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification, the consequence would be what is known as a "fork" of the network, with one prong running the pre-modified software and the other running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of the cryptocurrency running in parallel, yet lacking interchangeability. Additionally, it may be unclear following a fork which fork represents the original asset and which is the new asset. Different metrics adopted by industry participants to determine which is the original asset include: wishes of the core developers of a cryptocurrency, blockchains with the greatest amount of hashing power contributed by miners or validators, or blockchains with the longest chain. A fork in the network of a particular cryptocurrency could adversely affect an investment in our securities or our ability to operate.
We may not be able to realize the economic benefit of a fork, either immediately or ever, which could adversely affect an investment in our securities. If we hold a cryptocurrency at the time of a hard fork into two cryptocurrencies, we would be expected to hold an equivalent amount of the old and new assets following the fork. However, we may not be able, or it may not be practical, to secure or realize the economic benefit of the new asset for various reasons. For instance, we may determine that there is no safe or practical way to custody the new asset, that trying to do so may pose an unacceptable risk to our holdings in the old asset, or that the costs of taking possession and/or maintaining ownership of the new cryptocurrency exceed the benefits of owning the new cryptocurrency. Additionally, laws, regulation or other factors may prevent us from benefitting from the new asset even if there is a safe and practical way to custody and secure the new asset.
There is a possibility of cryptocurrency mining algorithms transitioning to proof of stake validation and other mining‑related risks, which could make us less competitive and ultimately adversely affect our business and the value of our stock.
Proof of stake is an alternative method in validating cryptocurrency transactions. 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. We, as a result of our cryptocurrency mining operations, may be exposed to risk in the future as a result, and may be negatively impacted if a switch to proof of stake validation were to occur. This may additionally have an impact on other various investments of ours, including how it may potentially affect transactional volume on Coinsquare or affect our strategy for investigating the launch of a cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account
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To the extent that the profit margins of bitcoin mining operations are not high, operators of bitcoin mining operations are more likely to immediately sell bitcoins earned by mining in the market, resulting in a reduction in the price of bitcoins that could adversely impact us, and similar actions could affect other cryptocurrencies.
Over the past two years, bitcoin 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 for the acquisition of this hardware, the leasing of operating space (often in data centers or warehousing facilities), incurring of electricity costs and the employment of technicians to operate the mining farms. As a result, professionalized mining operations are of a greater scale than prior miners and have more defined and regular expenses and liabilities. These regular expenses and liabilities require professionalized mining operations to more immediately sell bitcoins earned from mining operations, whereas it is believed that individual miners in past years were more likely to hold newly mined bitcoins for more extended periods. The immediate selling of newly mined bitcoins greatly increases the supply of bitcoins, creating downward pressure on the price of bitcoins.
The extent to which the value of bitcoin mined 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 mined bitcoin 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 reducing bitcoin prices. Lower bitcoin prices could result in further tightening of profit margins, particularly for professionalized mining operations with higher costs and more limited capital reserves, creating a network effect that may further reduce the price of bitcoin until mining operations with higher operating costs become unprofitable and remove mining power. The network effect of reduced profit margins, resulting in greater sales of newly mined bitcoin, could result in a reduction in the price of bitcoin that could adversely impact us.
The foregoing risks associated with bitcoin could be equally applicable to other cryptocurrencies, whether existing now or introduced in the future. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power on a cryptocurrency network, such actor or botnet could manipulate blockchains to adversely affect us, which would adversely affect an investment in us or our ability to operate.
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 a cryptocurrency, it may be able to alter blockchains on which transactions of cryptocurrency reside and 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 units or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could "double-spend" its own cryptocurrency (i.e., spend the same bitcoin 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 does not yield its control of the processing power on the network or the cryptocurrency community does not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to blockchains may not be possible. The foregoing description is not the only means by which the entirety of blockchains or cryptocurrencies may be compromised, but is only an example.
Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of blockchains 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 in bitcoin. The possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicates a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the bitcoin ecosystem, and the administrators of mining pools, do not act to ensure greater decentralization of bitcoin mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power will increase, which may adversely affect an investment in us. Such lack of controls and responses to such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
Cryptocurrency inventory, including that maintained by or for us, may be exposed to cybersecurity threats and hacks.
