UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

☐ REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR 12(g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

☐ SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of event requiring this shell company report

Commission File Number: 001-41972

BitFuFu Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) 

Leo Lu

#15-01, Peninsula Plaza

Singapore 179098

+656-252-4595

(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: The issued and outstanding share capital of the Registrant as of December 31, 2023 consisted of 150,000,000 ordinary shares. After the closing of the Business Combination, the issued share captial of the Registrant consists of 162,902,257 Ordinary Shares, including (1) 27,902,267 Class A Ordinary Shares, excluding 204,348 Class A Ordinary Shares held in treasury, and (2) 135,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting over Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow. Item 17 ☐ Item 18 ☐

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒ 

TABLE OF CONTENTS  

Certain Terms and Conventions

Except as otherwise indicated or required by context, references in this Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Report”) to “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company” and “the Company” are to BitFuFu Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liabilities and its subsidiaries.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Report, including statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, our expectations concerning the outlook for our business, productivity, plans and goals for future operational improvements and capital investments, operational performance, future market conditions or economic performance and developments in the capital and credit markets and expected future financial performance, as well as any information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations as set forth in this Report. Forward-looking statements also include statements regarding the expected benefits of the Business Combination.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and actual results or events may differ materially from those projected or implied in those statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to:

We caution you against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect current beliefs and are based on information currently available to us as of the date a forward-looking statement is made. Forward-looking statements set forth herein speak only as of the date of this Report. We do not undertake any obligation to revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs. In the event that any forward-looking statement is updated, no inference should be made that we will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statements. Any corrections or revisions and other important assumptions and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements, including discussions of significant risk factors, may appear, in our public filings with the SEC, which are accessible at www.sec.gov, and which you are advised to consult.

Market, ranking and industry data used throughout this Report, including statements regarding market size, is based on independent industry surveys and publications. These data involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the industry data presented herein, such estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the headings “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” in this Report.

PART I

ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Our business and our industry are subject to significant risks. You should carefully consider all of the information set forth in this Report and in our other filings with the SEC, including the following risk factors, in evaluating our business. Any of the following risks or any additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or portion of your investment. This Report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. See the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Summary of Risk Factors

Risks Related to Our Business

Risks and uncertainties relating to our business include, but are not limited to, the following:

Risks Related to Our Operations

Risks and uncertainties relating to our operations include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Risks Related to Our Industry

Risks and uncertainties relating to our industry include, but are not limited to, the following:

 Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework

Risks and uncertainties relating to the regulatory framework include, but are not limited to, the following:

Risks Related to Our Securities

Risks and uncertainties relating to our securities include, but are not limited to, the following:

Risks Related to Our Business

Our limited operating history and rapid growth may make it difficult to evaluate our business and prospects, and our historical results may not be indicative of our future performance.

We have a short operating history and have experienced rapid growth in terms of revenue, number of customers and total cloud-mining capacity, or the capacity to provide hash calculations, since our establishment in December 2020. In particular, our revenues increased from US$103.0 million in 2021 to US$198.2 million in 2022, and further to US$284.1 million in 2023. Because of our limited operating history and historical data, as well as the limited visibility into future demand trends, our limited operating history and rapid growth may not be indicative of our future performance, and we may not be able to accurately forecast our future performance and growth potentials and budget our costs and operating expenses accordingly.

Our business may be affected by the rapidly evolving the digital asset industry, in particular the fluctuation of Bitcoin price, and the changes in demand or order patterns for our services and products as a result. We may not be able to accurately forecast the longer-term development of the digital assets industry, and as result, may experience fluctuations in orders in the future. Our limited historical results of operations could make it difficult to assess the impact of seasonal factors on our business. If we are unable to increase our access to mining capacities and hosting capacities to meet any increases in demand due to seasonality or other factors, our total revenue and profitability and our reputation among customers would be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to continuously innovate and to provide services and products that meet the expectations of our customers, we may not be able to attract new customers or retain existing customers, and hence our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

The industries in which we operate and intend to operate in the future are characterized by constant changes, including rapid technological evolution, continual shifts in customer demands, frequent introductions of new services, products and solutions, and constant emergence of new industry standards and practices. Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to respond to these changes in a cost-effective and timely manner, which requires us to anticipate the emergence of new technologies and assess their market acceptance.

Research and development (R&D) activities are inherently uncertain, and it may be difficult to commercialize the research and development results, which could result in excessive expenses or delays. Given the fast pace with which blockchain has been and will continue to be developed, we and our business partners may not be able to timely upgrade technologies in an efficient and cost-effective manner, or at all. In addition, new developments in blockchain and digital assets could render our services and products obsolete or unattractive. If we are unable to keep up with the technological developments and anticipate market trends, or if new technologies render our technologies, services and products obsolete, customers may no longer be attracted to our offerings. As a result, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be materially and adversely affected.

Our results of operations may be significantly impacted by digital asset price fluctuations, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected by a significant drop in the prices of digital assets and Bitcoin in particular.

The demand for, and pricing of, our services and products are determined primarily by the expected economic return of digital asset mining activities, in particular those of Bitcoin, which in turn is significantly affected by expectations with respect to their prices, among other factors. The price of Bitcoin has experienced significant fluctuations over its short existence and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the future. For example, the price of Bitcoin ranged from approximately US$30,000 to approximately US$68,000 in 2021, from approximately US$16,000 to approximately US$46,000 in 2022, and from approximately US$17,000 to approximately US$44,000 in 2023, and have continued to experience significant volatility since then, reaching approximately US$70,000 as of April 12, 2024, according to Google Finance. In 2022 and 2023, a number of companies in the digital asset industry have declared bankruptcy, including Core Scientific, Celsius, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, FTX, and Genesis Holdco. Those bankruptcy proceedings contributed, at least in part, to further price decreases in Bitcoin observed during those periods, and a loss of investor confidence in the digital asset industry, which in turn may materially and adversely affect the demand of our cloud-mining services and mining equipment, as well as the profitability of our self-mining business.

Given the volatility of the price of digital assets, we cannot assure you that the price of Bitcoin or other digital assets will remain high enough to sustain the demand for our services and products or that their prices will not decline significantly in the future. Various factors, mostly beyond our control, could impact the prices of digital assets, including:

If the price of digital assets or network transaction fees drop, the expected economic return of mining activities will diminish, resulting in a decrease in demand for our services and products. We may need to adjust our pricing strategy to respond to changes in market demand. The future of digital assets and their prices are subject to a high degree of uncertainty. If transaction fees become too high, users may be discouraged from using digital assets, which will decrease the transaction volume of the digital asset network. In addition, any power shortage due to government control measures or other reasons, or increase in energy costs, would raise the mining costs. These instances could affect our customers’ expected economic return for mining activities, which in turn, would adversely affect the demand for and pricing of our services and products.

Furthermore, fluctuations in the price of digital assets may affect the value of our fixed assets or inventories, which primarily consist of Bitcoin miners, as well as the provision we make to the inventory as we manage inventory level based on, among others, forecasts for sales and service provisions. As we may increase our procurement volume for the launch of new services or products or due to expected surge of demand, a significant drop in the price of digital assets can lead to a lower expected sales price and excessive inventories, which in turn will lead to impairment losses with respect to such inventories. A significant drop in the price of digital assets may also subject us to impairment loss for digital assets held for our own account. For example, we recorded impairment loss on digital assets of US$12.9 million and US$7.0 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively, when the price of Bitcoin dropped significantly against its carrying value. As a result, any future significant reductions in the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets will likely have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We hold stablecoins for our business operations, and are subject to the risks associated with stablecoins.

We hold stablecoins, in particular USDT, for our business operations. As of December 31, 2022 and 2023, the total value of USDT that we held for our own account was approximately US$55,515 and US$60,860, respectively. For example, we may receive USDT as payments for our cloud-mining service, and other digital assets such as BTC and ETH received by us as service payments are automatically converted into USDT. Since October 2022, we began to convert our USDT into U.S. Dollars and deposit them with banking institutions on a daily or weekly basis. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Digital Assets.” A stablecoin is a digital asset that seeks to maintain a stable value and is backed by an asset or portfolio of assets, such as fiat currency like the U.S. Dollars. There is a risk that the stablecoin issuer does not hold the corresponding asset underlying each stablecoin in circulation and is therefore unable to fulfill one-for-one redemptions. In addition, many stablecoin issuers are unregulated and do not provide transparent disclosure regarding their compliance with applicable licensing and regulatory requirements or the financial institutions that hold the underlying stable assets. Some have also argued that stablecoins may be involved in money laundering. On February 17, 2021, the New York Attorney General entered an agreement with USDT’s operators, requiring them to cease any further trading activity with New York persons and pay US$18.5 million in penalties for false and misleading statements made regarding the assets backing USDT.

Volatility in stablecoins, operational issues with stablecoins (for example, technical issues that prevent settlement), concerns about the sufficiency of any reserves that support stablecoins, or regulatory concerns about stablecoin issuers or intermediaries, such as crypto asset spot markets, that support stablecoins, could also affect, among others, the value, credentials, exchangeability and liquidity of stablecoins. If any of these events affecting stablecoins we hold were to occur, the value of the affected stablecoins we hold could materially decline, and we may not be able to timely convert digital assets into other viable forms, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition and future prospects.

We may not be able to compete effectively against our current and future competitors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The digital asset industry is highly innovative, rapidly evolving and characterized by competition, experimentation, frequent introductions of new services and products and uncertain and evolving industry and regulatory requirements. We expect competition to further intensify in the future as existing and new competitors introduce new products or enhance existing services and products. We compete against numerous developers, owners and operators in the blockchain industry worldwide. Some of our current and future competitors may have greater brand recognition, longer operating histories, stronger marketing, technical and financial resources and access to greater and less expensive power than we do. Our current and future competitors may vary in size, service offerings and geographic presence. In addition, many companies in the digital asset industry are consolidating, which could further increase their market shares. If we are unable to compete successfully, or if solidifying our competitive advantages requires us to incur significant costs, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We compete with our competitors in multiple aspects, including pricing, service quality and user experience, reputation, relationship with suppliers, power resources, ability to obtain replacement for miners or hosting facilities, technical and software expertise, and financial resources. Some of our competitors may be able to:

In addition, we may face pricing pressure with respect to our services and products. Prices for our services are affected by a variety of factors, including supply and demand conditions and pricing pressures from our competitors. We may be required to lower our prices to remain competitive, which may decrease our profit margins and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide us with digital asset mining equipment, hosting facilities, and other products or services critical to our business operations. We may not be able to obtain such supplies at competitive prices during times of high demand, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide us with miners and hosting facilities at economical prices. Costs attributable to Burdy Technology Limited, accounted for 82%, 32%, and 13% of its total cost of revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. We purchased and leased miners from and gained access to hosting facilities in a number of regions and countries through collaborations with Bitmain, our largest supplier in 2023. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, costs attributed to agreements with Bitmain, as a percentage of our total cost of revenue, was approximately 7%, 52% and 61%, respectively. If we are unable to maintain business relationship with our suppliers such as Burdy Technology Limited and Bitmain, our operations could be disrupted, and our business, financial condition and results of operations would be adversely affected. We may not be unable to obtain miners and hosting services from other suppliers at commercially reasonable term in a timely manner, or at all. Our ability to meet the increasing demand of our services and products and grow our business is dependent, in large part, on the availability of advanced mining equipment and hosting resources offered to us at commercially reasonable prices. The price and availability of such mining equipment fluctuate with the price of Bitcoin or other digital assets. Higher digital asset prices tend to increase the demand for mining equipment and thus increase the cost to acquire or lease such equipment. In addition, as more companies seek to enter the digital asset mining industry, the demand may outpace supply and create shortages, and we cannot assure you that such key miner suppliers will be able to keep pace with any surge in the demand for mining equipment. These key suppliers may also prioritize the order of our competitors, in which case we may experience difficulties in securing miner supply. Further, as these key suppliers typically can determine the terms of supply agreements, we have limited bargaining power in negotiating the terms of supply agreements or may have little or no recourse in the event a key miner supplier defaults on our delivery commitments. Defects, malfunctions, errors and breakdown of these miners may occur from time to time, and we cannot assure you that we or our suppliers can take remedial measures in a timely manner. Historically, an increase in interest and demand for digital assets has led to a shortage of hosting and transaction processing hardware and increased prices on the market. We may experience difficulty in obtaining new mining equipment to satisfy the demand of our customers, which may have a material adverse impact on the demand for our revenue. If we are not able to obtain a sufficient number of miners at favorable prices, our growth expectations, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected.

We also rely on Bitmain to provide the miner hosting services under certain hosting service cooperation arrangements, through which Bitmain sources a limited number of hosting facilities to host miners and provide services related to maintenance and technical support, electricity, network and security. These hosting facilities may demand for upward adjustments of their service fees, including electricity cost, which we may not be able to pass on to our customers. We cannot assure you that it can continue to maintain cooperation with these hosting facilities, or the services provided by these parties always meet the level of quality, efficiency and timeliness necessary for us to render satisfactory hosting services to our customers. Such hosting facilities may experience interruption or other incidents from time to time, and may be unable to provide services to us. We may not be able to obtain alternative hosting facility supplies in a time manner and/or at commercially viable terms. If we are unable to effectively address these risks, our ability to serve customers will be affected, and our brand image, reputation and financial performance may be materially and adversely affected.

Our self-mining operations utilize third-party mining pools to receive mining rewards from a given network. Mining pools allow mining participants to combine their hash calculations, which increases the chances of solving a block and receive rewards of a given network. The rewards are distributed by the pool operator, based on our contribution of hash calculations to the pool. We are dependent on the accuracy of mining pool operators to accurately record the total hash calculations provided to the pool for a given Bitcoin or other digital asset mining application in order to assess the proportion of hash calculations contributed by us. While we have internal methods of tracking both our hash calculations provided, the mining pool operator uses its own record-keeping method to determine our effective contribution of hash calculations. We have limited recourse against the mining pool operator if we determine the proportion of the reward pay out by a mining pool operator is incorrect. If we are unable to consistently obtain accurate proportionate rewards from such mining pool operators, we may experience reduced reward for our efforts, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operations.

We have derived a substantial portion of our revenue from sales to a limited number of customers, which may expose us to risks relating to customer concentration.

Our customers include both enterprises and individuals. We have derived a substantial portion of our revenue from sales to a limited number of customers. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, sales to our largest customer, Chainup Technic Limited and our related parties, accounted for 30%, 17% and 15% of our total revenue, respectively, and sales to our top three customers accounted for 51%, 31% and 26% of our total revenue, respectively. Although we continually seek to diversify our customer base, we cannot assure you that the proportion of revenue contribution from our major customers to our total revenue will decrease in the future. Dependence on a limited number of major customers to our total revenue exposes us to risks of substantial losses if any of them reduces or ceases business collaboration with us. Specifically, any one of the following events, among others, may cause material fluctuations or declines in our revenue, and have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects:

It may not be possible for us to accurately predict the future demand from our major customers, and it may fail to maintain relationships with these major customers or to do business with them at the same or increased levels. If any of the foregoing were to occur, and we are unable to expand our business with other existing customers or attract new customers in a timely manner or at all, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may be materially and adversely affected.

Mining digital assets requires significant electric power, and the inability to obtain power resources at commercially viable terms could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations require a significant amount of electric power to power and cool the mining equipment. Power costs represent a significant component underlying our cost of revenue. The amount of power required by us will increase commensurate with the increase in demand for our services and products and mining equipment we operate for ourselves and our customers. Power costs and availability are also vulnerable to seasonality, with increased costs primarily in the summer months. We also face risks of outages and power grid damage as a result of inclement weather, animal incursion, and other events out of our control. We cannot assure you that the facilities hosting our miners will be able to deliver sufficient power to meet the growing needs of our business on commercially reasonable terms. Currently, our power costs are covered in our service framework agreement with Bitmain, which may demand for changes to terms of the service framework agreement, including an upward adjustment to the electricity cost. In addition, we may incur additional electricity costs based on specific orders under such framework arrangements, which may include periodic price adjustment mechanism with reference to local electricity price index. We may not be able to pass on such increase in electricity costs to our customers. Failure by our counterparty to perform its obligation under the contract terms may affect our ability to provide services to our customers and disrupt our business operations. Any significant increase in the power costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Power outage may result in disruption of our business.

Our business is vulnerable to disruptions and power outages resulting from weather, animal incursions, accidents, equipment failures, curtailments, acts of war, sabotage and other events. We rely on third-party hosting facility providers to host our miners, and cannot assure you that these hosting facilities have backup power generators to maintain our operations in the event of a power outage. Disruption of our business could impact our ability to generate and maintain the power levels necessary to provide cloud-mining services to customers and mine digital assets for ourselves, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Delays in the expansion of existing facilities or establishment of new facilities, or significant cost overruns could adversely affect our business.

