INFORMATION
STATEMENT
We
Are Not Asking You For A Proxy And You Are Requested Not To Send Us A Proxy.
You
are not being asked to approve anything. This Information Statement is being provided to you solely for your information.
GENERAL
INFORMATION
Why
am I receiving these materials?
This
Information Statement is mailed or furnished to holders of record of the outstanding common stock and preferred stock of BTCS
Inc., a Nevada corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the action by written consent of shareholders taken
without a meeting to approve a reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) which is described in this Information
Statement. You are urged to read this Information Statement carefully and in its entirety for a description of the Reverse Stock
Split.
The
date of this Information Statement is February 27, 2019 and is first being mailed on or about February 27, 2019. The Company
is required to provide prompt notice to the shareholders who have not consented in writing.
The
Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) is not soliciting your proxy or consent in connection with the Reverse
Stock Split.
What
action was taken by written consent?
We
obtained written consent by the holder of the Company’s outstanding Series A Preferred Stock (the “Series A Holder”),
approving the amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation (the “Articles”) to amend the Articles to
effect a Reverse Stock Split, while maintaining the number of authorized shares of common stock at 975,000,000, at a ratio in
a range of 1-for-20 through 1-for-30 or any ratio in between (the “Split Ratio”).
When
is the record date?
The
close of business on February 19, 2019 is the record date (the “Record Date”) for the determination of shareholders
entitled to receive this Information Statement.
What
vote was obtained to approve the amendment to the Articles of Incorporation described in this Information Statement?
In
accordance with Sections 78.385 and 78.390 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, if the Board adopts a resolution to amend the Articles,
an affirmative vote of a majority of the Company’s voting power is required. On February 13, 2019, the Board adopted this
resolution. On February 13, 2019, shareholder approval was obtained through the written consent of our Series A Holder.
On
the Record Date there were 397,222,930 shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding, 29,414
shares
of the Company’s Series C-1 Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series C-1”) outstanding which are
convertible into a total of 5,882,800 shares of common stock, and 100 shares of the Series A Preferred Stock (the
“Series A”) outstanding.
Each
share of the Company’s common stock represents one vote. Subject to a total 4.99% ownership limitation, the holders of
the Series C-1 are entitled to vote the number of pro-rata votes per share as were equal to the number of shares of common
stock into which their Series C-1 were convertible on the Record Date. The Series A entitles the Series A Holder to a total
voting power equal to one vote more than the total combined voting power of the common stock and all other series or classes
of equity of the Company as of the Record Date.
Therefore,
a special meeting of the shareholders to approve the Reverse Stock Split is unnecessary. The Series A Holder approved the Reverse
Stock Split by voting the Series A. If shareholders had been provided an opportunity to vote at a meeting, an affirmative vote
of a majority of the outstanding voting power would have been required.
The
Series A has been outstanding since December 9, 2016. One hundred shares of Series A are issued and outstanding. The Series A
is not convertible and does not have any preferential dividend or liquidation rights. Holders of the Series A shall only be entitled
to vote on the approval of an amendment to the Company’s Articles increasing the authorized common stock and/or effectuating
a reverse split of the Company’s common stock and shall be entitled to a voting power equal to one vote more than the total
combined voting power of the Company’s common stock and all other series or classes of the Company’s outstanding equity.
The Company shall have the obligation to redeem all of the Series A for a total of $100 upon the Company’s filing with the
Nevada Secretary of State of an amendment to the Company’s Articles effecting a reverse stock split or an increase in authorized
capital of the Company’s common stock.
When
will the Reverse Stock Split become effective?
Once
we decide to implement the Reverse Stock Split, it would become effective on the date of filing of Articles of Amendment to our
Articles with the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada (the “Effective Date”). However, a U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) rule requires us to first give 10 days’ prior notice to the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Additionally, the Articles of Amendment may not be filed until at least 20
calendar days after the mailing of this Information Statement.
Who
is paying the cost of this Information Statement?
The
entire cost of furnishing this Information Statement will be paid by the Company.
Does
any person have an interest in the adoption of the Reverse Stock Split?
No
security holders receive an extra or special benefit not shared on a pro-rata basis by all other holders of the same class.
AMENDMENT
TO THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION TO EFFECT A REVERSE STOCK SPLIT
Overview
The
Series A Holder has approved an amendment to our Articles to effect a Reverse Stock Split at an exchange ratio using the Split
Ratio.