As with any computer code generally, flaws in cryptocurrency codes may be exposed by malicious actors. Several errors and defects have been found previously, including those that disabled some functionality for users and exposed users' information. Exploitations of flaws in the source code that allow malicious actors to take or create money have previously occurred. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent breaches, our devices, as well as our servers, computer systems and those of third parties that we use in our operations, are vulnerable to cyber security risks, including cyber-attacks such as viruses and worms, phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins, employee theft or misuse, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our servers and computer systems or those of third parties that we use in our operations. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
We are subject to risks associated with our need for significant electrical power. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours.
The operation of a bitcoin or other cryptocurrency mine can require massive amounts of electrical power. Further, our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including electrical power costs, associated with mining a bitcoin are lower than the price of a bitcoin. As a result, any mine we establish can only be successful if we can obtain sufficient electrical power for that mine on a cost-effective basis, and our establishment of new mines requires us to find locations at which that is the case. There may be significant competition for suitable mine locations, and government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage, or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision or electricity to mining operations. For example, the board of commissioners of Chelan County Public Utility District in Washington voted to stop reviewing applications for mining facilities following a review of the impact of existing operations. Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage. Given the power requirement, it would not be feasible to run miners on back-up power generators in the event of a government restriction on electricity or a power outage.
If the award of coins for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease mining operations, which will likely lead to our failure to achieve profitability.
As the number of coins awarded for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, our ability to achieve profitability worsens. Decreased use and demand for coins may adversely affect our incentive to expend processing power to solve blocks. That is, if the award of coins for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease our mining operations. For instance, the current fixed reward for solving a new block on the bitcoin blockchain is twelve‑and‑a‑half bitcoins per block, which decreased from 25 bitcoins in July 2016. It is estimated that it will halve again in about four years. This reduction may result in a reduction in the aggregate hash rate of the bitcoin network as the incentive for miners decreases. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions (i.e., temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to a blockchain until the next scheduled adjustment in difficulty for block solutions) and make digital currency networks more vulnerable to a malicious actor or botnet obtaining control in excess of 50 percent of the processing power active on a blockchain, potentially permitting such actor or botnet to manipulate a blockchain in a manner that adversely affects our activities. A reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or processing power of the network could result and be irreversible. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Our dependence on third-party software and personnel may leave us vulnerable to price fluctuations and rapidly changing technology.
Competitive conditions within the cryptocurrency industry require that we use sophisticated technology in the operation of our business. We currently utilize third‑party software applications in our mining operations. Further, we anticipate licensing Coinsquare software to run our planned exchange and that some of our operations may be conducted through collaboration with Coinsquare. The industry for blockchain technology is characterized by rapid technological changes, new product introductions, enhancements and evolving industry standards. New technologies, techniques or products could emerge that might offer better performance than the software and other technologies we currently utilize, and we may have to manage transitions to these new technologies to remain competitive. Additionally, it is possible that our dependence on Coinsquare could be adversely affected by potential changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement resulting from the ongoing renegotiations, or that U.S. regulators to which we are subject do not permit us to use third-party software or personnel or severely limit our ability to do so. We may not be successful, generally or relative to our competitors in the cryptocurrency industry, in timely implementing new technology into our systems, or doing so in a cost-effective manner. During the course of implementing any such new technology into our operations, we may experience the system interruptions and failures discussed above. Furthermore, there can be no assurances that we will recognize, in a timely manner or at all, the benefits that we may expect as a result of our implementing new technology into our operations.
Risks Associated with our Exploratory Efforts to Launch a U.S. Cryptocurrency Exchange and Related Businesses
We may not successfully develop, market and launch any cryptocurrency exchange.
We are only in the early stages of investigating and planning the establishment of a cryptocurrency exchange. For a variety of reasons (including but not limited to the regulatory challenges and other risks discussed below), we could suffer significant delays in our efforts to establish such an exchange, and may ultimately not be successful in doing so. We will need to obtain additional management, regulatory compliance and technical expertise and devote substantial time and effort to this project. We also expect to need to raise additional funds (which may be seek by offering direct investments in this business) to pursue development of the exchange, and we may not be successful in raising that capital. It is possible that the launch of our cryptocurrency exchange may never occur, and even if it is successfully developed, it is possible that it will not be accessed or utilized by a large number of users or will otherwise not achieve market acceptance.
If regulatory changes or interpretations require the regulation of bitcoin or other digital assets under the securities laws of the United States or elsewhere, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Commodity Exchange Act or similar laws of other jurisdictions and interpretations by the SEC, CFTC, IRS, Department of Treasury or other agencies or authorities, we may be required to register and comply with such regulations, including at a state or local level. To the extent that we decide to continue operations, the required registrations and regulatory compliance steps may result in extraordinary expenses or burdens to us.