The equipment used for digital asset mining and transaction processing require the use of facilities with a highly specialized infrastructure and considerable and reliable electric power. We expand our business operations by increasing our mining equipment, and expanding cooperation with providers of our existing facilities to gain access to higher mining capacity. We cannot assure you that our hosting facility providers could obtain access to such suitable land to expand hosting capacity, as such suppliers need to work closely with local governments to obtain necessary permits and local power suppliers for power supplies. Delays in actions that require the assistance of such third parties, in receiving required permits and approvals or in mediations with local communities, if any, may negatively impact such hosting facility providers’ construction timelines and budget or result in any new facilities not being completed at all. We cannot assure you that we will not experience quality issues in any expansion or upgrades of those facilities. All of these risks could cause us to be unable to run our mining operations in a way that is technologically advanced, economical and energy efficient and temperature controlled, which will adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we experience significant delays in the supply of power and facility spaces required to support our expansion, our ability to deliver services and expand operations will be materially and adversely affected.

The average selling prices of our services and products may fluctuate from time to time, which may in turn adversely affect our profitability.

The digital asset industry is characterized by rapid launches of new services and products, continuous technological advancements and changing market trends and customer preferences, all of which may cause fluctuations in the average selling prices of our services and products over time. We may have to significantly lower the average selling prices of our services and products to retain customers. However, such significant decreases in average selling prices may not be offset by a corresponding decrease in the prices of the equipment and properties, and our profitability may be materially and adversely affected.

Increases in hosting costs, power costs other important cost items may cause us to mine digital assets less cost-efficiently, which may reduce our operating and profit margins, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We incurred cost of revenue of US$94.0 million, US$162.0 million and US$271.4 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, and we realized a gross profit margin of 8.8%, 18.3% and 4.5% in the same periods, respectively. We achieved a net profit of US$4.9 million, US$2.4 million and US$10.5 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. We expect our cost of revenue to continue represents a substantial portion of our total revenue. If we do not manage those costs effectively, our operating and profit margins may be reduced, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

We face risks associated with the expansion of our operations globally, and if we are unable to effectively manage these risks, they could impair our ability to expand our business abroad.

As we continue to grow our business and expand our operations globally, we will continue to sell our services and products into new jurisdictions in which we may have limited or no experience and in which our brands may be less recognized. The expansion exposes us to a number of risks, including, but are not limited to:

In particular, a worldwide trend in favor of nationalism and protectionist trade policy, as well as other potential international trade disputes could cause turbulence in international markets. These government policies or trade barriers could increase the prices of our products and make us less competitive in such countries. If we are unable to effectively manage these risks, the ability to expand our business abroad will be impaired, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If we fail to accurately estimate the factors for our contract pricing, we may generate lower profit than expected or incur losses on those contracts, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our service contracts are generally priced based on various internal and external factors, such as miner costs, the technological contents of our services, costs of hosting miners, market price of digital assets, price of competitors, the expected economic return of digital asset mining, the service and cost recovery model, and the market demand. Our ability to set favorable prices at our desired margins and accurately estimate costs, among other factors, has a significant impact on our profitability. We may be unable to maintain our bargaining power, and our profit margin may be driven down by market conditions or other factors. If we see higher pricing pressure due to intensified competition from other competitors, decrease in prices to our customers in the end market or any other reasons, or if we otherwise lose bargaining power due to weaker demand for our services and products, we may need to reduce our prices and lower our profit margins. Moreover, we may not be able to accurately estimate our costs or pass on all or part of any increase in our costs of miner and hosting facilities, to our customers. As a result, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected.

Our future success depends on our ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes that could make our current or future technologies less competitive or obsolete.

Rapid, significant and disruptive technological changes continue to impact the digital asset industry. Services and products offered by us may become less marketable due to demand for new processes and technologies, including, without limitation: (1) customer demand for miners with higher hash rate or for new types of digital assets; (2) new processes to deliver power to, or eliminate heat from, miners; (3) customer demand for additional cloud-mining or hosting capacity; (4) new technology that permits higher levels of critical load and heat removal than the facilities are currently designed to provide; (5) limited power supply to support new, updated or upgraded technology; and (6) a shift to more power-efficient transaction validation protocols. In addition, the systems that connect miners managed by us to the internet and other external networks may become insufficient, including with respect to latency, reliability and diversity of connectivity. We may not be able to adapt to changing technologies, identify and implement new alternatives successfully or meet customer demands for new processes or technologies in a timely and cost-effective manner, if at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Even if we succeed in adapting to new processes and technologies, there is no assurance that our use of such new processes or technology would have a positive impact on our financial performance. For example, we could incur substantial additional costs if we need to materially improve the miner fleet engaged through the implementation of new systems or new server technologies that require levels of critical load and heat removal that the current or future facilities hosting are not designed to provide. In addition, our new services and products could be superior than our prior services and products, and customers could switch away from our prior services and products that could have higher revenue or better margins for the new services and products. Therefore, the adaptation to new processes and technologies could result in lower revenue, lower margins and/or higher costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, our competitors or others might develop technologies that are more effective than our current or future technologies, or that render our technologies less competitive or obsolete. Further, many of our competitors may have superior financial and human resources deployed toward research and development efforts. We may not be able to effectively keep pace with relevant technological changes. If competitors introduce superior technologies, and we cannot make upgrades to our hardware or software to remain competitive, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to maintain or enhance our brand recognition, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Maintaining and enhancing the recognition, image and acceptance of our brand are important to our ability to differentiate our services from and to compete effectively with our peers. Our brand image, however, could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high service quality, pioneer and keep pace with evolving technology trends, or timely meet the demand for our services. If we fail to promote our brand or to maintain or enhance our brand recognition and awareness among our customers, or if we are subject to events or negative allegations affecting our brand image or the publicly perceived position of our brand, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Our business is capital intensive, and failure to obtain the necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our expansion efforts or other operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The costs of operating, maintaining and owning miners and facilities are substantial. Mining equipment experience ordinary wear and tear from operation and may also face more significant malfunctions caused by factors which may be beyond our control. Additionally, as the technology evolves, we may acquire or utilize newer models of mining equipment to remain competitive in the market. Over time, those mining equipment which are no longer functional also needs to be replaced with new mining equipment.

The upgrading process requires substantial investment, and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis based on availability of new mining equipment and our access to adequate capital resources. If we are unable to obtain adequate numbers of new and replacement mining equipment at scale, we may be unable to remain competitive in our highly competitive and evolving industry.

Moreover, we need additional facilities to increase our capacity for more mining equipment. The costs of operating and maintaining facilities and growing our operations may increase in the future, which may make it more difficult for us to expand our business and to operate the facilities while maintaining or improving our profit margin.

We will need to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings in order to meet our operating and capital needs. Additional debt or equity financing may not be available when needed or, if available, may not be available on satisfactory terms. Although we currently do not pledge digital assets as collaterals for any loan or financing arrangement, a significant and permanent drop in the value of digital assets, in particular Bitcoin, may cause us to lose the ability to do so in the future. In addition, any future disruption in the digital asset industry may destabilize the price of Bitcoin and depress investor confidence in the digital asset industry, which may materially and adversely impair our ability to raise capital in the future. An inability to generate sufficient cash from operations or to obtain additional debt or equity financing would adversely affect our results of operations. Additionally, if this happens, we and our customers may not be able to mine digital assets as efficiently or in similar amounts as our competitors and, as a result, our business and financial condition and results of operations could suffer.

Any failure to meet the necessary quality standards of our services and products could adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operation.

The quality of our services and products is critical to the success of our business and depends significantly on the effectiveness of our and our suppliers’ quality control. In our efforts to meet new market trends and adopt new technologies, we and our suppliers may not have adequate time to go through rigorous quality control and assurance procedures, which could result in instances where our services and products cannot reach the required performance standard. These instances could result in our customers suffering losses and harm to their experience and continuous engagement with us. Defects may also result in additional costs for remediation and rework. As a result, our reputation, business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

Any global systemic economic and financial crisis could negatively affect the prices of digital assets, and in turn our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Any prolonged slowdown in the global economy may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For example, the global financial markets have experienced significant disruptions since 2008 and the United States, Europe and other economies have experienced periods of recession. The recovery from the lows of 2008 and 2009 has been uneven and there are new challenges. The market panics over the global outbreak of COVID-19 has also materially and negatively affected the global economy and financial markets since 2020. See “—Risks Related to Our Business—Continuing coronavirus outbreaks may have a material adverse impact on our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.” Additionally, there is considerable uncertainty over the long-term effects of the monetary and fiscal policies adopted by the central banks and financial authorities of some of the world’s leading economies, including the United States and China. There have also been concerns over unrest in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa, and concerns over the United Kingdom leaving the European Union as well as the significant potential changes to United States trade policies, treaties and tariffs, all of which have resulted in market volatility. There were and could be in the future a number of domino effects from such turmoil on our business, including significant decreases in orders from our customers; insolvency of key suppliers resulting in delays or interruptions of key supplies; inability of customers to finance purchases of our services and products and/or customer insolvencies; and other counterparty failures negatively impacting our operations. Any systemic economic or financial crisis could cause revenues for the digital assets industry as a whole to decline dramatically and could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may engage in acquisitions or strategic alliances in the future that could disrupt our business, result in increased expenses, and reduce our financial resources, and such acquisitions or strategic alliances may not be successfully implemented or generate positive results as expected.

Although we have limited experience in acquisitions or strategic alliances in the past, we may look for potential acquisitions or strategic alliances in the future to expand our business. However, we may not be able to find suitable acquisition candidates, complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all, or integrate any acquired business, products or technologies into our operations. If we do complete such acquisitions, they may still be viewed negatively by customers or investors and they may not enable us to strengthen our competitive position or achieve our strategic goals. In addition, any acquisitions that we make could lead to difficulties in integrating personnel, technologies and operations from the acquired businesses and in retaining and motivating key personnel from these businesses. Moreover, acquisitions or strategic alliances may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management from day-to-day responsibilities and increase our expenses. Future acquisitions or strategic alliances may reduce our cash available for operations and other uses and could result in increases in amortization expenses related to identifiable intangible assets acquired, potentially dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt. We cannot predict the number, timing or size of future acquisitions or strategic alliances, or their successful implementation or the effect that any such might have on our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Operations

We may be vulnerable to security breaches, or be exposed to cybersecurity threats, which could disrupt our operations, subject us to customers’ claims, and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We receive, process, store and transmit, often electronically, the data of our customers, much of which is confidential. Unauthorized access to our computer systems or stored data could result in the theft, including cyber-theft, or improper disclosure of confidential information, and the deletion or modification of records could cause interruptions in our operations. These cyber-security risks increase when we transmit information from one location to another, including over the internet or other electronic networks. Despite the security measures we have implemented, our miners, systems and procedures, and those of our third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to security breaches, acts of vandalism, software viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors or other similar events which may disrupt our delivery of services or expose the confidential information of our customers. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential information of our customers or others, whether by us or a third party, could subject us to civil and criminal penalties, have a negative impact on our reputation, or expose us to liability to our customers, third parties or government authorities.

A party who is able to compromise the physical security measures protecting the facilities supporting our operations could cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations and misappropriate our property or the property of our customers. We may be required to expend significant capital and resources or replace existing hosting facility suppliers to protect against such threats or to alleviate problems caused by breaches in security. As techniques used to breach security change frequently and are often not recognized until launched against a target, we cannot assure you that we or our hosting facility suppliers will be able to implement new security measures in a timely manner or, if and when implemented, these measures would not be circumvented. Any breaches that may occur could expose us to increased risk of lawsuits, regulatory penalties, loss of existing or potential customers, harm to our reputation and increases in security costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, any assertions of alleged security breaches or system failures made against us or our hosting facility suppliers, whether true or not, could harm our reputation, cause us to incur substantial legal fees to defend against such claims, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such claims, irrespective of the outcomes or the merits, would likely be time-consuming and costly to defend and could divert significant resources and management attention. We could also incur significant payment of damages or expenses, or otherwise be restricted from operating our business. Any such claim or potential litigation, including the resources incurred in connection therewith, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Furthermore, security breaches, computer malware and computer hacking attacks have been a prevalent concern in the digital asset exchange market. Any security breach caused by hacking, which involves efforts to gain unauthorized access to information or systems, or to cause intentional malfunctions or loss or corruption of data, software, hardware or other computer equipment, and the inadvertent transmission of computer viruses, could harm our business operations or result in loss of our assets.

Moreover, the threats to network and data security are increasingly diverse and sophisticated. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent breaches, our computer servers and computer systems may be vulnerable to cybersecurity risks, including denial-of-service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins, employee theft or misuse and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer servers and computer systems. The preventive actions we take to reduce the risk of cyber incidents and protect our information technology and networks may be insufficient to repel a major cyber-attack in the future. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in a loss or damage to our network, in unauthorized disclosure of confidential information or in a loss of our digital assets, it could cause significant damage to our reputation, lead to claims against us and ultimately have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, we may be required to incur significant costs to protect against damage caused by these disruptions or security breaches in the future.

Any failure in our critical systems could lead to disruptions in our businesses and could harm our reputation and result in financial penalty and legal liabilities, which would reduce our revenue and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The critical systems underlying our services and products could experience failure, such as a breakdown in critical system, equipment or services, routers, switches or other equipment. The facilities hosting our miners could experience power supply or network connectivity issues. Such failure, whether or not within our control, could interrupt our service provision, and adversely affect our customers’ operation and cause equipment damage, all of which could significantly disrupt our normal business operations, harm our reputation and reduce our revenue. Any such failure or downtime could impact mining rewards generated by us and reduce the profitability of our customers. The total destruction or severe impairment of any of the facilities we operate could result in significant service downtime and loss of customer data. Since our ability to attract and retain customers depends on our ability to provide highly reliable service, even minor interruptions in our service could harm our reputation and negatively impact our revenue and profitability. The services we provide are subject to failures resulting from numerous factors, including:

Moreover, service interruptions and equipment failures may expose us to potential legal liability. Any disruption in our services could result in lost profits of or other indirect or consequential damages to our customers. Although our customer contracts typically contain provisions limiting our liability for breach of such agreements, there can be no assurance that a court would enforce any contractual limitations on our liability in the event that one of our customers brings a lawsuit against us as the result of a service interruption that they may ascribe to us. The outcome of any such lawsuit would depend on the specific facts of the case and any legal and policy considerations that we may not be able to mitigate. In such cases, we could be liable for substantial damages, which would as a result have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any failure to obtain or renew any approvals, licenses, permits or certifications necessary to our operations could materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations and prospects.

In accordance with the laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate, we are required to maintain various approvals, licenses, permits and certifications to operate our business. Complying with such laws and regulations may require substantial expense, and any non-compliance may expose us to liability. In the event of non-compliance, we may have to incur significant expenses and divert substantial management time to rectify the incidents. In the future, if we fail to obtain all the necessary approvals, licenses, permits and certifications, we may be subject to fines or the suspension of operations at the production facilities and research and development facilities that do not have all the requisite approvals, licenses, permits and certifications, which could materially and adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations and prospects. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Government Regulation” for further details on the requisite approvals, licenses, permits and certifications necessary for our business operations.

We cannot assure you that we will be able to fulfill all the conditions necessary to obtain the required government approvals, or that relevant government officials will always, if ever, exercise their discretion in our favor, or that we will be able to adapt to any new laws, regulations and policies. There may also be delays on the part of government authorities in reviewing our applications and granting approvals, whether due to the lack of human resources or the imposition of new rules, regulations, government policies or their implementation, interpretation and enforcement. If we are unable to obtain, or experience material delays in obtaining, necessary government approvals, our operations may be substantially disrupted, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We rely on third-party service providers to safeguard and manage certain digital assets. Loss of private keys, security breach and hacking attempts could cause the loss and theft of such digital assets, and materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We accumulate Bitcoin mined through our self-mining operations, and will exchange Bitcoin for fiat currencies at establish cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase, to satisfy our working capital needs. We also receive other digital assets, such as BTC, ETH, BCH and USDT, as payments for our cloud-mining service and hosting services. Digital assets that are received as service payments would be automatically converted into USDT. Since October 2022, we began to convert USDT into U.S. Dollars and deposit them with banking institutions on a daily or weekly basis. Prior to December 2022, we held digital assets pre-paid by customers for their anticipated purchase of services, and temporarily held mining rewards of customers on their behalf if such customers do not have their own digital asset wallets.

Digital assets held for customers are stored at custodial wallets maintained by Coinbase and Cobo Wallet, which protect such digital assets through dual authentication security mechanism. Currently, most of digital assets mined by us are held in cold wallet, which is a physical device that holds digital assets offline and aims to prevent hackers from being able to access digital assets via traditional internet-hacking means. The digital assets temporarily held on customers’ behalf and for our own account are not insured or guaranteed by any government or government agency.