The
Reverse Stock Split will have no effect on the par value of our common stock. No fractional shares will be issued in connection
with the Reverse Stock Split. The proposed form of amendment to our Articles to implement the Reverse Stock Split is attached
to this Information Statement as
Appendix A
.
Our
common stock is currently quoted on the OTCQB under the symbol “BTCS”. On the Record Date, the last sale price
of our common stock was $0.019 per share. Our Board believes that our relatively low per-share market price of our common
stock impairs the acceptability of the common stock to potential investors and certain members of the investing public,
including institutional investors.
Our
Board has the maximum flexibility to react to current market conditions and to therefore achieve the purposes of the Reverse Stock
Split, if implemented, and to act in the best interests of the Company and our shareholders.
Because
the Split Ratio is a range, the actual Ratio will be determined by our Board.
Purpose
of the Reverse Stock Split
The
Board believes that a Reverse Stock Split is desirable for a number of reasons, including:
Increase
Our Ability to Raise Capital.
In 2019 we received a total of $228,375 from the exercise of outstanding warrants. We accomplished
this with temporary reductions of exercise prices. Three of the four holders of the outstanding warrants covered by our effective
Registration Statement took advantage of our offers in 2019. The other holder declined our offers. The Registration Statement
may not be used after February 14, 2019. As of February, 13, 2019, we had $104,266 of cash.
In
order to remain operational, we must complete a financing. We have been advised that our stock price is too low. We have had preliminary
discussions with investors about potential investments and have been advised that the trading and deposit costs of
investors are excessive due to the low price of our common stock, and we should affect a Reverse Split in
order to make it economically feasible for parties to invest in us. We do not have any binding agreement with any investors
and may never enter into a binding agreement.
Increase
in Eligible Institutional and Other Investors
.
We believe a Reverse Stock Split may increase the price of our common
stock or potentially decrease its volatility, and thus may allow a broader range of institutional investors the ability to invest
in our stock. For example, many funds and institutions have investment guidelines and policies that prohibit them from investing
in stocks whose price is below a certain threshold. We believe that increased institutional investor interest in the Company and
our common stock will potentially increase the overall market for our common stock.
Increase
Analyst and Broker Interest
. We believe a Reverse Stock Split would help increase analyst and broker-dealer interest in our
common stock as many brokerage and investment advisory firms’ policies can discourage analysts, advisors, and broker-dealers
from following or recommending companies with low stock prices. Because of the trading volatility and lack of liquidity often
associated with lower-priced stocks, many brokerage houses have adopted investment guidelines and policies and practices that
either prohibit or discourage them from investing or trading such stocks or recommending them to their clients and customers.
Some of those guidelines, policies and practices may also function to make the processing of trades in lower-priced stocks economically
unattractive to broker-dealers. While we recognize we may remain a “penny stock” under the rules of the SEC because
a penny stock trades at less than $5.00, we think the increase from the Reverse Stock Split will position us better if our business
continues to increase as we expect. Because brokers’ commissions and dealer mark-ups/mark-downs on transactions in lower-priced
stocks generally represent a higher percentage of the stock price than commissions and mark-ups/mark-downs on higher-priced stocks,
the current average price per share of our common stock can result in shareholders or potential shareholders paying transaction
costs representing a higher percentage of the total share value than would otherwise be the case if the share price were substantially
higher. In late 2018 Merrill Lynch announced that its customers could no longer buy or sell “penny stocks” for the
accounts of its customers. The “penny stock” designation may continue to have a depressive effect upon our common
stock price.
Risks
of the Reverse Stock Split
The
Reverse Stock Split may not increase our market capitalization, which would prevent us from realizing some of the anticipated
benefits of the Reverse Stock Split.
The market price of our common stock is based on a number of factors that may be
unrelated to the number of shares outstanding. These factors may include our performance, general economic and market conditions
and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The market price per share may not rise, or it may remain constant in
proportion to the reduction in the number shares outstanding before the Reverse Stock Split. Accordingly, the total market capitalization
of our common stock after the Reverse Stock Split may be lower than the total market capitalization before the Reverse Stock Split.
In the future, the market price of common stock following the Reverse Stock Split may not equal or exceed the market price prior
to the Reverse Stock Split.