Regulatory developments, including current and future legislation, SEC rulemaking, interpretations released by a regulatory authority, and/or judicial decisions, may impact the manner in which bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are viewed or treated for classification and clearing purposes. In particular, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may not be excluded from the definition of "security" by SEC rulemaking or interpretations which require registration of all transactions, unless another exemption is available, including transacting in bitcoin or cryptocurrencies amongst owners, and require registration of trading platforms as "exchanges" such as Coinsquare or any exchange in which we may establish ourselves. We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the law. If we determine that we cannot, determine that we are not able to, or otherwise fail to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain of our operations or be subjected to fines, penalties and other governmental actions. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
We may be required to register as a money services business with the FinCEN and as a money transmitter in states with applicable money transmitter regulations.
To the extent that our activities cause us to be deemed a money services business under the regulations promulgated by the FinCEN under the authority of the 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.
Furthermore, to the extent that our activities cause us to be deemed a "money transmitter" under one or more state laws (e.g., engaging in the business of exchanging virtual for fiat currency or virtual for cryptocurrency) or we are engaged in other business involving digital currency activities that are regulated in any state in which we operate, such as business conducting cryptocurrency business activity in New York and requiring a so-called "Bitlicense," 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, cyber security, consumer protection, financial and reporting requirements, and maintenance of certain records and other operational requirements. Without a required money transmitter license, we could not engage in money transmitter activities with persons residing in the relevant state (or from such state), or engage in other activities (e.g., custody) requiring another license such as a Bitlicense.
We intend to initially obtain state money transmitter licenses, as necessary, on a state by state basis. In addition, it is possible that other regulations may apply to our spot exchange operations. For example, the SEC may take the view that cryptocurrencies may only be traded on or subject to the rules of a national securities exchange unless exempt from such requirements. The process of obtaining the necessary licenses can take an extensive period of time, and as a result we may initially operate our cryptocurrency spot exchange in a limited number of states. There is also a risk that necessary licenses will not be granted and that therefore we will be unable to establish an exchange in particular states, or at all. If we are unable to establish a cryptocurrency exchange (at all or in certain states), or if we are delayed in doing so, such factors could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
To the extent that we need to register as a money services business or become licensed as a money transmitter or businesses engaged in digital currency business activity, and be subject to associated regulatory obligations, such obligations will cause us to incur additional expenses, possibly affecting an investment in us in a material and adverse manner. In addition, to the extent we are found to have operated without appropriate state or federal licenses, 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 affect the value of our securities.
If we are successful in developing a spot exchange for trading cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, we will begin to store, process, and use data, some of which contains personal information. This will subject us to complex and evolving federal, state and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, content and other matters. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in investigations, claims, changes to our business practices, increased cost of operations and declines in user growth, retention, or engagement, any of which could seriously harm our business
If we successfully launch a spot exchange for trading cryptocurrency, we will be subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and other countries that involve matters central to our business, including anti-money laundering, user privacy, security, rights of publicity, data protection, content, intellectual property, distribution, electronic contracts and other communications, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, taxation, and online payment services. These laws can be particularly restrictive in countries outside the United States. Both in the United States and abroad, these laws and regulations constantly evolve and remain subject to significant change. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations are often uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which we operate. Because we may store, process and use data, some of which contains personal information, we will likely be subject to complex and evolving federal, state and foreign laws and regulations regarding privacy, data protection, content and other matters. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in investigations, claims, changes to our business practices, increased cost of operations and declines in user growth, retention, or engagement, any of which could seriously harm our business. If we do not comply with all of our requirements, 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 affect the value of our securities.
Cryptocurrency exchanges and other trading venues (including the Coinsquare exchange, in which we have an ownership interest) are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated, and may therefore may be subject to fraud and failures, including security breaches that may result in a loss of all or some cryptocurrencies.