Since December 2022, we no longer temporarily held digital assets for our customers. As of April 12, 2024, the latest practicable date before the date of this Report, we hold 4.9 Bitcoins and approximately 17,700 USDTs that are to be returned to our customers. To the extent that customers’ digital assets still remain in custodial wallets maintained by Coinbase and Cobo Wallet, we rely on such service providers to safeguard such customers’ digital assets. The security measures designed to prevent, detect, and mitigate inappropriate access to these custodial wallets by internal or external threats may not be adequate to protect against loss of digital assets due to theft or security leakage. It is possible that employees or service providers could act contrary to our policies, or others could circumvent security measures of us or our service providers to improperly access our systems or documents, or the systems or documents of our service providers, and improperly access, obtain, or misuse the digital assets that we hold for our customers’ account. The methods used to obtain unauthorized access, disable, or degrade service or sabotage systems are also constantly changing and evolving, and may be difficult to anticipate or detect for long periods of time. We also face risks of destruction or loss associated with using offline cold wallet, and may experience difficulties in recovering our digital assets when the associated private keys are lost or leaked. Any security incident resulting in a compromise of our or our customers’ digital assets could result in substantial costs to us and require us to notify, and potentially compensate impacted customers. Such incidents could also subject us to litigation, significant financial losses, damage our reputation, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, we or our customers may temporarily lose access to digital assets as a result of software or systems upgrades or maintenance. In this case, we or our customers would likely rely on third parties to assist in restoring such access, and we cannot provide any assurance that such third parties will be able to restore access on a timely basis, or at all. Any temporary loss for us or our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Digital asset transactions are irrevocable and, if stolen or incorrectly transferred, digital assets may be irretrievable. Any loss or destruction of a private key required to access a digital asset is also irreversible.

Typically, digital asset transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the transaction or, in theory, control or consent of a majority of the processing power on the applicable network. Once a transaction has been confirmed and verified in a block that is added to the network blockchain, an incorrect transfer of a digital asset or a theft of a digital asset generally will not be reversible and we and our customers may not be capable of seeking compensation for any such transfer or theft. Although transfers of any digital assets we or our customers hold will regularly be made to or from vendors, consultants, services providers, etc., it is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, such digital assets could be transferred from them in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties. To the extent that we or our customers are unable to seek a corrective transaction with such third party or are incapable of identifying the third party that has received such digital assets through error or theft, we or our customers will be unable to revert or otherwise recover the incorrectly transferred digital assets. Moreover, reversion or other corrective or recovery methods of such digital assets may also take a significant time and may not result in full recovery of the incorrectly transferred digital assets or sufficient compensation the relevant economic loss. To the extent that we or our customers are unable to seek redress for such error or theft, such loss could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Digital assets are each accessible and controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public key and private key associated with the digital asset, wherein the public and private keys are held in an offline or online digital wallet. To the extent a private key is lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised and no backup of the private key is available, we or our customers will be unable to access the applicable digital asset associated with that private key and the private key cannot be restored. As a result, any digital assets associated with such key could be irretrievably lost. Any loss of private keys relating to digital wallets used to store the applicable digital assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We deposit certain fund and digital assets with cryptocurrency exchanges. If such cryptocurrency exchanges become bankrupt or otherwise unable to remit stored fund and digital assets, we may lose these assets, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

Historically, we deposited certain fund and digital assets with cryptocurrency exchanges that are not banking institutions. For instance, we had deposited cash and digital assets in account maintained at FTX, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. The ability of a cryptocurrency exchange to safeguard our fund is dependent on our internal control, operations, liquidity, and financial condition, as well as our proper maintenance, use, and safekeeping of our fund and assets. Any failure by such cryptocurrency exchange to maintain the necessary controls or to manage our digital assets and funds appropriately and in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements could result in loss of our fund. We cannot assure you that we can be adequately compensated by such cryptocurrency exchange in the event that we suffer loss in our fund deposited with it.

Moreover, to the extent that cryptocurrency exchanges or other trading venues are involved in fraud or experience security failures or other operational issues, this could result in a reduction in cryptocurrency prices. 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 and other currencies. For example, during the past three years, several cryptocurrency exchanges have been closed or been sued due to fraud, business failure or security breaches. For instance, in November 2022, FTX Group cryptocurrency exchange, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, following reports published just days earlier that FTX was facing liquidity challenges. As of the time of such bankruptcy filing, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoins in our account maintained at FTX. Since the voluntary bankruptcy proceeding of FTX, we have suspended our transactions with FTX. In many of aforementioned instances, the customers of the closed exchanges are not compensated or made whole for the partial or complete losses of their account balances. As a result of the FTX bankruptcy proceeding, we recorded impairment loss on assets held by FTX of US$9.8 million in 2022 (remeasured using the carrying value of Bitcoin as of December 31, 2022). We did not record any impairment loss on assets held by FTX in 2023. In addition, while smaller exchanges are less likely to have the infrastructure and capitalization that provide larger exchanges with additional stability, larger exchanges may be more likely to be appealing targets for hackers and malware and may be more likely to be targets of regulatory enforcement action. In November 2023, Binance Holdings Limited (“Binance”), the entity that operates the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.com, pleaded guilty and agreed to pay over $4 billion to resolve the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”), failure to register as a money transmitting business, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Binance’s founder and chief executive officer also pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, in violation of the BSA and resigned as chief executive officer of Binance.

We have been and may continue to be involved in legal and other disputes from time to time arising out of our operations, including disputes with our suppliers, customers, business partners, competitors or employees.

We have been and may continue to be, from time to time, involved in disputes with various parties arising out of our operations, including our suppliers, customers, business partners, competitors or employees. These disputes may lead to protests or legal or other proceedings and may result in damage to our reputation, substantial costs and diversion of resources and management’s attention from our core business activities. Ethereal Singapore is named as a defendant in a lawsuit filed on November 6, 2023, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the venue of which has been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit relates to an alleged agreement to sell at a discount of Ethereal Singapore’s creditor claim against FTX’s bankruptcy estate. The plaintiff seeks specific performance by Ethereal Singapore to complete the transfer of the subject claim to the plaintiff or, alternatively, damages in an amount equal to the difference between the alleged purchase prices of the subject claim and the ultimate amounts distributed by the FTX bankruptcy estate on the account of that claim. As discussed elsewhere in this Report, as a result of the FTX bankruptcy proceeding, we recorded 100% impairment loss for the claim of US$9.8 million in 2022 (remeasured using the carrying value of Bitcoin as of December 31, 2022) on assets, including the underlying assets of this lawsuit’s subject claim, held at FTX. Ethereal Singapore intends to defend the lawsuit vigorously but it cannot predict the outcome at this time or whether the lawsuit will result in any material loss.

In addition, we may encounter compliance issues with regulatory bodies in the ordinary course of our business operations, and therefore may face legal or administrative proceedings or other unfavorable consequences that may result in liabilities and cause delays to our service delivery. Such proceedings or disputes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

The facilities from which we provide our services may be located on property whose owner has not obtained the approval of relevant authorities, and we may be ordered to relocate from that property.

The landlord of facilities from which we provide our services may need to obtain approval from the relevant government authorities for the buildings or other sites. If they fail to do so, such property may be considered to be in violation of relevant zoning laws and the government may order the demolition or relocation. If we are evicted from such property, we may need to find alternative properties and relocate to such facilities. Unless we are able to make timely alternative arrangements for relocating, we may not be able to provide the services a under our agreements with customers and fulfill our contract obligations, which may have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition and incur liabilities.

Our prepayments and deposits to suppliers may subject us to counterparty risk associated with such suppliers and negatively affect our liquidity and cash position.

We are generally required to make prepayment for our hash rate supplies in advance and deposits for miner purchases ahead of delivery in order to secure the desired capacity. As such, we are subject to counterparty risk exposure to our suppliers. Any failure by those suppliers to perform their contractual obligations in a timely manner and/or in accordance with our requested standard, quality or quantity may result in us not being able to fulfill customers’ demand accordingly. In such event, we may not be able to receive the refund of prepayments in a timely manner or at all. Furthermore, such prepayments and deposits may put pressure on our operating cash flow conditions and if the cash outflows for the prepayments and deposits significantly exceed the cash inflows during any period, our future liquidity and cash position will also be adversely affected.

If we experience difficulty in collecting our account receivables, our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations would be negatively impacted.

We derive our revenues primarily from the sale of services and products to customers and are subject to customer counterparty risks such as our customer’s inability to pay. We cannot assure you that we will be able to collect our account receivables on a timely basis, and our account receivable turnover days may increase, which in turn could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

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

Because there has been limited precedent set for the financial accounting for Bitcoin and other digital assets and related revenue recognition and limited official guidance has 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 the accounting methods we currently intend to employ in respect of our anticipated revenues and assets and restate any financial statements produced based on those methods. Such a restatement could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights, which could have a material adverse effect on business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to obtain adequate protection for all of our existing and future intellectual property and other proprietary rights in every country in which we operate. Protecting our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights may require significant financial, managerial and operational resources. Moreover, the steps that we may take to protect our intellectual property and other proprietary rights may not be adequate to protect such rights or prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating such rights. Any of our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights, whether registered, unregistered, issued or unissued, may be challenged by others or invalidated through administrative proceedings and/or litigation. In addition, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or otherwise violating our intellectual property rights and other proprietary rights. We may initiate claims, administrative proceedings and/or litigation against others for infringement, misappropriation or violation of our intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights to enforce and/or maintain the validity of such rights. Any such action, if initiated, whether or not it is resolved in our favor, could result in significant expense to us, and divert the time and attention of our personnel, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may face intellectual property infringement claims or other related disputes, which could be time-consuming, costly to defend or settle and result in the loss of significant rights and lower sales.

We may be subject to infringement claims from time to time or otherwise become aware of potentially relevant patents or other IP rights held by other parties that may cover some of our technology, services and products. Patent litigation has increased in recent years owing to increased assertions made by IP licensing entities and increasing competition in our markets. Additionally, we may enter into licensing agreements with third parties for the use of their proprietary technologies, primarily software development tools, in the development of our services and products. As with any business relationship, we may face disputes and lawsuits related to such agreements. As our operations continue to grow in size and scale, the likelihood of becoming involved in IP related lawsuits and disputes to protect or defend our IP rights and the use of third-party IP rights will increase. In addition, it is extremely difficult for us to monitor all of the patent applications that have been filed by others and whether, if such pending patents are granted, such patents would have a material and adverse effect on our business if our product and service offering were to infringe upon them.

Other third parties may file claims against us alleging that our services, products, processes, or technologies infringe third-party patents or IP rights. Regardless of their merits or resolutions, such claims could be costly to defend or settle and could divert the efforts and attention of our management and technical personnel. We do not know whether we could prevail in any such proceeding given the complex technical issues and inherent uncertainties involved in IP litigation. In addition, we may be required to indemnify and defend our customers or other business partners from third-party infringement claims and to pay damages in the case of adverse rulings. As such, claims of this sort also could harm our relationships with those parties. If any pending or future proceedings result in an adverse outcome, we could be required to cease our business operations or provision of our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The loss of any member of our senior management team, or our failure to attract, train and retain qualified personnel, especially our R&D and technical personnel, could impair our ability to grow our business and effectively execute our business strategy.

Since our inception, the growth and expansion of our business operations have been dependent upon the business strategies and foresight of our senior management. Our future success also depends, in large part, on the continued contributions of our senior management team. In addition, our future success depends on our ability to retain, attract and incentivize qualified personnel, especially our R&D and technical personnel. The process of hiring employees with the combination of skills and characteristics required to implement our strategy can be extremely competitive and time-consuming. We cannot assure you that we will be able to attract adequate personnel as we continue to pursue our business strategies.

Moreover, we cannot assure you that we will be able to retain key existing employees. The loss of any of our senior management or R&D team members could harm our ability to implement our business strategies and respond to the rapidly changing market conditions in which we operate, or could result in other operating risks. The loss of one or more of our key employees or our inability to retain, attract and motivate qualified personnel, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may be subject to fines and other administrative penalties resulting from our business operations, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operation.

Our current operations are primarily subject to the regulations in Singapore and the United States. These relevant regulatory authorities have broad powers to adopt regulations and other requirements affecting or restricting our operations, including the regulation of digital assets and mining operations, as well as tax policies. Moreover, these relevant regulatory authorities possess significant powers to enforce applicable regulatory requirements in the event of our non-compliance, including the imposition of fines, sanctions or the revocation of licenses or permits to operate our business. If we face administrative fines or penalties concerning our operations or our subsidiaries, it could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

We will grant employees share options or other equity incentives, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

We have assumed the 2022 Share Incentive Plan of Finfront upon the completion of the Business Combination. Pursuant to the assumed 2022 Share Incentive Plan (the “2022 Share Incentive Plan”), we may grant share-based awards to our employees, directors and consultants to incentivize their performance and align their interests. The maximum aggregate number of Ordinary Shares that may be issued under the 2022 Share Incentive Plan is 7,500,000 Ordinary Shares. As of the date of this Report, we have not granted any share options or other share-based awards under the 2022 Share Incentive Plan. We may grant share-based compensation in the future pursuant to the 2022 Share Incentive Plan or other share incentive plans that we adopt from time to time, including in the form share options and restricted stock units. We will be required to account for share-based compensation expenses in accordance with the applicable accounting standards. The Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation generally requires a company to recognize, as an expense, the fair value of share options and other equity incentives to employees based on the fair value of equity awards on the date of the grant, with the compensation expense recognized over the period in which the recipient is required to provide service in exchange for the equity award. If we grant options or other equity incentives in the future, we could incur significant compensation charges and our results of operations could be adversely affected. Such grants could also have dilutive impact on our existing shareholders.

If we fail to implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls to remediate our material weakness over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately report our results of operations, meet our reporting obligations or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our Ordinary Shares may be materially and adversely affected.

Prior to the Business Combination, we were a private company with limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources with which we addressed our internal control over financial reporting. As defined in the standards established by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a “material weakness” is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

In connection with the preparation of its combined and consolidated financial statements included in this Report, we identified one material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting in 2022. Our independent registered public accounting firm has not conducted an audit of our internal control over financial reporting. The material weakness that has been identified related to insufficient accounting personnel with appropriate experience and knowledge to address complex accounting matters in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm undertook a comprehensive assessment of our internal control under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for purposes of identifying and reporting any weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.

We are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or Section 404, will require that us include a report from management on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our annual report on Form 20-F beginning with our annual report in our second annual report on Form 20-F after becoming a public company. In addition, once we cease to be an “emerging growth company” as such term is defined in the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm must attest to and report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, even if our management concludes that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, our independent registered public accounting firm, after conducting its own independent testing, may issue an adverse opinion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting if it is not satisfied with our internal controls or the level at which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if it interprets the relevant requirements differently from us. In addition, as a public company, our reporting obligations may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources and systems for the foreseeable future. We may be unable to timely complete our evaluation testing and any required remediation.

During the course of documenting and testing our internal control procedures, in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404, we may identify other weaknesses and deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting, as these standards are modified, supplemented or amended from time to time, we may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that it has effective internal control over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404. Generally speaking, if we fail to achieve and maintain an effective internal control environment, it could result in material misstatements in our financial statements and could also impair our ability to comply with applicable financial reporting requirements and related regulatory filings on a timely basis. As a result, our businesses, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, as well as the trading price of the Ordinary Shares, may be materially and adversely affected. Additionally, ineffective internal control over financial reporting could expose us to increased risk of fraud or misuse of corporate assets and subject us to potential delisting from the stock exchange on which we list, regulatory investigations and civil or criminal sanctions. We may also be required to restate our financial statements from prior periods.

As a public company, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. For example, as a public company, we need to meet the applicable requirement of Nasdaq for independent directors and adopt policies regarding internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures. Operating as a public company may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. In addition, we incur additional costs associated with our public company reporting requirements. It may also be more difficult for us to find qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or as executive officers.

After we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we may incur significant expenses and devote substantial management effort toward ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 404 and the other rules and regulations of the SEC.

Losses relating to our business may be uninsured, or insurance may be limited.

Our business is subject to hazards and risks normally associated with the daily operations of the mining digital assets, including the loss of digital assets and miners. Currently, other than general third-party liability insurance and insurance coverage for our miners, we do not maintain any other insurance policies for our business, or the assets and other properties utilized in our business operations. As such, our current lack of insurance protection may result in interruption of our operations, subject us to significant losses or liabilities and damage our reputation. Additionally, it may not be possible, either because of a lack of available policies, limits on coverage or prohibitive cost, for us to obtain insurance of any type that would cover losses associated with our operations and digital asset portfolio. In general, we anticipate that certain losses related to our business will be uninsurable, or the cost of insuring against these losses will not be economically justifiable. If an uninsured loss occurs or a loss exceeds policy limits, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our operations and those of our business partners and customers are vulnerable to natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, and other events beyond our control, the occurrence of which may have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business operations and those of our suppliers and customers are faced with numerous risks, including those arising from pandemics, capacity constraints, labor strikes, fire, natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes, typhoons), and environmental or occupational disasters. Any of these events could disrupt our business operations. Facilities supporting our business operations could suffer significant disruptions due to earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, and other natural disasters or other events beyond our control. We are currently not covered by insurance against such business disruption. The manufacturing facilities of our suppliers could also be materially and adversely affected by earthquakes, extreme weather conditions, and other natural disasters or other events beyond our or the suppliers’ control.

Our business could also be adversely affected by epidemics or outbreaks such as COVID-19, avian flu, and H1N1. An outbreak of those pandemics in the human population, or another similar health crisis, could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of entire regions, and cause significant turbulences to the market and supply chain relating to the digital assets. Moreover, any related disruptions to transportation or the free movement of persons could hamper our operations and force us or our suppliers to close the offices and facilities. The occurrence of any of the foregoing or other natural or man-made disasters could affect our suppliers, customers, other business partners and employees, result in significant delays, shortages or other disruptions of our services and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Industry

It may be or become illegal to acquire, own, hold, sell or use digital assets, participate in the digital asset networks, or transfer or utilize digital assets in jurisdictions where we operate due to adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment in such jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial position and results of operations.