Effects
of the Reverse Stock Split
Reduction
of Shares Held by Individual Shareholders
. After the Effective Date each common stock shareholder will own fewer shares
of our common stock. However, the Reverse Stock Split will affect all of our common stock shareholders uniformly and will not
affect any common stock shareholder’s percentage ownership interests in us, except to the extent that the Reverse Stock
Split results in any of our shareholders owning a fractional share as described below. As discussed further below, we will round
up fractional shares to the nearest whole share. The number of shareholders of record will not be affected by the Reverse Stock
Split. However, the Reverse Stock Split will increase the number of shareholders who own “odd lots” of less than 100
shares of our common stock. Brokerage commissions and other costs of transactions in odd lots may be higher than the costs of
transactions of more than 100 shares of common stock.
Change
in Number and Exercise Price of Employee and Equity Awards
. The Reverse Stock Split will reduce the number of shares of
common stock available for issuance under our equity plans and agreements in proportion to the Split Ratio. Under the terms of
our outstanding equity and option awards, the Reverse Stock Split will cause a reduction in the number of shares of common stock
issuable upon exercise or vesting of such awards in proportion to the Split Ratio of the Reverse Stock Split which is ultimately
approved by our Board and will cause a proportionate increase in the exercise price of such awards to the extent they are stock
options. The number of shares authorized for future issuance under our equity plans will also be proportionately reduced. The
number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise or vesting of stock option awards will be rounded to the nearest whole
share and no cash payment will be made in respect of such rounding. Warrant and other convertible security holders, if any, will
also see a similar reduction of the number of shares such instruments are convertible into stock option holders described above.
Regulatory
Effects
. Our common stock is currently registered under Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange
Act”), and we are subject to the periodic reporting and other requirements of the Exchange Act. The Reverse Stock Split
will not affect the registration of the common stock under the Exchange Act or our obligation to publicly file financial and other
information with the SEC. If the Reverse Stock Split is implemented, our common stock will continue to trade on the OTCQB.
In
addition to the above, the Reverse Stock Split will have the following effects upon the Company’s common stock:
|
●
|
The
number of shares owned by each holder of common stock will be reduced as discussed above;
|
|
|
|
|
●
|
The
per share loss and net book value of the Company’s common stock will be increased because there will be a lesser number
of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding;
|
|
|
|
|
●
|
The
authorized common stock and the par value of the common stock will remain at 975,000,000 shares and $0.001 per share, respectively;
|
|
|
|
|
●
|
The
stated capital on the Company’s balance sheet attributable to the common stock will be decreased and the additional
paid-in capital account will be credited with the amount by which the stated capital is decreased;
|
|
|
|
|
●
|
All
outstanding options, warrants, and convertible securities entitling the holders thereof to purchase shares of common stock,
if any, will enable such holders to purchase, upon exercise thereof, fewer of the number of shares of common stock which such
holders would have been able to purchase upon exercise thereof immediately preceding the Reverse Stock Split, at the same
total price (but a higher per share price) required to be paid upon exercise thereof immediately preceding the Reverse Stock
Split;
|
Shares
of common stock after the Reverse Stock Split will be fully paid and non-assessable. The Reverse Stock Split will not change any
of the other terms of the Company’s common stock. The shares of common stock after the Reverse Stock Split will have the
same voting rights and rights to dividends and distributions and will be identical in all other respects to the shares of common
stock prior to the Reverse Stock Split.
Because
the number of authorized shares of the Company’s common stock will not be reduced, an overall effect of the Reverse Stock
Split of the outstanding common stock will be an increase in authorized but unissued shares of the Company’s common stock.
These shares may be issued by the Company’s Board in its sole discretion. See “Anti-Takeover Effects of the Reverse
Stock Split” below. Any future issuance will have the effect of diluting the percentage of stock ownership and voting rights
of the present holders of the Company’s common stock and preferred stock.
Once
we implement a Reverse Stock Split, the share certificates representing the shares will continue to be valid. In the future, new
share certificates will be issued reflecting the Reverse Stock Split, but this in no way will affect the validity of your current
share certificates. The Reverse Stock Split will occur without any further action on the part of the Company’s shareholders.
After the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, each share certificate representing shares prior to the Reverse Stock Split
will be deemed to represent the number of shares shown on the certificate, divided by the Split Ratio. Certificates representing
the shares after the Reverse Stock Split will be issued in due course as share certificates representing shares prior to the Reverse
Stock Split are tendered for exchange or transfer to the Company’s transfer agent.