When cryptocurrency exchanges or other trading venues (whether involving the Coinsquare exchange, in which we currently have an ownership interest, or any exchange or trading venue we establish) are involved in fraud or experience security failures or other operational issues, such events could result in a reduction in cryptocurrency prices or confidence, impact our success and have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue this new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
Cryptocurrency market prices depend, directly or indirectly, on the prices set on exchanges and other trading venues, which are new and, in most cases, largely unregulated as compared to established, regulated exchanges for securities, derivatives on commodities or currencies. For example, during the past three years, a number of exchanges offering bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have closed due to fraud, business failure or security breaches. In many of these instances, the customers of the closed exchanges were not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances. While smaller exchanges are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that may provide larger exchanges with some stability, larger exchanges may be more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and "malware" (i.e., software used or programmed by attackers to disrupt computer operations, gather sensitive information or gain access to private computer systems) and may be more likely to be targets of regulatory enforcement action. We do not expect any insurance for customer accounts to be available (such as federal deposit insurance) at any time in the future, putting customer accounts at risk of such events. In the event that we face fraud, security failures, operational issues or similar events, such factors could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
Our introducing broker subsidiary is subject to oversight by the CFTC and the NFA.
In connection with our plan to establish a cryptocurrency spot exchange, our recently acquired subsidiary is a CFTC-registered introducing broker and is subject to oversight by the CFTC and the NFA. The CFTC and NFA do not have functional oversight over cryptocurrency spot exchanges, but the CFTC has authority to bring cases based on fraud and manipulation. As a result of this, we must comply with CFTC and NFA requirements applicable to introducing brokers, including complying with anti-money laundering requirements. If we do not fully comply with all such requirements, 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 affect the value of our securities.
Risks Related to Intellectual Property
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position could be harmed.
We plan to rely upon trademarks, copyright and trade secret protection (and possibly also patents in the future), as well as non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with employees, consultants and third parties, to protect all confidential and proprietary information. Significant elements of our intended products and services are based on unpatented trade secrets and know-how that are not publicly disclosed. In addition to contractual measures, we try to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information using physical and technological security measures. Such measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information. The security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and the recourse we take against such misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret can be difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, trade secrets may be independently developed by others in a manner that could prevent legal recourse by us. If any of our confidential or proprietary information, such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any such information was independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be harmed.
We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others, which may prevent or delay our product development efforts and stop us from commercializing or increase the costs of commercializing the intended products and services.
Our commercial success depends significantly on our ability to operate without infringing the patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. For example, there could be issued patents of which we are not aware that our products infringe. There also could be patents that we believe we do not infringe, but that we may ultimately be found to infringe. Moreover, patent applications are in some cases maintained in secrecy until patents are issued. The publication of discoveries in scientific or patent literature frequently occurs substantially later than the date on which the underlying discoveries were made and patent applications were filed. Because patents can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications of which we are unaware that may later result in issued patents that our products infringe.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The trading price of our common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile; you might not be able to sell your shares at or above the price that you paid for them and we may not be able to stop the decline of our stock price.
The trading price of our common stock has been, and is likely to continue to be, volatile, and may be influenced by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control; you might not be able to sell your shares at or above the price that you paid for them. Our shares traded at below $4.00 per share for most of 2017. Then, in October 2017, after we announced our new strategy to become an investor and operator in the blockchain ecosystem (with a particular focus on the bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains, and a strategic investment in Coinsquare) and our related name change to Riot Blockchain, our stock price began to increase rapidly (like that of other companies that made similar announcements), closing at a high of over $38 per share in December 2017. Subsequent to that, our stock price decreased significantly. On April 12, 2018, the closing price of our common stock was $7.47 per share. We believe that this decrease was due in part to negative television reports and other recent bad publicity regarding us
, including the CNBC report aired in February 2018. As of the date of this filing, we are still suffering from unfavorable reporting and if we continue to be portrayed negatively in the press, our stock price could be further adversely affected.
In addition, the trading prices of bitcoin have been highly unpredictable, and the trading prices of our common stock has been directly correlated with these fluctuations. Specifically, we have experienced adverse effects on our stock price when the value of bitcoin has fallen, and we anticipate similar outcomes as our worth tracks the general status of cryptocurrency. Furthermore, if the market for bitcoin company stocks or the stock market in general experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, operating results or financial condition. That is, our shares are subject to arbitrary pricing factors that are not necessarily associated with traditional factors that influence stock prices or the value of non-cryptocurrency assets such as revenue, cash flows, profitability, growth prospects or business activity levels since the value and price, as determined by the investing public, may be influenced by future anticipated adoption or appreciation in value of cryptocurrencies or blockchains generally, factors over which we have little or no influence or control. The trading price of our stock also might decline in reaction to events that affect other companies in our industry even if these events do not directly affect us.