We primarily operate in the United States and Singapore and provides cloud-mining services to a global customer base. Changes in policies and laws regarding holding, using and/or mining of digital assets, in particular Bitcoins, in the jurisdictions where we provide services and products could impose restrictions on our operations and cause a decline in customer orders, and adversely affect our business operations and results of operations. We may have to relocate our operations, adjust our business, face legal and other liabilities and experience a material loss of revenue if any jurisdiction where we provide services or products or operates our business prohibits or restricts digital asset mining activities.

We are subject to significant uncertainties regarding future regulations pertaining to the holding, using or mining of Bitcoin and other digital assets. While Bitcoin and other digital assets have gradually gained more market acceptance in many countries, digital mining and blockchain transactions are anonymous and may be used for black market transactions, money laundering, tax evasion or other illegal activities. Some jurisdictions have introduced restrictions over the uses of digital assets, including the use of digital assets as a medium of exchange, the conversion between digital assets and fiat currencies or between digital assets, the provision of trading and other services related to digital assets by financial institutions and payment channels, and initial coin offerings and other means of capital raising based on digital assets. Our existing policies and procedures against such activities may not completely eliminate instances of money laundering and other illegal or improper activities by other parties utilizing our cloud-mining services. We cannot assure you that there it will be able to detect all instances of money laundering or other illegal or improper activities.

With advances in technology, global digital asset mining industry is likely to undergo significant changes in the future. It remains uncertain whether we will be able to cope with, or benefit from, those changes. In addition, as the mining of Bitcoin and other digital assets mining uses sophisticated devices that require a significant amount of electricity supply, future developments in the regulation of energy consumption, including possible restrictions on energy usage in the jurisdictions where we operate may also cause us to adjust our business operations and adversely affect the demand for our services or products. There have been public backlashes surrounding the environmental impacts of Bitcoin and other digital assets mining, particularly the large consumption of electricity, and governments of various jurisdictions have adopted measures, such as limit internet access and power supply to respond. For example, in the United States, certain local governments have discussed measures to address environmental impacts of digital assets mining operations, such as the high electricity consumption of digital assets mining activities. If the public opinion against or government measures restricting or prohibiting digital asset mining activities continue, such development could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any such government action could also have a deleterious impact on, or result in an increase in the volatility of the price of digital assets and miners. Moreover, we may have to adjust our business or to discontinue mining operations, or relocate to other jurisdictions in response to adverse change in regulations or government actions. However, such process would likely result in significant costs and disruption of operations. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected by these adverse changes in the regulatory and policy environment.

Concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change may result in environmental taxes, charges, assessments or penalties and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The effects of human activity on global climate change have attracted considerable public and scientific attention, as well as the attention of the United States and other governments. Efforts are being made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly those from coal combustion power plants, some of which plants we and our hosting facility suppliers may rely upon for power. The added cost of any environmental taxes, charges, assessments or penalties levied on such power plants could be passed on to us, increasing the cost to provide hosting services to our customers. Any enactment of laws or promulgations of regulations regarding greenhouse gas emissions by the United States, or any domestic or foreign jurisdiction in which we conduct business, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

If there are significant changes to the method of validating blockchain transactions, such changes could harm our self-mining business and reduce demand for our cloud-mining and hosting services.

New digital asset transaction protocols are continuously being deployed, and existing and new protocols are in a state of constant change and development. While certain validation protocols currently employ a “proof of work” consensus algorithm, whereby transaction processors are required to expend significant amounts of electrical and hash calculations to solve complex mathematical problems in order to validate transactions and create new blocks in a blockchain, there may be a shift towards adopting alternative validating protocols. These protocols may include a “proof of stake” algorithm or an algorithm based on a protocol other than proof of work, which may decrease the reliance on mining capacity as an advantage to validating blocks. Our transaction processing operations are currently designed to primarily support a proof of work consensus algorithm. Should the algorithm shift from a proof of work validation method to a proof of stake method, mining would require less energy and may render any company that maintains advantages in the current climate (for example, from lower priced electricity, processing, property or hosting) less competitive. As a result of our efforts to optimize and improve the efficiency of our operations, we may be exposed to the risk in the future of losing the benefit of our capital investments and the competitive advantage we hope to gain as a result. Any such change to transaction validating protocols could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Substantial increases in the supply of mining equipment connected to the blockchain network would lead to an increase in network hash rate, which in turn would increase mining difficulty and negatively affect the economic returns of digital asset mining activities, which would decrease the demand for and/or pricing of our services and products.

The difficulty of digital asset mining, or the amount of computational resources required for a set amount of reward for recording a new block, directly affects the expected economic returns for miners, which in turn affects the demand for our miners and services. Digital asset mining difficulty is a measure of the amount of hash calculations required to record a new block and it is affected by the total amount of hash rate in the digital asset network. The digital asset algorithm is designed so that one block is generated, on average, every ten minutes, no matter how much hash rate is in the network. Thus, as more mining capacities join the network, and assuming the rate of block creation does not change, the amount of hash calculations required to generate each block and hence the mining difficulty increases. In other words, based on the current design of the digital asset network, digital asset mining difficulty would increase together with the total hash rate available in the digital asset network, which is in turn affected by the number of miners in operation. Further growth in the total hash rate in the blockchain network may drive up the difficulty of digital asset mining and resulting in downward pressure on the expected economic return of digital asset mining and the demand for, and pricing of, our services and products.

A slowdown in the demand for blockchain technology or blockchain hosting resources, or lack of market acceptance of blockchain networks and digital assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Adverse developments in the blockchain and digital asset industry could lead to a decrease in the demand for our services and products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, the collapse and subsequent insolvency proceedings of FTX also expose us to the contagion risks related to the broader digital asset industry. We face risks including:

To the extent that any of these or other adverse conditions exist, they are likely to have an adverse impact on mining rewards and market demand and pricing for our services, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Additionally, we and our customers are affected by general business and economic conditions in the jurisdictions they operate, which in turn affect the market acceptance of blockchain networks and digital assets. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, money supply, political issues, legislative and regulatory changes, including the imposition of new tariffs affecting our or our customers’ services and products, fluctuations in both debt and equity capital markets and broad trends in industry and finance, all of which are beyond our control. Macroeconomic conditions that affect the economy and the economic outlook could adversely affect our customers and vendors, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Recent disruption in the digital asset industry, including multiple bankruptcy proceedings filed by industry participants, may adversely affect development of digital asset industry in general and subject market participants, including us, to reputational harm.

The prices of digital assets, including Bitcoin, have experienced substantial volatility. For example, the price of Bitcoin ranged from approximately US$30,000 to approximately US$68,000 in 2021, from approximately US$16,000 to approximately US$46,000 in 2022, and from approximately US$17,000 to approximately US$44,000 in 2023, and have continued to experience significant volatility since then, reaching approximately US$70,000 as of April 12, 2024, according to Google Finance. In 2022 and 2023, a number of companies in the digital asset industry have declared bankruptcy, including Core Scientific, Celsius, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, FTX, and Genesis Holdco. Those bankruptcy proceedings contributed, at least in part, to further price decreases in Bitcoin observed during those periods, a loss of confidence in the participants of the digital asset ecosystem and negative publicity surrounding the digital asset industry. In particular, negative publicity surrounding the digital asset industry may cause investors and customers to lose confidence and trust in digital asset mining and companies and digital asset exchanges, or the use of digital assets in general. As of the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoins in our account maintained at FTX. As a result of the FTX bankruptcy proceeding, we recorded impairment loss on assets held by FTX of US$9.8 million (remeasured using the carrying value of Bitcoin as of December 31, 2022) in 2022. We did not record impairment loss on assets held by FTX in 2023. Although we are not directly connected to these recent market events, we may still suffer reputational harm due to our association with the digital asset industry in general and our past transaction with FTX in particular. Such reputational harm may adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations.

Digital asset exchanges and wallets, and to a lesser extent, the digital asset network itself, may suffer from hacking and fraud risks, which may adversely erode user confidence in digital assets, which would decrease the demand for our services and products.

Digital asset transactions, as with any virtual system, are subject to risks from hackers, malware and operational glitches. Hackers can target digital asset exchanges and transactions to gain access to thousands of accounts and digital wallets where digital assets are stored. Digital asset transactions and accounts are not insured by any type of government program and all digital asset transactions are permanent because there is no third party or payment processor. Digital assets have suffered from hacking and cyber-theft as such incidents have been reported by several digital asset exchanges and miners, highlighting concerns about the security of digital assets and therefore affecting its demand and price. Also, the price and exchange of digital assets may be affected due to fraud risk. While digital asset uses private key encryption to verify owners and register transactions, fraudsters and scammers may attempt to sell false digital assets. All of the above may adversely affect the operation of the digital asset network which would erode user confidence in digital assets, which would negatively affect demand for our services and products.

The “halving” of rewards available on the Bitcoin network, or the reduction of rewards on other networks could have a negative impact on our ability to generate revenue as there may not be adequate incentive to continue transaction processing and transaction processing operations may be ceased altogether, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Under the current protocols governing the Bitcoin network, the reward for validating a new block on that network is cut in half from time to time, which has been referred to in our industry as “halving.” When the Bitcoin network was first launched, the reward for validating a new block was 50 Bitcoin. In 2012, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 25 Bitcoin. In July 2016, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 12.5 Bitcoin, and in May 2020, the reward was reduced to 6.25 Bitcoin. On April 20, 2024, the reward was further reduced to 3.125 Bitcoin. The next halving for Bitcoin will occur when the block numbers reach 1,050,000 and is currently expected to occur in 2028. In addition, other digital asset networks may operate under rules that, or may alter their rules to, limit the distribution of new digital assets. If the reward of digital assets for solving blocks and transaction fees, in particular those for Bitcoins, are not sufficiently high, neither we nor our customers may have an adequate incentive to continue transaction processing and may cease transaction processing operations altogether, which may significantly reduce demand for our services. As a result, the halving of available rewards on the Bitcoin network, or any reduction of rewards on other networks, would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, the reduction of rewards may reduce our profit margins, which could result in us selling a substantial portion of our digital assets, which are subject to high volatility. If we are forced to sell digital assets at low prices, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Malicious actors or botnet may obtain control of more than 50% of the processing power on the Bitcoin or other network, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

If a malicious actor or botnet (a volunteer or hacked collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers) obtains a majority of the processing power dedicated to mining on the Bitcoin or other network, it may be able to alter the blockchain on which the Bitcoin or other network and most Bitcoin or other digital asset transactions rely by constructing fraudulent blocks or preventing certain transactions from completing in a timely manner, or at all. The malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude, or modify the ordering of transactions, though it could not generate new Bitcoin or digital assets or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could “double-spend” its own Bitcoin or digital assets (i.e., spend the same Bitcoin or digital assets in more than one transaction) and prevent the confirmation of others’ transactions for so long as it maintained control. To the extent that such malicious actor or botnet did not yield our control of the processing power on the Bitcoin or other network, or the Bitcoin or other community did not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to the blockchain may not be possible.

Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of the Bitcoin blockchain achieved through controlling over 50% of the processing power on the network, it is believed that certain mining pools may have exceeded the 50% threshold. The possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicates a greater risk in that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of Bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the Bitcoin or other digital asset ecosystems, including developers and administrators of mining pools, do not act to ensure greater decentralization of Bitcoin or other digital asset mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power on the Bitcoin or other network will increase, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations and prospects.

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

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

Many digital asset networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, digital assets are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. In this respect, Bitcoin may be particularly affected as it relies on the “proof of work” validation, which due to its inherent characteristics may be particularly hard to scale to allow simultaneous processing of multiple daily transactions by users. Participants in the digital asset ecosystem debate potential approaches to increasing the average number of transactions per second that the network can handle and have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as “sharding,” which is a term for a horizontal partition of data in a database or search engine, which would not require every single transaction to be included in every single miner’s or validator’s block.

The mechanisms in place or being explored for increasing the scale of settlement of digital asset transactions may not be effective, and it is uncertain how long they will take to become effective or whether such mechanisms will be effective for all digital assets. There is also a risk that any mechanisms of increasing the scale of digital asset settlements, may significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the digital asset market and may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin stock, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If the reward of new digital assets and/or transaction fees for solving blocks are not sufficiently high to incentivize transaction processors, such processors may reduce or cease expending processing power on a particular network, which could negatively impact the utility of the network, reduce the value of our digital assets and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As the number of digital assets rewarded to transaction processors for validating blocks in a network decreases, the incentive for transaction processors to continue contributing processing power to the network may shift toward transaction fees. Such a shift may increase the transaction fees on a network. Higher transaction fees may reduce the utility of a network for an end user, which may cause end users to reduce or stop their use of that network. In such case, the price of the relevant digital asset may decline substantially and could go to zero. Such reduced price and demand for, and use of, the relevant digital asset and network may reduce the customers’ demand for our cloud-mining services and hosting services, and reduce the return for our self-mining operations, all of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

A soft or hard fork on a network could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The rules governing a network’s protocol are subject to constant changes and, at any given time, there may be different groups of developers that can modify a network’s protocol. As network protocols are not sold and their use does not generate revenues for their development teams, the core developers are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the network protocols. Consequently, there is a lack of financial incentive for developers to maintain or develop networks and the core developers may lack the resources to adequately address emerging issues with network protocols. Although the Bitcoin and other leading digital asset networks are currently supported by core developers, there can be no guarantee that such support will continue or be sufficient in the future. To the extent that material issues arise with the Bitcoin or another network protocol and the core developers and open-source contributors are unable to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner, the networks may be adversely affected.

Any individual can download the applicable network software and make any desired modifications that alter the protocols and software of the network, which are proposed to developers, users and transaction processors on the applicable network through software downloads and upgrades, typically posted to development forums such as GitHub.com. Such proposed modifications can be agreed upon, developed, adopted and implemented by a substantial majority of developers, transaction processors and users, which, in such event, results in a “soft fork” or “hard fork” on the relevant network. A “soft fork” occurs when an updated version of the validating protocol is still “backwards compatible” with previous versions of the protocol. As a result, non-upgraded network participants with an older version of the validating protocol will still recognize new blocks or transactions and may be able to confirm and validate a transaction; however, the functionality of the non-upgraded network participant may be limited. Thus, non-upgraded network participants are incentivized to adopt the updated version of the protocol. The occurrence of a soft fork could potentially destabilize transaction processing and increase transaction and development costs and decrease trustworthiness of a network.

A “hard fork” occurs when the updated version of the validating protocol is not “backwards compatible” with previous versions of the protocol, and therefore, requires forward adoption by network participants in order to recognize new blocks, validate and verify transactions and maintain consensus on the relevant blockchain. Since the updated version of the protocol is not backwards compatible, a hard fork can cause the relevant blockchain to permanently diverge into two separate blockchains on a network. For example, in the case of Bitcoin, a hard fork created two new digital assets: Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. The value of a newly created digital asset from a hard fork (“forked digital asset”) may or may not have value in the long-run and may affect the price of other digital assets if interest and resources are shifted away from previously existing digital assets to the forked digital asset. The value of a previously existing digital asset after a hard fork is subject to many factors, including the market reaction and value of the forked digital asset and the occurrence of other soft or hard forks in the future. As such, the value of certain digital assets could be materially reduced if existing and future hard forks have a negative effect on their value.

If a soft fork or hard fork occurs on a network, which we or our customers are processing transactions or hold digital assets in, we may be required to upgrade our hardware or software in order to continue our operations, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to make such upgrades. A soft fork or hard fork in a particular digital asset that we deal with could have a negative effect on the value of that digital asset and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The supply of Bitcoins available for mining is limited and we may not be able to quickly adapt to new businesses when all the Bitcoins have been mined.

The total Bitcoin supply is designed to be approximately 21 million, and approximately 19.6 million Bitcoins had already been mined as of December 31, 2023, according to CoinGecko.com. The number of blocks that can be solved in a year is designed to be fixed, and the number of Bitcoins awarded for solving a block in the blockchain halves approximately every four years until the estimated complete depletion of Bitcoin available for mining by around 2140. While the remaining Bitcoins are not designed to be entirely depleted in the near future, a decrease in the reward for solving a block or in the transaction fees may result in a decrease in demand for the cloud-mining and miner hosting services relating to Bitcoin, and the loss of Bitcoin’s dominant position among the digital assets, thereby reducing the demand for our services and products to the extent they depend on the prospects of Bitcoins. We may not be able to quickly adapt to new businesses or expand to other digital assets when all the Bitcoins have been discovered or Bitcoin is replaced by other digital assets as the mainstream digital asset, which will result in a significant negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework

Regulatory changes or actions may restrict the use of digital assets or the operation of digital asset networks in a manner that may require us to cease certain or all operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Recently, there has been a significant amount of regulatory attention directed toward digital assets, digital asset networks and other industry participants by United States federal and state governments, foreign governments and self-regulatory agencies. For example, as digital assets such as Bitcoin have grown in popularity and in market size, the Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Congress and certain U.S. agencies including Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the SEC, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have begun to examine the operations of the Bitcoin network, Bitcoin users and Bitcoin exchange markets. In addition, local state regulators have initiated actions against, and investigations of, individuals and companies involved in digital assets.