We request that shareholders do not
send in any of their stock certificates at this time
.
As
applicable, new share certificates evidencing new shares following the Reverse Stock Split that are issued in exchange for share
certificates issued prior to the Reverse Stock Split representing old shares that are restricted shares will contain the same
restrictive legend as on the old certificates. Also, for purposes of determining the term of the restrictive period applicable
to the new shares after the Reverse Stock Split, the time period during which a shareholder has held their existing pre-Reverse
Stock Split old shares will be included in the total holding period.
Procedure
for implementing the Reverse Stock Split
The
Reverse Stock Split would become effective upon the filing of Articles of Amendment to the Company’s Articles with the Secretary
of State of the State of Nevada. The exact date of the filing of the Articles of Amendment that will effectuate the Reverse Stock
Split will be determined by the Board based on its evaluation as to when such action will be the most advantageous to us and the
Company’s shareholders. In addition, the Board reserves the right, notwithstanding shareholder approval and without further
action by the shareholders, to elect not to proceed with the Reverse Stock Split if, at any time prior to filing the amendment
to the Company’s Articles of Amendment, the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that it is no longer in the Company’s
best interest and the best interests of the Company’s shareholders to proceed with the Reverse Stock Split. If Articles
of Amendment effecting the Reverse Stock Split have not been filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Nevada by the close
of business one year from the date the Reverse Stock Split was approved by the Series A Holder, the Board will abandon the Reverse
Stock Split.
After
the filing of the Articles of Amendment, the Company’s common stock will have a new CUSIP number, which is a number used
to identify the Company’s equity securities, and stock certificates with the older CUSIP number will need to be exchanged
for stock certificates with the new CUSIP number by following the procedures described below.
As
soon as practicable after the Reverse Stock Split the Company’s transfer agent will act as exchange agent for purposes of
implementing the exchange of stock certificates for record holders (i.e., shareholders who hold their shares directly in their
own name and not through a broker). Record holders of pre-Reverse Stock Split shares will be asked to surrender to the transfer
agent certificates representing pre-Reverse Stock Split shares in exchange for a book entry with the transfer agent or certificates
representing post-Reverse Stock Split shares in accordance with the procedures to be set forth in a letter of transmittal to be
sent by us. No new certificates will be issued to a shareholder until such shareholder has surrendered such shareholder’s
outstanding certificate(s) together with the properly completed and executed letter of transmittal to the exchange agent.
For
street name holders of pre-Reverse Stock Split shares (i.e., shareholders who hold their shares through a broker), your broker
will make the appropriate adjustment to the number of shares held in your account following the effective date of the Reverse
Stock Split.
SHAREHOLDERS
SHOULD NOT DESTROY ANY STOCK CERTIFICATE(S) AND SHOULD NOT SUBMIT ANY CERTIFICATE(S) UNTIL REQUESTED TO DO SO.
No
service charges, brokerage commissions or transfer taxes will be payable by any shareholder, except that if any new stock certificates
are to be issued in a name other than that in which the surrendered certificate(s) are registered it will be a condition of such
issuance that (1) the person requesting such issuance pays all applicable transfer taxes resulting from the transfer (if any)
or establishes to the Company’s satisfaction that such taxes have been paid or are not payable, (2) the transfer complies
with all applicable federal and state securities laws, and (3) the surrendered certificate is properly endorsed and otherwise
in proper form for transfer including with a medallion guarantee.
Fractional
shares
No
fractional shares of common stock will be issued as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Instead, all shares which would otherwise
result in fractional shares, upon surrender to the exchange agent of such certificates representing such fractional shares, will
be rounded up to the nearest whole share.
Accounting
matters
The
par value per share of the Company’s common stock will remain unchanged at $0.001 per share after the Reverse Stock Split.
As a result, on the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split, the stated capital on the Company’s consolidated balance
sheet attributable to common stock will be reduced and the additional paid-in-capital account will be increased by the amount
by which the stated capital is reduced. Per share net income or loss will be increased because there will be fewer shares of the
Company’s common stock outstanding. We do not anticipate that any other accounting consequences, including changes to the
amount of stock-based compensation expense to be recognized in any period, will arise as a result of the Reverse Stock Split.
Certain
federal income tax consequences
Each
shareholder is advised to consult their own tax advisor as the following discussion may be limited, modified or not apply based
on your own particular situation.