In addition, our success, our share price, and the interest in investors and the public in us as an early entrant into the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem may in large part be the result of our early emergence as a publicly traded company in which holders of appreciated cryptocurrency have an opportunity to invest inflated cryptocurrency profits for our shares, which could be perceived as a way to maintain investing exposure to the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets without exposing the investor to the risk in a particular cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency holders have realized exponential value due to large increases in the prices of cryptocurrencies and may seek to lock in cryptocurrency appreciation. Investing in our securities may be perceived as a way to achieve that result, but may not continue in the future. As a result, the value of our securities, and the value of cryptocurrencies generally, may be more likely to fluctuate due to changing investor confidence in future appreciation (or depreciation) in market prices, profits from related or unrelated investments, or holdings of cryptocurrency.
Other factors that could cause volatility in the market price of our common stock include, but are not limited to:
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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial condition and operating results or those of companies perceived to be similar to us;
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actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;
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commercial success and market acceptance of blockchain and bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies;
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actions by our competitors, such as new business initiatives, acquisitions and divestitures;
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strategic transactions undertaken by us;
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additions or departures of key personnel;
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prevailing economic conditions;
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disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights;
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sales of our common stock by our officers, directors or significant shareholders;
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other actions taken by our shareholders
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future sales or issuances of equity or debt securities by us;
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business disruptions caused by earthquakes, tornadoes or other natural disasters;
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issuance of new or changed securities analysts' reports or recommendations regarding us;
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legal proceedings involving our company, our industry or both;
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changes in market valuations of companies similar to ours;
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the prospects of the industry in which we operate;
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speculation or reports by the press or investment community with respect to us or our industry in general;
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the level of short interest in our stock; and
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other risks, uncertainties and factors described in this annual report.
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In addition, the stock markets in general have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of the issuer. These broad market fluctuations may negatively impact the price or liquidity of our common stock. When the price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the issuer, and we have already been impacted in that way. See "--We, and some of our current officers, have been named as parties to various lawsuits arising out of, or related to, allegedly false and misleading statements made in prior securities filings, and those lawsuits could adversely affect us, require significant management time and attention, result in significant legal expenses or damages, and cause our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows to suffer."
We have received a Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard from NASDAQ due to our failure to hold a shareholder meeting, and we must satisfy the requirements of a compliance plan to maintain our status as a NASDAQ-listed company; the risk of being delisted from NASDAQ puts the value of our stock in jeopardy and may negatively affect the liquidity of our stock.
We received a notification from NASDAQ indicating that since we did not hold our annual meeting of shareholders within 12 months of the end of 2016, we no longer comply with the Listing Rules for continued listing. We failed to hold the meeting because we did not have a quorum of shareholders required for a vote. In order to maintain our NASDAQ listing, we must satisfy the requirements of a plan of compliance that we submitted to, and was accepted by, NASDAQ. That plan contemplates, among other things, holding our 2017 annual meeting of shareholders no later than May 15, 2018.
There is no assurance that we will be able to garner a quorum for the reconvened meeting. If no shareholders meeting is then held, we will likely be delisted from NASDAQ. Currently, we are the only NASDAQ-listed company that offers investors the opportunity to indirectly invest in cryptocurrency mining operations, which we believe to be a significant part of our value proposition. If we are delisted from NASDAQ, our value proposition will be adversely affected, the liquidity of our stock would likely be adversely affected and the trading price of our common stock would likely decline.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by whether industry or securities analysts publish research and reports about us, our business, our market or our competitors and, if any analysts do publish such reports, what they publish in those reports. We may not obtain analyst coverage in the future. Any analysts that do cover us may make adverse recommendations regarding our stock, adversely change their recommendations from time to time and/or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors. If analysts who may cover us in the future were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, or if analysts fail to cover us or publish reports about us at all, we could lose (or never gain) visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the stock price of our common stock or trading volume to decline. Moreover, if our operating results do not meet the expectations of the investor community, one or more of the analysts who cover our company may change their recommendations regarding our company and our stock price could decline.
Because we do not intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock, our shareholders will not be able to receive a return on their shares unless they sell them.
We intend to retain any future earnings to finance the development and expansion of our business. We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Unless we pay dividends, our shareholders will not be able to receive a return on their shares unless they sell them. There is no assurance that shareholders will be able to sell shares when desired.