Additionally, the recent bankruptcy filings of FTX and other digital asset companies in recent years have attracted heightened regulatory scrutiny from U.S. regulatory agencies such as the SEC and CFTC. Increasing regulation may result in additional compliance costs and require us and our management to devote increased time and attention to regulatory matters or change aspects of our business. Increasingly strict legal and regulatory requirements and any regulatory investigation and enforcement action may result in changes to our business and relationship with customers and service providers, as well as increased costs. For example, the State of New York passed a two-year moratorium that restricts issuance of new permits for proof-of-work mining operations that are powered by an electric generating facility utilizing carbon-based fuel, and the province of Manitoba in Canada has enacted an 18-month moratorium on new crypto mining operations. We currently utilize the hosting services from hosting facilities located in New York, which are powered by hydro power. Furthermore, although we do not currently collaborate with mining facilities in Canada, similar legislation may be adopted by other states and non-U.S. jurisdictions where we have operations, which could require us to adjust our collaboration with affected mining facilities or temporarily suspend affected operations all together. New laws, regulations, or interpretations may result in additional litigation, regulatory investigations, and enforcement or other actions, all of which could significantly restrict or eliminate the market for or uses of digital assets in general and Bitcoin in particular.

Additionally, we rely on third parties for the supply of the key services and products used in our business operations, and any regulatory restrictions on their practices could significantly reduce demand for our services and products. Furthermore, it is possible that laws, regulations or directives that affect digital assets, digital asset transaction processing, or mining and hosting activities may change in a manner that may adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and operations in the relevant jurisdiction.

In addition, various foreign jurisdictions either have adopted or may adopt laws, regulations or directives that affect digital assets, digital asset networks, their users and service providers and suppliers that fall within such jurisdictions’ regulatory scope. Such laws, regulations or directives may conflict with those of the United States, may negatively impact the acceptance of digital assets by users, merchants and service providers outside of the United States and may therefore impede the growth of digital asset use. A number of countries, including India, China, South Korea and Russia, among others, currently have a more restrictive stance toward digital assets and, thereby, have reduced the rate of expansion of digital asset use, as well as digital asset transaction processing, in each of those countries. For example, a number of digital asset transaction processing operators have moved their operations from the restricted jurisdictions to other jurisdictions in order to build in more regulatory certainty in their operations. Governments may in the future take regulatory actions that prohibit or severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell, use, dispose or trade digital assets or to exchange digital assets for fiat currency. Ownership and disposition of, holding or trading in digital assets may then be considered illegal and subject to sanction. Governments may also take regulatory action that may increase the cost and/or subject digital asset mining to additional regulation. Such tightening regulations could limit the ability of us, our customers, end users and other business partners in conducting digital asset-related activities, and in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we were deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act, applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated.

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

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

While certain digital assets may be deemed to be securities, we do not believe that certain other digital assets, in particular Bitcoin, are securities; therefore, we believe that less than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis will comprise digital assets that could be considered investment securities. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an inadvertent investment company by virtue of the 40% inadvertent investment company test as described in the second bullet point above. Although we do not believe any of the digital assets we may own, acquire or mine are securities, there is still some regulatory uncertainty on the subject, see “—Risks Related to Our Industry—We face uncertainties relating to whether cloud-mining operations and a particular digital asset will be deemed as “security” in any relevant jurisdiction, and we may be subject to regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, and other penalties if such digital asset is deemed to be dealing with “security,” which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.” If certain digital assets, including Bitcoin, were to be deemed securities, and consequently, investment securities by the SEC, we could be deemed an inadvertent investment company. Similarly, if we were to acquire digital assets deemed investment securities to hold for our own account or to engage in certain transactions, such as loan or repurchase transactions, we could be deemed an inadvertent investment company.

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

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

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

To the extent the SEC staff publishes new guidance with respect to these matters, we may be required to adjust our strategy or assets accordingly. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our exclusion from registration as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. In addition, as a consequence of our seeking to avoid the need to register under the Investment Company Act on an ongoing basis, we may be limited in our ability to engage in digital asset mining operations or otherwise make certain investments or engage in certain transactions, and these limitations could result in our holding assets we may wish to sell or selling assets we may wish to hold, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are required to register as a money services business (“MSB”) under the regulations promulgated by the FinCEN, or otherwise under state laws, we may incur significant compliance costs, which may have a material negative effect on our business and the results of operations.

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

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

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

We face uncertainties relating to whether cloud-mining operations and a particular digital asset will be deemed as “security” in any relevant jurisdiction, and we may be subject to regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, and other penalties if such digital asset is deemed to be dealing with “security,” which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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

Bitcoin is the oldest and most well-known form of digital asset. Bitcoin and other forms of digital assets have been the source of much regulatory consternation, resulting in differing definitional outcomes without a single unifying statement. Bitcoin and other digital assets are viewed differently by different regulatory and standards setting organizations globally as well as in the United States on the federal and state levels. For example, the Financial Action Task Force considers a digital asset as currency or an asset, and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) considers a digital asset as property and not currency. Further, the IRS has indicated that general tax principles that apply to property transactions should also apply to transactions involving virtual currency, although there is no indication yet whether courts or other tax regulators will follow this classification.

Furthermore, in the several applications to establish an exchange traded fund (“ETF”) of digital assets, and in the questions raised by SEC staff under the Investment Company Act, no clear principles emerge from the regulators as to how they view these issues and how to regulate digital assets under the applicable securities acts. On January 10, 2024, the SEC approved the listing and trading of a number of spot bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) shares. In his statement on the approval of spot bitcoin ETPs, SEC chairman Gary Gensler cautioned that such approval does not signal SEC’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities, nor SEC’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws.

On April 20, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill titled “Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021“ (H.R. 1602). If passed by the Senate and enacted into law, the bipartisan bill would create a digital assets working group to evaluate the current legal and regulatory framework around digital assets in the United States and define when the SEC may have jurisdiction over a particular token or digital asset (i.e., when it is a security) and when the CFTC may have jurisdiction (i.e., when it is a commodity). Furthermore, it is uncertain whether cloud-mining operations will be deemed as a form of “securities” under the securities laws of the United States or other jurisdictions where we have operations.

If regulatory changes or interpretations require the regulation of digital assets and cloud-mining operations under the securities laws of the United States or elsewhere, including the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the Investment Company Act or similar laws of other jurisdictions and interpretations by the SEC, the CFTC, the IRS, Department of Treasury or other agencies or authorities, we may be required to register and comply with such regulations, including at a state or local level. To the extent that we decide to continue operations, the required registrations and regulatory compliance steps may result in extraordinary expense or burdens to us. We may also decide to cease certain operations and change our business model. For example, while we do not anticipate engaging in digital asset-denominated loan transactions, we would be required to assess the application of, and comply with, federal securities laws in connection with those or similar transactions. Any disruption of our operations in response to the changed regulatory circumstances may be at a time that is disadvantageous.

The SEC and its staff have taken the position that certain digital assets fall within the definition of a “security” under the U.S. federal securities laws. The legal test for determining whether any given digital asset is a security is a highly complex, fact-driven analysis that evolves over time, and the outcome is difficult to predict. The SEC generally does not provide advance guidance or confirmation on the status of any particular digital asset as a security. Additionally, the SEC’s views in this area have evolved over time, and it is difficult to predict the direction or timing of any continuing evolution. Furthermore, it is also possible that a change in the governing administration or the appointment of new SEC commissioners could substantially impact the views of the SEC and its staff. Public statements by senior officials at the SEC indicate that the SEC does not intend to take the position that Bitcoin or Ethereum, in their current form, are securities. However, Bitcoin and Ethereum are the only digital assets as to which senior officials at the SEC have publicly expressed such a view. Such statements are not official policy statements by the SEC and reflect only the speakers’ views, which are not binding on the SEC or any other agency or court, and cannot be generalized to any other digital asset. With respect to all other digital assets, there is currently no certainty under the applicable legal test that such assets are not securities, notwithstanding the conclusions we may draw based on our assessment regarding the likelihood that a particular digital asset could be deemed a “security” under applicable laws. Similarly, though the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology published a framework for analyzing whether any given digital asset is a security in April 2019, this framework is also not a rule, regulation or statement of the SEC and is not binding on the SEC.

We have adopted risk-based policies and procedures to analyze whether the digital assets that we mine, hold and sell for our own account could be deemed to be a “security” under applicable laws. Our policies and procedures do not constitute a legal standard, but rather represent our management’s assessment, based on advice of our securities counsel, regarding the likelihood that a particular digital asset could be deemed a “security” under applicable laws. Regardless of our conclusions, we could be subject to legal or regulatory action in the event the SEC, a foreign regulatory authority, or a court were to determine that a digital asset currently held by us are a “security” under applicable laws. If the digital assets mined and held by us are deemed as securities, it could limit distributions, transfers, or other actions involving such digital assets, including mining, in the United States. In addition, miners on blockchain networks could, under certain circumstances, be viewed as statutory underwriters or as “brokers” subject to regulation under the Exchange Act. This could require us or our customers to change, limit, or cease mining operations, register as broker-dealers and comply with applicable law, or be subject to penalties, including fines. In addition, we could be subject to judicial or administrative sanctions for failing to sell the digital asset or distribute block rewards in compliance with the registration requirements, or for acting as a broker, dealer, or national securities exchange without appropriate registration. Such an action could result in injunctions, cease and desist orders, as well as civil monetary penalties, fines, and disgorgement, criminal liability, and reputational harm.

Furthermore, the SEC may determine that certain digital assets or interests, for example tokens offered and sold in initial coin offerings (“ICO”), may constitute securities under the “Howey” test as stated by the United States Supreme Court. As such, ICO offerings would require registration under the Securities Act or an available exemption therefrom for offers or sales in the United States to be lawful. Section 5(a) of the Securities Act provides that, unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to engage in the offer or sale of securities in interstate commerce. Section 5(c) of the Securities Act provides a similar prohibition against offers to sell, or offers to buy, unless a registration statement has been filed. Although we do not intend to be engaged in the offer or sale of securities in the form of ICO offerings, and we do not believe our mining activities would require registration for us to conduct such activities and accumulate digital assets, the SEC, CFTC, Nasdaq, IRS or other governmental or quasi-governmental agency or organization may conclude that our activities involve the offer or sale of “securities,” or ownership of “investment securities,” and we may be subject to regulation or registration requirements under various federal laws and related rules. Such regulation or the inability to meet the requirements to continue operations, would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. We may also face similar issues with various state securities regulators who may interpret our actions as subjecting us to regulation, or requiring registration, under state securities laws, banking laws, or money transmitter and similar laws, which are also an unsettled area or regulation that exposes us to risks.

Current and future legislation and rulemaking regarding digital assets may result in extraordinary, non-recurring expenses and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Current and future legislation and rulemaking by the CFTC and SEC or other regulators, including interpretations released by a regulatory authority, may impact the manner in which digital assets are treated. For example, digital assets derivatives are not excluded from the definition of “commodity future” by the CFTC. Furthermore, according to the CFTC, digital assets fall within the definition of a commodity under the Commodities Exchange Act (the “CEA”) and as a result, we may be required to register and comply with additional regulations under the CEA, including additional periodic reporting and disclosure standards and requirements. We may also be required to register as a commodity pool operator and to register as a commodity pool with the CFTC through the National Futures Association. If we are required to register with the CFTC or another governmental or self- regulatory authority, the scope of our business and operations may be constrained by the rules of such authority and we may be forced to incur additional expenses in the form of licensing fees, professional fees and other costs of compliance.

The SEC has issued guidance and made numerous statements regarding the application of securities laws to digital assets. For example, on July 25, 2017, the SEC issued a Report of Investigation (the “Report of Investigation”) which concluded that tokens offered and sold by the Decentralized Autonomous Organization (“DAO”), a digital decentralized autonomous organization and investor-directed venture capital fund for digital assets, were issued for the purpose of raising funds. The Report of Investigation concluded that these tokens were “investment contracts” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act and Section 3(a)(10) of the Exchange Act, and therefore securities subject to the federal securities laws. In December 2017, the SEC issued a cease-and-desist letter to Munchee Inc., ordering that the company stop its initial coin offering of MUN Tokens on the grounds that it failed to file a registration statement or qualify for an exemption from registration. Similar to the tokens issued by the DAO, the SEC found that the MUN Tokens satisfied the definition of an “investment contract,” and were therefore subject to the federal securities laws. In February 2018, both the SEC and CFTC further reiterated their concerns regarding digital assets in written testimony to the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. On March 7, 2018, the SEC released a “Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets,” and reiterated that, if a platform “offers trading of digital assets that are securities” and “operates as ‘exchange,’ as defined by the federal securities laws,” the platform must register with the SEC as a national securities exchange or be exempt from registration. The SEC’s statement serves as a notice to operators of any platforms, including secondary market trading platforms, which the SEC is actively monitoring for potentially fraudulent or manipulative behavior in the market for security tokens, as the SEC has cautioned recently in the context of ICOs. On November 16, 2018, the SEC released a “Statement on Digital Asset Securities Issuance and Trading,” and emphasized that market participants must adhere to the SEC’s well- established and well-functioning federal securities law framework when dealing with technological innovations, regardless of whether the securities are issued in certificated form or using new technologies, such as blockchain. This has all been followed by additional statements and guidance form the SEC including no-action letters relating to specific blockchain-based projects, and a Framework for “Investment Contract” Analysis of Digital Assets published by the Division of Corporation Finance on April 3, 2019. In an August 2021 interview, SEC Chairman Gensler signaled the SEC is contemplating a robust regulatory regime for digital assets and reiterated the SEC’s position that many digital assets are unregulated securities.

The SEC has been active in asserting its jurisdiction over ICOs and digital assets and in bringing enforcement cases. The SEC has directed enforcement activity toward digital assets, and more specifically, ICOs. In September 2017, the SEC created a new division known as the “Cyber Unit” to address, among other things, violations involving distributed ledger technology and ICOs, and filed a civil complaint in the Eastern District of New York charging a businessman and two companies with defrauding investors in a pair of so-called ICOs purportedly backed by investments in real estate and diamonds (see Securities and Exchange Commission v. Recoin Group Foundation, LLC, et al., Civil Action NO. 17-cv- 05725 (E.D.N.Y., filed Sept. 29, 2017)). Subsequently, the SEC has filed several orders instituting cease-and-desist proceedings against (1) Carrier EQ, Inc., d/b/a AirFox and Paragon Coin, Inc. in connection with their unregistered offerings of tokens (see CarrierEQ, Inc., Rel. No. 33-10575 (Nov. 16, 2018) and Paragon Coin, Inc., Rel. No. 33-10574 (Nov. 16, 2018), respectively), (2) Crypto Asset Management, LP for failing to register a hedge fund formed for the purpose of investing in digital assets as an investment company (see Crypto Asset Management, LP and Timothy Enneking, Rel. No. 33-10544 (Sept. 11, 2018)), (3) TokenLot LLC for failing to register as a broker-dealer, even though it did not meet the definition of an exchange (see Tokenlot LLC, Lenny Kugel, and EliL. Lewitt, Rel. No. 33-10543 (Sept. 11, 2018)) and (4) EtherDelta’s founder for failing either to register as a national securities exchange or to operate pursuant to an exemption from registration as an exchange after creating a platform that clearly fell within the definition of an exchange (see Zachary Coburn, Rel. No. 34- 84553 (Nov. 8, 2018)).

On June 4, 2019, the SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Kik Interactive, Inc. with respect to its September 2017 offering of Kin. According to articles published by various news outlets, the SEC has allegedly issued numerous subpoenas and information requests to technology companies, advisors and individuals involved in the digital asset space and ICOs, as part of a broad inquiry into the digital asset market.

A number of proposed ICOs have sought to rely on Regulation A and have filed with the SEC a Form 1-A covering a distribution of a digital token. Two such offerings were qualified in July 2019. In addition, some token offerings have been commenced as private securities offerings intended to be exempt from SEC registration. The SEC has taken various actions against persons or entities that have allegedly misused digital assets, engaged in fraudulent schemes (i.e., Ponzi scheme) and/or engaged in the sale of tokens that were deemed securities by the SEC.

Although our activities are not focused on raising capital or assisting others that do so, the federal securities laws are very broad. We cannot provide assurance as to whether the SEC will continue or increase its enforcement with respect to digital assets or ICOs, including taking enforcement action against any person engaged in the sale of unregistered securities in violation of the Securities Act or any person acting as an unregistered investment company in violation of the Investment Company Act. Because the SEC has held that certain digital assets are securities based on the current rules and law, we may be required to register and comply with the rules and regulations under federal securities laws.

We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of digital assets under the law, including, but not limited to, whether digital assets will be classified as a security, commodity, currency and/or new or other existing classification. Such additional regulations may result in extraordinary, non- recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely affecting an investment in us. If we determine not to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain or all of our operations. Any such action could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Assertion of jurisdiction by U.S. and foreign regulators, or other government entities over digital assets and digital asset industry may subject market participants, including us, to additional regulation and investigation.