The
following is a summary of important tax considerations of the Reverse Stock Split. It addresses only shareholders who hold the
pre-Reverse Stock Split shares and post-Reverse Stock Split shares as capital assets. It does not purport to be complete and does
not address shareholders subject to special rules, such as financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies,
dealers in securities, mutual funds, foreign shareholders, shareholders who hold the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares as part of
a straddle, hedge, or conversion transaction, shareholders who hold the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares as qualified small business
stock within the meaning of Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”), shareholders who are subject to
the alternative minimum tax provisions of the Code, and shareholders who acquired their pre-Reverse Stock Split shares pursuant
to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation. Current tax law may change, possibly even retroactively.
This summary does not address tax considerations under state, local, foreign, and other laws. Furthermore, we have not obtained
a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or an opinion of legal or tax counsel with respect to the consequences of the Reverse
Stock Split.
The
Reverse Stock Split is intended to constitute a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368 of the Code. Assuming the Reverse
Stock Split qualifies as reorganization, a shareholder generally will not recognize gain or loss on the Reverse Stock Split, except
to the extent of cash, if any, received in lieu of a fractional share interest in the post-Reverse Stock Split shares. The aggregate
tax basis of the post-Reverse Stock Split shares received will be equal to the aggregate tax basis of the pre-Reverse Stock Split
shares exchanged, and the holding period of the post-Reverse Stock Split shares received will include the holding period of the
pre-Reverse Stock Split shares exchanged.
A
holder of the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares who receives cash will generally recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between
the portion of the tax basis of the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares allocated to the fractional share interest and the cash received.
Such gain or loss will be a capital gain or loss and will be short term if the pre-Reverse Stock Split shares were held for one
year or less and long term if held more than one year. No gain or loss will be recognized by us as a result of the Reverse Stock
Split.
PLEASE
CONSULT YOUR OWN TAX ADVISOR REGARDING THE U.S. FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND FOREIGN INCOME AND OTHER TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVERSE
STOCK SPLIT IN YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE AND THE LAWS OF ANY OTHER TAXING JURISDICTION.
No
appraisal rights
Shareholders
have no rights under the Nevada Revised Statutes or under the Company’s charter documents to exercise dissenters’
rights of appraisal with respect to the Reverse Stock Split.
Anti-takeover
effects of the reverse stock split
The
overall effect of the Reverse Stock Split may be to render more difficult the accomplishment of mergers or the assumption of control
by a principal shareholder and thus make the removal of management more difficult.
The
effective increase in the Company’s authorized and unissued shares as a result of the Reverse Stock Split could potentially
be used by the Board to thwart a takeover attempt. The over-all effects of this might be to discourage, or make it more difficult
to engage in, a merger, tender offer or proxy contest, or the acquisition or assumption of control by a holder of a large block
of the Company’s securities and the removal of incumbent management. The Reverse Stock Split could make the accomplishment
of a merger or similar transaction more difficult, even if it is beneficial to shareholders. The Board might use the additional
shares to resist or frustrate a third-party transaction, favored by a majority of the independent shareholders that would provide
an above-market premium, by issuing additional shares to frustrate the takeover effort.
As
discussed above, the reasons for the Reverse Stock Split are to provide an opportunity to raise capital, increase the ability
of institutions to purchase the Company’s common stock and stimulate the interest in the Company’s common stock by
analysts and brokers as well as accelerate the possibility of obtaining a listing on a national securities exchange. This Reverse
Stock Split is not the result of management’s knowledge of an effort to accumulate the Company’s securities or to
obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, solicitation or otherwise. Additionally, the Reverse Stock Split
is not being conducted in an effort to take the Company private.
Neither
the Company’s Articles nor the Company’s Bylaws presently contain any provisions having anti-takeover effects and
the Reverse Stock Split Proposal is not a plan by the Board to adopt a series of amendments to the Company’s Articles or
Bylaws to institute an anti-takeover provision. We do not have any plans or proposals to adopt other provisions or enter into
other arrangements that may have material anti-takeover consequences.
Plans
for newly available shares
The
Company presently has no specific plans, nor has it entered into any arrangements or understandings regarding the shares of common
stock that will be newly available for issuance upon effectiveness of the Reverse Stock Split. However, the Company’s management
is seeking to raise capital to fund future operations through which equity securities may be issued. Any future financing may
be dilutive to existing shareholders.