Recent enforcement actions by the SEC with respect to digital assets related insider-trading and fraud activities have demonstrated U.S. regulators’ willingness to assert jurisdiction on digital assets and related transaction. For example, the SEC had recently asserted that it had jurisdictions over digital asset trades executed on the Ethereum blockchain as such transactions occurred in the United States, where blockchain validation nodes were clustered. Regulators in other jurisdictions may adopt similar views in the future. Assertion of jurisdiction by U.S. and foreign regulators may subject market participants in the digital asset industry, including us, to evolving and complex regulation, and significantly increase their compliance costs. Although we currently are not aware of any regulatory proceeding or investigation against our operations, any failure on our part to comply with applicable regulation, including those asserted by U.S. and foreign regulators in the future, may subject it to regulatory investigation and penalties, potentially across multiple jurisdictions.

We may experience difficulties in establishing relationships with banks, leasing companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions that are willing to provide us with customary financial services and products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As an early stage company with operations focused in the digital asset industry, we have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, difficulties in establishing relationships with banks, leasing companies, insurance companies and other financial institutions that are willing to provide us with customary leasing and financial services and products, such as bank accounts, lines of credit, insurance and other related services, which are necessary for our operations. To the extent a significant portion of our business depends on digital assets and the related mining, processing, hosting or other business activities, we may in the future continue to experience difficulty obtaining additional financial services and products on customary terms, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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 U.S. Department of Treasury (“OFAC”) 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 and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC’s SDN list. Our internal policies prohibit any transactions with such SDN individuals, but we may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the individual with whom we transact or our end customers. In addition, in the future, OFAC or another regulator, may require us to screen transactions for OFAC addresses or other bad actors before including such transactions in a block, which may increase our compliance costs, decrease our anticipated transaction fees and lead to decreased traffic on our network. Any of these factors, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Moreover, federal law prohibits any U.S. person from knowingly or unknowingly possessing any visual depiction commonly known as child pornography. Recent media reports have suggested that persons have imbedded such depictions on one or more blockchains. To the extent government enforcement authorities literally enforce these and other laws and regulations that are impacted by decentralized distributed ledger technology, we may be subject to investigation, administrative or court proceedings, and civil or criminal monetary fines and penalties, all of which could harm our reputation and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Because there is limited guidance for tax reporting and accounting of Bitcoin and other digital asset transactions, the determinations that we have made for how to account for or report the tax treatment of digital asset transactions may be subject to change and challenge by relevant tax authorities in various countries, including the United States. Failure to properly report activity related to digital assets for tax or accounting purposes may have negative regulatory or legal outcomes and harm our financial condition, results of operations and reputation.

In recent years, the rise of digital asset prices and transaction volume has attracted the attention of tax authorities. As the laws governing digital assets are still evolving, the tax treatment of digital assets in various jurisdictions are subject to change. U.S. federal, state and local non-U.S. jurisdictions could impose, levy or otherwise enforce tax laws against us. While some countries intend to or have imposed taxation on digital assets and transactions, other tax authorities are silent. As there is considerable uncertainty over the taxation of digital assets, we cannot guarantee that digital assets and transactions denominated in digital assets will not be subject to further taxation in the future, including but not limited to additional taxes, interest and penalties. These events could reduce the economic returns of digital assets and increase the holding costs of digital assets, which could materially and adversely affect the economic returns to our customers as well as to us for mining activities, and affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Because there has been limited guidance for the tax reporting or accounting of digital assets and limited guidance has been provided by the IRS, it is unclear how digital asset transactions or other actions related to digital assets and related tax consequences should be accounted for or reported for tax purposes.

In 2014, the IRS released Notice 2014-21, IRB 2014-16, or the Notice, discussing certain aspects of “convertible virtual currency” (that is, digital currency that has an equivalent value in real (or fiat) currency or that acts as a substitute for fiat currency) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The IRS stated that such digital currency is treated as “property,” not “currency” for purposes of the rules relating to foreign currency gain or loss, and may be held as a capital asset. In 2019, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and a set of “Frequently Asked Questions,” or the Revenue Ruling & FAQs, that provide some additional guidance, including guidance to the effect that, under certain circumstances, hard forks of digital currencies are taxable events giving rise to ordinary income and guidance with respect to the determination of the tax basis of digital currency. However, the Notice and the Revenue Ruling & FAQs do not address other significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of digital assets and related transactions. Moreover, there continues to be uncertainty with respect to the timing and amount of income inclusions for various digital asset transactions including, but not limited to, staking rewards and other digital asset products. Furthermore, the accounting treatment for revenues from cryptocurrency transactions is currently under review and subject to change. Failure to properly account for and report the transactions and other items related to the digital assets to relevant tax authorities, such as the IRS, could have negative outcomes for us and harm our reputation with customers and others.

There can be no assurance that the IRS or other foreign tax authority will not alter its existing positions with respect to digital assets in the future or that a court would uphold the treatment set forth in the existing IRS guidance. It is also unclear what additional guidance may be issued in the future on the treatment of existing digital asset transactions and future digital asset innovations for purposes of U.S. federal income tax or other foreign tax regulations. Any such alteration of existing IRS and foreign tax authority positions or additional guidance regarding digital asset products and transactions could result in adverse tax consequences for holders of digital assets and could have an adverse effect on the value of digital assets and the broader digital assets markets. Future technological and operational developments that may arise with respect to digital currencies may increase the uncertainty with respect to the treatment of digital currencies for U.S. federal income and non-U.S. tax purposes. The uncertainty regarding tax treatment of digital asset transactions impacts our customers and could impact our business.

Our tax information reporting and withholding obligations with respect to transactions involving digital assets are subject to change.

It is unclear whether we may be required to file information returns with taxing authorities or withhold any taxes with respect to our cryptocurrency mining operations in any jurisdiction. In our capacity as the facilitator of a cloud-mining platform, we may be deemed to have certain information reporting or withholding obligations to the IRS or another taxing authority. Changes in applicable laws and administrative guidance could impose such obligations on us. For example, under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58), we may be treated as a “broker” with respect to digital assets transactions we facilitate. As a result, we may be required to file certain information reports that contain certain information, including customers’ names and addresses, gross proceeds from sales, and any capital gains or losses, with the IRS. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the IRS also recently released proposed regulations that, if finalized, would create new reporting requirements for digital assets, which could impose new requirements on us. Moreover, it is possible that new rules for reporting digital assets under the “Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework” proposed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD”) may be implemented on our international operations, creating new obligations and a need to invest in new onboarding and reporting infrastructure. If any of such obligations or requirements apply to us, and we do not comply with such obligations or requirements, or if additional withholding obligations are imposed on us, we and our customers may be harmed.

The digital assets held by us are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.

We do not hold our digital assets with a banking institution or a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), and to date, neither the FDIC nor the SIPC has extended any such protections to depositors of digital assets. Accordingly, our digital assets are not subject to the protections by FDIC or SIPC member institutions and any loss of our digital assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Securities

We cannot be sure that an active trading market will develop for the Class A Ordinary Shares.

We are a newly formed entity and prior to the Business Combination, we had not issued any securities in the U.S. markets or elsewhere nor had there been extensive information about us, our businesses, or our operations publicly available. The listing of the Class A Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq does not ensure that a market for the Class A Ordinary Shares will develop or the price at which the Class A Ordinary Shares will trade. No assurance can be provided as to the demand for or trading price of the Class A Ordinary Shares.

Even if we are successful in developing a public market, there may not be enough liquidity in such market to enable shareholders to sell their Class A Ordinary Shares. If an active trading market for the Class A Ordinary Shares does not develop, investors may not be able to re-sell their Class A Ordinary Shares, rendering their shares illiquid and possibly resulting in a complete loss of their investment. We cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in our company will lead to the development of an active, liquid trading market. The trading price of and demand for the Class A Ordinary Shares and the development and continued existence of a market and favorable price for the Class A Ordinary Shares will depend on a number of conditions, including the development of a market following, including by analysts and other investment professionals, our businesses, operations, results and prospects, general market and economic conditions, governmental actions, regulatory considerations, legal proceedings and developments or other factors. These and other factors may impair the development of a liquid market and the ability of investors to sell shares at an attractive price. These factors also could cause the market price and demand for the Class A Ordinary Shares to fluctuate substantially, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the price and liquidity of the Class A Ordinary Shares. Many of these factors and conditions are beyond the control of us and shareholders.

Our share price may be volatile and could decline substantially.

The market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be volatile, both because of actual and perceived changes in our financial results and prospects, and because of general volatility in the stock market. The factors that could cause fluctuations in our share price may include, among other factors discussed in this section, the following:

In addition, the stock markets have experienced significant price and trading volume fluctuations from time to time, and the market prices of equity securities of businesses in our and certain other industries may become extremely volatile and sometimes subject to sharp price and trading volume changes. These broad market fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of the Class A Ordinary Shares.

The sale or availability for sale of substantial amounts of Class A Ordinary Shares and/or Warrants could adversely affect their market price.

Sales of substantial amounts of the Class A Ordinary Shares and/or Warrants in the public market or the perception that these sales could occur, could adversely affect the market price of the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants and could materially impair our ability to raise capital through equity offerings in the future. We are unable to predict the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants.

Except for certain Class A Ordinary Shares held by former shareholders of Finfront and certain Class A Ordinary Shares held by the Sponsor and their respective affiliates and their permitted transferees that are subject to lock-up restrictions (as discussed below), the Class A Ordinary Shares issued in connection with the Business Combination are freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act. In connection with the Business Combination, certain shareholders of ordinary shares of Finfront prior to the Business Combination have agreed, subject to certain exceptions, not to sell any Class A Ordinary Shares for six months after the Closing. Following the expiration of the applicable lock-up periods, such shareholders will not be restricted from selling the Class A Ordinary Shares held by them, other than by applicable securities laws. Class A Ordinary Shares held by the Sponsor and its affiliates may be sold in the public market in the future subject to the restrictions in Rule 144 and Rule 701 under the Securities Act, or pursuant to an effective registration statement covering the resale by the Sponsor and its affiliates. An aggregate of 7,400,000 Class A Ordinary Shares issued pursuant to the PIPE transactions are entitled registration rights following the Closing. For more information about registration rights of the PIPE Shares, see “Item 4. Information on the Company—A. History and Development of the Company—Additional Agreements in connection with the Business Combination.” If any of these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares could decline.

Exercise of Warrants could increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our shareholders.

As of the date of this Report, there are 7,176,389 Warrants outstanding. Each Warrant entitles its holder thereof to purchase three-fourths (3/4) of one Class A Ordinary Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment). To the extent Warrants are exercised, additional Class A Ordinary Shares will be issued, which will result in dilution to our then existing shareholders and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market could depress the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

Our Warrants may never be in the money, and they may expire worthless.

The exercise price for our Warrants is $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment), which exceeds the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares, which was $3.87 per share based on the closing price of our Class A Ordinary Shares on the Nasdaq on April 12, 2024. The likelihood that warrant holders will exercise the Warrants and any cash proceeds that we would receive is dependent upon the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. If the market price for our Class A Ordinary Shares is less than $11.50 per share, we believe warrant holders will be unlikely to exercise their Warrants.

We may issue additional Ordinary Shares or other equity or convertible debt securities without approval of the holders of the Ordinary Shares, which would dilute existing ownership interests and may depress the market price of our Ordinary Shares.

We may issue additional Ordinary Shares or other equity or convertible debt securities of equal or senior rank in the future without approval of the holders of the Ordinary Shares in certain circumstances. Our issuance of additional Ordinary Shares or other equity or convertible debt securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects: (1) our existing shareholders’ proportionate ownership interest may decrease; (2) the amount of cash available per share, including for payment of dividends in the future, may decrease; (3) the relative voting power of each previously outstanding Ordinary Shares may be diminished; and (4) the market price of the Class A Ordinary Shares may decline.

Volatility in our share price could subject us to securities class action litigation.

The market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their shares have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of securities class action litigation and investigations. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert our management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain qualified board members.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, listing requirements of Nasdaq and other applicable securities rules and regulations. As such, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur relevant legal, accounting and other expenses, and these expenses may increase even more if we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We may need to hire more employees or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. These laws and regulations may increase our legal and financial compliance costs and render our certain business activities more time-consuming and costly.

Members of our management team have limited experience managing a publicly traded company, interacting with public company investors and complying with the increasingly complex laws pertaining to public companies. Our management team may not successfully or efficiently manage the transition to being a public company subject to significant regulatory oversight and reporting obligations under the federal securities laws and regulations and the continuous scrutiny of securities analysts and investors. The need to establish the corporate infrastructure demanded of a public company may divert the management’s attention from implementing our growth strategy, which could prevent the improvement of our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and consequently we may be required to incur substantial costs to maintain the same or similar coverage. These additional obligations could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. These factors could also make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating committee, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in this Report, the prospectus we filed in connection with the Business Combination and in other filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition has and will become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected, and, even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could cause an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects and reputation.

Recent market volatility could impact the share price and trading volume of our securities.

The trading market for our securities could be impacted by recent market volatility. Recent stock run-ups, divergences in valuation ratios relative to those seen during traditional markets, high short interest or short squeezes, and strong and atypical retail investor interest in the markets may impact the demand for the Class A Ordinary Shares.

A possible “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand of the Class A Ordinary Shares that largely exceeds supply may lead to price volatility in the Class A Ordinary Shares. Investors may purchase the Class A Ordinary Shares to hedge existing exposure or to speculate on the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares. Speculation on the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares may involve both long and short exposures. To the extent aggregate short exposure exceeds the number of the Class A Ordinary Shares available for purchase, investors with short exposure may have to pay a premium to repurchase the Class A Ordinary Shares for delivery to lenders. Those repurchases may in turn, dramatically increase the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares. This is often referred to as a “short squeeze.” A short squeeze could lead to volatile price movements in the Class A Ordinary Shares that are not directly correlated to the operating performance.

It is not expected that we will pay dividends in the foreseeable future.

It is expected that we will retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, it is not expected that we will pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Our board of directors has complete discretion as to whether to distribute dividends. Even if the board of directors decides to declare and pay dividends, the timing, amount and form of future dividends, if any, will depend on the future results of operations and cash flow, capital requirements and surplus, the amount of distributions, if any, received from our subsidiaries, our financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors deemed relevant by the board of directors. There is no guarantee that our shares will appreciate in value or that the trading price of the shares will not decline.

If securities and industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research or cease publishing research about us, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline significantly.

The trading market for the Class A Ordinary Shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage us, the trading price for the Ordinary Shares would likely be negatively impacted. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our securities or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage or fail to publish reports on us, demand for the Class A Ordinary Shares could decrease, which might cause our share price and trading volume to decline.

We are a foreign private issuer within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act, and as such we are exempt from certain provisions applicable to domestic public companies in the United States.

As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain provisions of the securities rules and regulations in the United States that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, including: (1) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC; (2) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents, or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; (3) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and (4) the selective disclosure rules by issuers of material nonpublic information under Regulation FD.

We are required to file an annual report on Form 20-F within four months of the end of each fiscal year. In addition, we expect to publish our results on a quarterly basis through press releases, distributed pursuant to the rules and regulations of Nasdaq. Press releases relating to financial results and material events will also be furnished to the SEC on Form 6-K. However, the information we are required to file with or furnish to the SEC will be less extensive and less timely compared to that required to be filed with the SEC by U.S. domestic issuers. Accordingly, you may receive less or different information about us than you would receive about a U.S. domestic public company.

We could lose our status as a foreign private issuer under current SEC rules and regulations if more than 50% of our outstanding voting securities become directly or indirectly held of record by U.S. holders and any one of the following is true: (1) the majority of our directors or executive officers are U.S. citizens or residents; (2) more than 50% of our assets are located in the United States; or (3) our business is administered principally in the United States. If we lose our status as a foreign private issuer in the future, we will no longer be exempt from the rules described above and, among other things, will be required to file periodic reports and annual and quarterly financial statements as if we were a company incorporated in the United States. If this were to happen, we would likely incur substantial costs in fulfilling these additional regulatory requirements and members of our management would likely have to divert time and resources from other responsibilities to ensuring these additional regulatory requirements are fulfilled.

As an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards; these practices may afford less protection to shareholders than they would enjoy if we complied fully with Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards.

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Nasdaq market rules permit a foreign private issuer like us to follow the corporate governance practices of our home country. Certain corporate governance practices in the Cayman Islands, which is our home country, may differ significantly from Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards applicable to domestic U.S. companies.

Among other things, we are not required to: (1) have a majority-independent board of directors; (2) have a compensation committee consisting of independent directors; (3) have a nominating committee consisting of independent directors; (4) have regularly scheduled executive sessions with only independent directors each year; or (5) obtain shareholder approval prior to the issuance of additional shares in certain circumstances in accordance with Rule 5635 of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules.

We may also follow the home country practice for certain other corporate governance practices in the future, which may differ from the requirements of the Nasdaq Stock Market. If we choose to follow the home country practice, our shareholders may be afforded less protection than they would otherwise enjoy under the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules applicable to U.S. domestic issuers.

You may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through U.S. courts may be limited, because we are incorporated under the law of the Cayman Islands, we conduct substantially all of our operations and a majority of our directors and executive officers reside outside of the United States.

We are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct a majority of our operations and a majority of our directors and executive officers reside outside of the United States. Our corporate affairs are governed by our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by noncontrolling shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to our company under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws than the United States and provides significantly less protection to investors. In addition, some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman Islands.

There is no statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, although a final and conclusive monetary judgment obtained in the United States will be recognized and enforced in the courts of the Cayman Islands at common law, without any re-examination of the merits of the underlying dispute, by an action commenced on the foreign judgment debt in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, provided such judgment (a) was given by a foreign court of competent jurisdiction and the company either submitted to such jurisdiction or was resident or carrying on business within such jurisdiction and was duly served with process; (b) was not in respect of penalties, fines, taxes or similar fiscal or revenue obligations; (c) was not obtained fraudulently by the person in whose favor judgment was given; and (d) was not obtained in a manner and is not of a kind the enforcement of which is contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands. It may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against our directors and officers in the Cayman Islands in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the applicable securities laws or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands may render you unable to enforce a judgment against our assets or the assets of our directors and officers.

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies such as us have no general rights under Cayman Islands laws to inspect corporate records and accounts or to obtain copies of lists of shareholders of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.

As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company. Therefore, you may not be able to effectively enjoy the protection offered by the U.S. laws and regulations that intend to protect public investors.

Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a derivative action in a federal court of the United States. As a result, your ability to protect your interests if you are harmed in a manner that would otherwise enable you to sue in a United States federal court may be limited to direct shareholder lawsuits.

You may experience difficulties in effecting service of legal process, enforcing foreign judgments or bringing actions against us or our management named in the Report based on foreign laws, and therefore you may not be afforded the same protection as provided to investors in U.S. domestic companies.

We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. We conduct a majority of our operations, and a majority of our directors and executive officers reside outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in the United States in the event that you believe that your rights have been infringed under the U.S. federal securities laws or otherwise. It may also be difficult for you to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against us and our officers and directors. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the laws of the Cayman Islands and of Singapore may render you unable to enforce a judgment against us, our assets, directors and officers or their assets. Therefore, you may not be able to enjoy the same protection provided by various U.S. authorities as it is provided to investors in U.S. domestic companies.

In addition, to the extent that we retain any director that resides in a jurisdiction that does not have any treaties or other form of reciprocity with the United States that provide for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, additional local procedural rules will need to be followed.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws, and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, and we will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest to occur of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the Closing, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of the prior second fiscal quarter, and (2) the date on which we issue more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. It is expected that we will take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to most other public companies, whether or not they are classified as “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, an exemption from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation.

In addition, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts “emerging growth companies” from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. If we elect not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and we have different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with certain other public companies difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Furthermore, even after we no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as long as we continue to qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act, we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including, but not limited to, the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their stock ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. In addition, we will not be required to file annual reports and financial statements with the SEC as promptly as U.S. domestic companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act, and are not required to comply with Regulation FD, which restricts the selective disclosure of material information.

As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they deem important. We cannot predict if investors will find the Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive because we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find the Class A Ordinary Shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market and share price for the Class A Ordinary Shares may be more volatile.

We may be or become a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”), which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares.

Assuming section 7874 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) does not apply to treat us as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes (see “—Risks Related to Our Securities—The IRS may not agree with the position that we should be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes following the Business Combination, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results from operations and on non-U.S. holders’ securities” for a more detailed discussion), if we or any of our subsidiaries is a PFIC for any taxable year, or portion thereof, that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of the Class A Ordinary Shares, such U.S. Holder may be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. A non-U.S. corporation will be considered a PFIC for any taxable year if either (1) at least 75% of its gross income is passive income for such taxable year or (2) at least 50% of the value of its assets (based on an average of the quarterly values of the assets during such taxable year) is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income (which includes cash and cash equivalents).

The application of the PFIC rules to digital assets and operations relating thereto, including Bitcoin and Bitcoin mining operations, is subject to uncertainty. For example, it is possible that our Bitcoin mining operations could cause us or one or more of our subsidiaries to become a PFIC by holding digital assets that are treated as commodities or non-inventory property, the excess of gains over losses from the disposition of which could be treated as passive income, or by holding digital assets that themselves could be treated as passive assets. There is no assurance that we or our subsidiaries are not currently PFICs for U.S. federal income tax purposes for the taxable year of the Business Combination or for foreseeable future taxable years. Moreover, we do not expect to provide a PFIC annual information statement for 2024 or going forward, which will preclude U.S. Holders from making or maintaining a “qualified electing fund” election under Section 1295 of the Code. See “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Passive Foreign Investment Company Status” for a more detailed discussion with respect to our potential PFIC status and certain tax implications thereof. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our securities.

The IRS may not agree with the position that we should be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes following the Business Combination, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results from operations and on non-U.S. holders’ securities.

Although we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, the IRS may assert that we should be treated as a U.S. corporation (and, therefore, a U.S. tax resident) for U.S. federal income tax purposes pursuant to section 7874 of the Code. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, a corporation is generally considered a tax resident in the jurisdiction of its organization or incorporation. Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, we would generally be classified as a foreign corporation (and, therefore, a non-U.S. tax resident) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Section 7874 provides an exception pursuant to which a foreign incorporated entity may, in certain circumstances, be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. These rules are complex and require analysis of all relevant facts and circumstances, and there is limited guidance and significant uncertainties as to their application. If it were determined that we should be taxed as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes under section 7874, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income like any other U.S. corporation and certain distributions made by us to non-U.S. holders’ securities would be subject to U.S. withholding tax at the rate of 30% or such lower rate as provided by an applicable treaty. Taxation as a U.S. corporation could also have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results from operations.

As more fully described under “Item 10. Additional Information—E. Taxation—Our Tax Residence for U.S. Federal Income Tax Purposes,” our view is that section 7874 applies in a manner such that we should not be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, based on our position that immediately after completion of the Business Combination, former shareholders of Arisz owned, by reason of owning (or being treated as owning) stock of Arisz, less than 80% of the voting power and value of our securities (the “Ownership Test”). However, our position depends in part on the position that the Ownership Test is determined immediately after the Business Combination rather than immediately after the Redomestication Merger for purposes of section 7874 of the Code. Further, holders are cautioned that the application of section 7874 to us is extremely complex. Applicable Treasury Regulations under section 7874 are subject to significant uncertainty, and there is limited guidance regarding their application. Moreover, the application of section 7874 to the facts and circumstances of the Business Combination are uncertain. No IRS ruling has been requested or will be obtained regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the Business Combination or any other matter described in this Report. The IRS may not agree with our position that we should be treated as a non-U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and there can be no assurance that, if challenged, such treatment will be sustained by a court.

U.S. Holders that directly or indirectly own 10% or more of our equity interests may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences under rules applicable to U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”).

Assuming section 7874 does not apply to treat us as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes (see “—Risks Related to Our Securities—The IRS may not agree with the position that we should be treated as a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes following the Business Combination, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial position and results from operations and on non-U.S. holders’ securities” for a more detailed discussion), certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries may be classified as CFCs for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A non-U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if “10% U.S. equityholders” (as defined below) own, directly, indirectly or constructively, more than 50% of either (i) the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of such corporation entitled to vote or (ii) the total value of the stock of such corporation. Certain of our non-U.S. subsidiaries may be classified as CFCs (as a result of the application of certain constructive ownership rules that treat our U.S. subsidiary as owning the equity of our non-U.S. subsidiaries), and it is possible that we may be classified as a CFC in the future. The U.S. federal income tax consequences for U.S. Holders who at all times are not 10% U.S. equityholders would not be affected by the CFC rules. However, a U.S. Holder that owns (or is treated as owning, directly, indirectly or constructively, including by applying certain attribution rules) 10% or more of the combined voting power of all classes of our capital stock entitled to vote or the total value of our equity interests (including equity interests attributable to a deemed exercise of options and convertible debt instruments), or a “10% U.S. equityholder”, if we were classified as a CFC, would generally be subject to current U.S. federal income taxation on a portion of our applicable subsidiaries’ earnings and profits (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and our earnings and profits, regardless of whether such 10% U.S. equityholder receives any actual distributions. In addition, if we were classified as a CFC, a portion of any gains realized on the sale of our Ordinary Shares by a 10% U.S. equityholder may be treated as ordinary income. A 10% U.S. equityholder will also be subject to additional U.S. federal income tax information reporting requirements with respect to our subsidiaries that are classified as CFCs and with respect to us (if we were classified as a CFC) and substantial penalties may be imposed for noncompliance. We cannot provide any assurances that we will assist U.S. Holders in determining whether we or any of our subsidiaries are treated as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes or whether any U.S. Holder is treated as a 10% U.S. equityholder with respect to any of such CFCs or furnish to any holder information that may be necessary to comply with reporting and tax paying obligations if we, or any of our subsidiaries, is treated as a CFC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The IRS has provided limited guidance on situations in which investors may rely on publicly available information to comply with their reporting and tax paying obligations with respect to foreign-controlled controlled foreign corporations. Each U.S. Holder should consult its own tax advisor regarding the CFC rules and whether such U.S. Holder may be a 10% U.S. equityholder for purposes of these rules.

Changes to, or changes in interpretations of, tax laws could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes and non-income taxes in the United States and other countries in which we transact or conduct business, and such laws and rates vary by jurisdiction. Tax laws and regulations, including at non-U.S. and U.S. federal and local jurisdictions, frequently change, especially in relation to the interpretation of existing tax laws for new and emerging industries, and we cannot always reasonably predict the impact from, or the ultimate cost of compliance with, current or future tax laws.

Any changes in the taxation of our business activities may increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our tax expense could also be impacted by the applicability of withholding taxes and the impact of changes in the evaluation of tax positions we have taken in prior tax periods. The amount of taxes we pay in these jurisdictions could increase substantially as a result of changes in the applicable tax principles, including increased tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations of existing tax laws and precedents, which could harm our liquidity and results of operations. For example, various levels of government and international organizations, such as in the United States, the OECD, and the European Union (“EU”), have increasingly focused on tax reform and any result from this development may create changes to long-standing tax principles, which could adversely affect our effective tax rate. On October 8, 2021, the OECD announced an international agreement with more than 130 countries to implement a new global minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15% for large multinational companies. In December 2021, the OECD released Model Rules for implementation of Pillar II followed by the release of detailed commentary in March 2022. The OECD has released additional administrative guidance on the global minimum tax in February, July and December of 2023. Under the European Union’s minimum tax directive, unanimously agreed by the member states in 2022, each member state is required to adopt domestic legislation implementing the minimum tax rules effective for periods beginning on or after December 31, 2023, with the “under-taxed profit rule” to take effect for periods beginning on or after December 31, 2024. Legislatures in multiple countries outside of the European Union (including Canada and Singapore, where we have subsidiaries) have also drafted and/or enacted legislation to implement the OECD’s minimum tax proposal. Given the OECD’s continued release of guidance regarding Pillar II, that only certain jurisdictions have currently enacted laws to give effect to Pillar II, and that jurisdictions may interpret such laws in different manners, the overall implementation of Pillar II remains uncertain and subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis. Additionally, under the agreement, new rules have been introduced that will result in the reallocation of certain profits from large multinational companies to market jurisdictions where customers and users are located. Implementation and enactment of these changes is ongoing. We will be monitoring the developments and tax implications of these changes, which may have adverse tax consequences for us.

All statements contained herein concerning U.S. federal income or other tax consequences are based on existing law and interpretations thereof. The tax regimes to which we are subject or under which we operate, including income and non-income taxes, are unsettled and may be subject to significant change. While some of these changes could be beneficial, others could negatively affect our after-tax returns. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that the currently anticipated tax treatment will not be modified by legislative, judicial or administrative changes, possibly with retroactive effect. In addition, no assurance can be given that any tax authority or court will agree with any particular interpretation of the relevant laws.

We may be unable to maintain the listing of our securities in the future.

If we fail to meet the continued listing requirements and Nasdaq delists the Class A Ordinary Shares, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

We have adopted a dual-class share structure with different voting rights, which may adversely affect the value and liquidity of the Ordinary Shares.

We have adopted a dual-class structure with different voting rights, and such dual-class share structure may result in a lower or more volatile market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. Certain shareholder advisory firms have announced changes to their eligibility criteria for inclusion of shares of public companies on certain stock market indices, including the S&P 500, to exclude companies with multiple classes of shares and companies whose public shareholders hold no more than 5% of total voting power from being added to such indices. In addition, several shareholder advisory firms have announced their opposition to the use of multiple class structures. As a result, our dual-class share structure may prevent the inclusion of the Class A Ordinary Shares in such indices and may cause shareholder advisory firms to publish negative commentary about our corporate governance practices or otherwise seek to cause us to change our capital structure. Any such exclusion from indices could result in a less active trading market for our securities. Any actions or publications by shareholder advisory firms critical of our corporate governance practices or capital structure could also adversely affect the value of our securities.

Our dual-class share structure with different voting rights will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any change of control transactions that holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.

We have adopted a dual-class share structure such that our Ordinary Shares consist of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares. In respect of matters requiring the votes of shareholders, each Class A Ordinary Share is entitled to one vote and each Class B Ordinary Share is entitled to five votes. Each Class B Ordinary Share is convertible into one Class A Ordinary Share at any time by the holder thereof. The Class A Ordinary Shares are not convertible into Class B Ordinary Shares under any circumstances.

As a result of such dual-class share structure and the concentration of ownership, holders Class B Ordinary Shares have substantial influence over our business, including decisions regarding mergers, consolidations and the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, election of directors and other significant corporate actions. They may take actions that are not in the best interest or our other shareholders. Such dual-class arrangement may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares as part of a sale of our company and may reduce the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares. This concentrated control will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and could discourage others from pursuing any potential merger, takeover or other change of control transactions that holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares may view as beneficial.

Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association contain anti-takeover provisions that could have a material adverse effect on the rights of holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares.

Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association contain provisions which could limit the ability of others to acquire control or cause it to engage in change-of-control transactions. These provisions could have the effect of depriving our shareholders of an opportunity to sell their shares at a premium over prevailing market prices by discouraging third parties from seeking to obtain control of our company in a tender offer or similar transaction. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our shareholders, to issue preferred shares in one or more series and to fix their designations, powers, preferences, privileges, and relative participating, optional or special rights and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the rights associated with the Ordinary Shares. Preferred shares could be issued quickly with terms calculated to delay or prevent a change in control or make removal of management more difficult. If our board of directors decides to issue preferred shares, the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares may fall and the voting and other rights of the holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares may be materially and adversely affected.

We are a “controlled company” under the Corporate Governance Rules of Nasdaq and can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that could adversely affect our public shareholders.

Mr. Leo Lu holds a majority of the aggregate voting power of our company and, therefore, we qualify as a “controlled company” under the Corporate Governance Rules of Nasdaq. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a controlled company and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirement that a majority of its directors be independent, as defined in the Corporate Governance Rules of the Nasdaq and the requirement that the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee consist entirely of independent directors. We currently do not intend to rely on these exemptions. However, if we decide to rely on exemptions applicable to controlled company under the Corporate Governance Rules of Nasdaq in the future, our public shareholders will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.

ITEM 4. INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

Finfront was incorporated in the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability in July 2021. It is operating under the trade name “BitFuFu.” Ethereal Tech Pte. Ltd. was incorporated in Singapore in May 2018 and was acquired by Finfront in October 2021 and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finfront in connection with a corporate reorganization. Ethereal Tech US Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Finfront, was incorporated in the State of Delaware in December 2021.

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability in January 2022 for the purpose of effecting the Business Combination. Prior to the Closing, we did not conduct any material activities other than those incidental to our formation and the matters contemplated by the Merger Agreement. Following, and as a result of, the Business Combination, all of our business is conducted through Finfront and its subsidiaries. Our principal executive offices are at 111 North Bridge Road, #15-01, Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098 and our telephone number is +656-252-4595. Our website address is https://www.bitfufu.com. The information contained on the website does not form a part of, and is not incorporated by reference into, this Report.

Business Combination with Arisz

On February 29, 2024, we consummated the previously announced business combination with Arisz Acquisition Corp., pursuant to (1) the agreement and plan of merger, dated as of January 21, 2022 (as amended as of April 4, 2022, October 10, 2022, April 24, 2023 and July 28, 2023), by and between Arisz and Finfront, (2) the joinder agreement by and among us, Finfront, Merger Sub and Arisz, dated April 4, 2022, and (3) supplemental joinder agreement by and among us, Finfront, Merger Sub and Arisz, dated December 20, 2023.

Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the business combination was effected in two steps. On February 29, 2024, (1) Arisz merged with and into the Company with the Company surviving the Redomestication Merger as a publicly traded entity; and (2) immediately following the Redomestication Merger, Merger Sub merged with and into Finfront, with Finfront surviving the Acquisition Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

At the Redomestication Merger Effective Time, pursuant to the Redomestication Merger: (1) all units of Arisz were separated into individual components of Arisz Common Stock, Arisz Warrant and Arisz Right and such units ceased to exist; (2) each common stock of Arisz, issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Redomestication Merger Effective Time (other than any redeemed shares), were automatically cancelled and ceased to exist, and for each share of such Arisz Common Stock, the Company issued to each Arisz stockholder (other than Arisz stockholders who exercise their redemption rights in connection with the Business Combination) one validly issued, fully paid Class A ordinary share of the Company, par value US$0.0001 per share; (3) each warrant of Arisz issued and outstanding immediately prior to Redomestication Merger Effective Time was cancelled in exchange for one warrant of the Company to purchase three-fourths (3/4) of one Class A Ordinary Share; and (4) each right of Arisz that entitles the holders thereof to receive one-twentieth (1/20) of one Arisz Common Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Redomestication Merger Effective Time was cancelled in exchange for the number of full Class A Ordinary Shares equal to the number of Arisz Common Stock to which the registered holder of Arisz Right would have been entitled, rounded to the nearest whole share.

At the Effective Time (as defined in the Merger Agreement), pursuant to the Acquisition Merger: (1) each ordinary share of Finfront (other than the ordinary shares of Finfront held by Chipring Technology Limited, an entity controlled by Mr. Leo Lu, the founder and chief executive officer of the Company) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was cancelled in exchange for the applicable number of Class A Ordinary Shares; (2) all ordinary shares of Finfront held by Chipring Technology Limited were cancelled in exchange for 135,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value US$0.0001 per share; and (3) the one share of Merger Sub issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was converted into and became one ordinary share of Finfront.

Additional Agreements in connection with the Business Combination

PIPE Subscription Agreements

In connection with the Business Combination, Finfront and Arisz obtained commitments from interested accredited investors to purchase Class A Ordinary Shares issued in connection with the Closing, for an aggregate cash amount of $70,000,000 at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, in a private placement. Such commitments are being made by way of the subscription agreements (the “PIPE Subscription Agreements”), by and among each Subscriber, Finfront and Arisz. The terms of the PIPE Shares are identical to those of the Class A Ordinary Shares issued to existing public stockholders of Arisz at the time of the Closing, except that the PIPE Shares were not entitled to any redemption rights and were not registered under the Securities Act at the time of issuance. 

Pursuant to the PIPE Subscription Agreements, we agreed to file (at our sole cost and expense) a registration statement registering the resale of the shares to be purchased in the private placement (the “PIPE Resale Registration Statement”) with the SEC (i) no later than thirty (30) calendar days following the Closing assuming no additional financial statements are required or desirable to be included at the time of such filing) or (ii) ninety (90) calendar days following the Closing (assuming additional financial statements are required or desirable to be included at the time of such filing). We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to have the PIPE Resale Registration Statement declared effective as soon as practical but no later than the earlier of (i) the 120^th calendar day following the filing date thereof (in the event the SEC notifies us that it will “review” the PIPE Resale Registration Statement) and (ii) the 10^th business day after the date we are notified by the SEC that the PIPE Resale Registration Statement will not be “reviewed” or will not be subject to further review. For details of the PIPE Subscription Agreement, see Exhibit 4.21 to this Report.

On January 11, 2024, we, Finfront, Arisz and Merger Sub entered into an amended and restated PIPE Subscription Agreement (the “Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreement”) with certain Subscribers, a PIPE Subscription Agreement with a new Subscriber and a PIPE termination agreement with an existing Subscriber pursuant to which the aggregate cash amount of PIPE was increased to $74,000,000, at a purchase price of $10.00 per share.

The closing of the Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreement and the PIPE Subscription Agreements took place concurrently with the closing of the Business Combination on February 29, 2024. The Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreement and New PIPE Subscription Agreement contain substantially similar terms as the PIPE Subscription Agreement. For details of the Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreement, see Exhibit 4.20 to this Report.

Backstop Agreements

On July 14, 2022, each of us, Arisz, Finfront and the Sponsor (along with any assignee of the Sponsor, the “Buyer”) entered into a backstop agreement (the “First Backstop Agreement”) whereby, in connection with the Business Combination, the Buyer agreed to subscribe for and purchase no less than US$1.25 million worth of shares of Arisz Common Stock or Class A Ordinary Shares, as specified therein. The First Backstop Agreement terminated as per its terms on July 31, 2022.

On October 13, 2022, the parties to the First Backstop Agreement entered into a new backstop agreement (the “Backstop Agreement”) substantially on the same terms as the First Backstop Agreement with the only substantive additional terms being that the subscription amount changed to $2.0 million worth of shares and change of the termination date. The Sponsor subscribed for 200,000 Class A Ordinary Shares in a private placement transaction pursuant to the Backstop Agreement. The closing of the Backstop Agreement took place concurrently with the closing of the Business Combination on February 29, 2024. For details of the Backstop Agreement, see Exhibit 4.18 to this Report.

Amended and Restated Subscription Agreements

Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, each of Chardan and Sponsor executed amendments to the subscription agreements that had been executed by each of them on November 17, 2021 in connection with Arisz’s initial public offering (the “Amended and Restated Subscription Agreements”). Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Subscription Agreements, each of Chardan and Sponsor agreed, among other things not to transfer assign or sell any Private Units, Over-Allotment Units (each as defined in the Amended and Restated Subscription Agreements) or their underlying securities, until the consummation of a business combination involving Arisz. For details of the subscription agreements, see Exhibit 4.17 to this Report.

Sponsor Support Agreement

Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, certain holders of Arisz Common Stock entered into a support agreement (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”), pursuant to which such holders agreed to, among other things, approve the Merger Agreement and the proposed Business Combination. For details of the Sponsor Support Agreement, see Exhibit 4.13 to this Report.

Shareholder Support Agreement

Contemporaneously with the execution of the Merger Agreement, certain holders of Finfront’s ordinary shares entered into a support agreement (the “Shareholder Support Agreement”), pursuant to which such holders agreed to, among other things, approve the Merger Agreement and the proposed Business Combination. For details of the Shareholder Support Agreement, see Exhibit 4.14 to this Report.

Stock Purchase Agreements

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Sponsor and ET entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “First ET Stock Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which ET purchased 128,206 shares of Arisz Common Stock (the “ET Shares”) from the Sponsor for a purchase price of $1,250,000. Subject to the satisfaction of conditions set forth in the First ET Stock Purchase Agreement, the Sponsor shall cause the ET Shares to be transferred on the books and records of Arisz to ET. The transfer of ET Shares was completed. In addition, on October 10, 2022, the Sponsor and ET entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “Second ET Stock Purchase Agreement” and together with the First ET Stock Purchase Agreement, the “ET Stock Purchase Agreements”), pursuant to which ET purchased 76,142 shares of Arisz Common Stock (the “Additional ET Shares”) from the Sponsor for a purchase price of $750,000. Subject to the satisfaction of conditions set forth in the Second ET Stock Purchase Agreement, the Sponsor shall cause the Additional ET Shares to be transferred on the books and records of Arisz to ET. The transfer of Additional ET Shares was completed at the Closing. 204,348 Class A Ordinary Shares were issued at the Closing in connection with the aforementioned transactions, which have been classified as treasury shares of the Company.

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the Sponsor and Aqua Pursuit International Limited, the financial advisor of Finfront (“Aqua”), entered into a stock purchase agreement (the “Aqua Stock Purchase Agreement”), pursuant to which Aqua purchased 200,000 shares of Arisz Common Stock (the “Aqua Shares”) from the Sponsor for a purchase price of $2,000,000. Subject to the satisfaction of conditions set forth in the Aqua Stock Purchase Agreement, the Sponsor shall cause the Aqua Shares to be transferred on the books and records of Arisz to Aqua upon the consummation of any business combination (as defined in Arisz’s organizational documents). On October 10, 2022, Aqua and the Sponsor entered into an amendment to the Aqua Stock Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the number of Aqua Shares purchased from the Sponsor was changed from 200,000 shares of Arisz Common Stock to 260,000 shares of Arisz Common Stock, and the purchase price was changed from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. The transfer of the Aqua Shares was completed at the Closing, and 260,000 Class A Ordinary Shares were issue at the Closing in connection with the aforementioned transaction.

Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement

At the Closing, we entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (the “Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement”) with certain Pre-IPO Investors (as defined therein) with respect to Class A Ordinary Shares received by the Pre-IPO Investors in exchanged for certain shares, units, private units (and the private shares, private warrants and private rights included therein) to the extent they own, over-allotment units and share held by Chardan as deferred compensation, among others, at the Closing. The Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement provides certain demand registration rights and piggyback registration rights to the Pre-IPO Investors, subject to underwriter cutbacks and issuer blackout periods. We agree to pay certain fees and expenses relating to registrations under the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement. For details of the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, see Exhibit 4.16 to this Report.

Lock-Up Agreements

At the Closing, certain holders of Finfront’s ordinary shares before the consummation of the Business Combination executed lock-up agreements (the “Lock-up Agreements”). Pursuant to the Lock-Up Agreements, such holders shall agree, subject to certain customary exceptions, not to (i) sell, offer to sell, contract or agree to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any Ordinary Shares to be received by them in connection with the Business Combination (such shares, together with any securities convertible into or exchangeable for or representing the rights to receive Ordinary Shares if any, acquired during the Lock-Up Period (as defined below)), the “Lock-up Shares”), (ii) enter into a transaction that would have the same effect, (iii) enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Lock-Up Shares or otherwise or engage in any short sales or other arrangement with respect to the Lock-Up Shares or (iv) publicly announce any intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i) or (ii) until the date that is six months after the date of the Closing (the “Lock-Up Period”). For details of the Lock-Up Agreement, see Exhibit 4.15 to this Report.

Further Information

For details of our principal capital expenditures for the previous three years ended December 31, 2023, see “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — B. Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

The SEC maintains a website at www.sec.gov which contains in electronic form each of the reports and other information that we have filed electronically with the SEC.

The following discussion reflects our business. Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this section to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer collectively to Finfront and its subsidiaries prior to the consummation of the Business Combination and BitFuFu Inc. and its subsidiaries following the consummation of the Business Combination.

Overview

We are a fast-growing digital asset mining service and one of the world-leading cloud-mining service providers, dedicated to fostering a secure, compliant, and transparent blockchain infrastructure. We make available a variety of stable and intelligent digital asset mining solutions, including one-stop cloud-mining services and miner hosting services to institutional customers and individual digital asset enthusiasts. In addition, we have access to a fleet of advanced Bitcoin miners for efficient cloud-mining service to our customers and self-mining for our own account, allowing us to seamlessly adjust business strategies and reduce risk exposure. Leveraging our strategic collaboration with Bitmain Technologies Ltd., a world-leading cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturer, we are able to secure a stable supply of advanced Antminer S19 miners.

Our innovative technologies are one of the key drivers to ensure our leadership position in the global digital asset mining industry. Our proprietary Aladdin system handles ultra-large scale management and dispatching of hash calculations, and has the maximum capacity to simultaneously connect millions of miners and to provide services that resolve critical mining problems arising from scalability, efficiency, authenticity, and securing hash calculations.

We have experienced rapid growth in the previous three years ended December 31, 2023. Our revenues increased from US$103.0 million in 2021 to US$198.2 million in 2022 and further to US$284.1 million in 2023. We achieved a net profit of US$4.9 million, US$2.4 million and US$10.5 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, our adjusted EBITDA was US$5.8 million, US$39.6 million and US$41.7 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, we have mining capacity of 22.9 EH/s, among which 20.3 EH/s were from suppliers or leased miners, 2.1 EH/s were from our self-owned miners, and 0.5 EH/s were from customers hosted miners. In 2023, almost 100% of the average daily mining capacity provided by our self-owned miners were used for self-mining operations; 78% of the average daily mining capacity provided by the leased miners were used for our cloud-mining services, and the rest 22% were used for self-mining operations. The mining capacity provided by customers’ hosted miners were used by the customers themselves for their own mining activities, and we only provided hosting services to those customers. In addition, we had access to approximately 515 MW in hosting capacity at 24 mining facilities in three continents as of December 31, 2023. The registered users of our cloud mining business increased from 188,460 as of December 31, 2022 to 304,270 as of December 31, 2023.

Given the nature of digital asset mining, we serve a global customer base. However, we generate significant portions of the revenue from certain regions. In 2023, 54%, 26% and 17% of our revenue came from North America, Europe and Asia, respectively. The following table sets forth a geographic breakdown of our revenue (excluding mining revenue) generated from different geographic regions for the periods indicated:

The basis for attributing revenues by continents is based on the customers’ KYC information, which indicates the country or region where a corporate customer was incorporated or the place of residence of an individual customer.

Recent Development in the Digital Asset Industry

The prices of digital assets, including Bitcoin, have experienced substantial volatility. For example, the price of Bitcoin ranged from approximately US$30,000 to approximately US$68,000 in 2021, from approximately US$16,000 to approximately US$46,000 in 2022, and from approximately US$17,000 to approximately US$44,000 in 2023, and have continued to experience significant volatility since then, reaching approximately US$70,000 as of April 12, 2024, according to Google Finance. In 2022 and 2023, a number of companies in the digital asset industry have declared bankruptcy, including Core Scientific, Celsius, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, BlockFi, FTX, and Genesis Holdco. Those bankruptcy proceedings contributed, at least in part, to further price decreases in Bitcoin observed during those periods, a loss of confidence in the participants of the digital asset ecosystem and negative publicity surrounding the digital asset industry. At the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoins in account maintained at FTX. As of the date of this Report, aside from the impairment loss on assets held by FTX in the amount of US$9.8 million recorded by us in 2022 in connection with the FTX bankruptcy proceeding, we have not been materially impacted by those bankruptcies and the recent disruption in the digital asset industry. As of the date of this Report, other than FTX, we have no material contractual relationship with any company in the digital asset industry that has experienced bankruptcy. Additionally, the disruption in the digital asset industry has not materially affected our relationship with suppliers or customers. While we have not been materially impacted by any liquidity or insolvency issues with such third parties to date, there is no guarantee that our counterparties will not experience liquidity or insolvency issues in the future. We continue to closely monitor the development in digital asset industry, and will conduct diligence, including into liquidity or insolvency issues, on third-party service providers in the digital asset industry with whom we have potential or ongoing relationships. However, we cannot provide any assurance that we will not be materially impacted in the future by bankruptcies of market participants and recent disruption in the digital asset industry. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Industry.”

Under the current protocols governing the Bitcoin network, the reward for validating a new block on that network is cut in half from time to time, which has been referred to in our industry as “halving.” When the Bitcoin network was first launched, the reward for validating a new block was 50 Bitcoin. In 2012, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 25 Bitcoin. In July 2016, the reward for validating a new block was reduced to 12.5 Bitcoin, and in May 2020, the reward was reduced to 6.25 Bitcoin. On April 20, 2024, the reward was further reduced to 3.125 Bitcoin. The next halving for Bitcoin will occur when the block numbers reach 1,050,000 and is currently expected to occur in 2028. The reduction in reward for validating new blocks could depress our and our customers’ incentives to processing transactions through Bitcoin, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. See “Item 3 Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Risk Related to our Industry - The “halving” of rewards available on the Bitcoin network, or the reduction of rewards on other networks could have a negative impact on our ability to generate revenue as there may not be adequate incentive to continue transaction processing and transaction processing operations may be ceased altogether, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” for more details.

Competitive Strengths

We believe the following competitive strengths contribute to our success and distinguish us from our competitors:

Fast-growing digital asset mining service and world-leading cloud-mining service provider

Our digital asset mining services are focused on the generation of digital assets, in particular Bitcoin, by solving cryptographic hash functions, also referred to as “providing hash calculations,” on specific digital asset blockchains, a process commonly known as “mining.” Since our inception, we have made available scalable, reliable and efficient cloud-mining services to customers worldwide. For our cloud-mining services, we integrate mining capacities of mining equipment and other infrastructures from various suppliers to provide hash calculation services, and repackages and integrates such hash calculation services with other critical services to create a one-stop cloud-mining services for customers.

As of December 31, 2023, we provided our solutions and services through 24 mining facilities in three continents, which were optimized for large-scale mining operations and sourced by Bitmain and other suppliers. As of the same date, we had access to approximately 515 MW in hosting capacity.

As of April 12, 2024, the aggregate market capitalization of digital assets reached approximately US$2.6 trillion, among which 49.9%, or US$1.4 trillion, could be attributable to Bitcoin, according to CoinGecko. We believe we are one of the largest cloud-mining service providers worldwide in terms of total hosting capacity and mining capacity in 2023. Leveraging our large business scale, strategic collaboration with leading industry players and flexible business model, we believe we are well-positioned to capture the growth potential for the digital asset industry.

Robust industry collaboration network covering Bitmain and AntPool

We are committed to fostering close collaboration with world-leading industry players, in particular with Bitmain, a world-leading cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturer, and AntPool, a major digital asset mining pool. We received seed investment from Bitmain in July 2021 and further investments from Bitmain and AntPool in February 2024 pursuant to the Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreements, demonstrating their continuous support of our future outlook. As more companies enter into the digital asset industry and compete for higher mining capacity, hosting capacity and power supply, we believe the strategic collaboration with Bitmain and AntPool enables us to secure access to stable supply of cost-efficient mining resources, such as miners with effective hash rate to power consumption ratio, electricity, hosting facility resources and pooling services at commercially optimal terms, so that we can deliver reliable services to our customers and efficiently scale up our customer base.

As of the date of this Report, we are the only cloud-mining strategic partner of Bitmain. We are also a S-level client of Bitmain, the highest level among all of Bitmain’s clients, which has provided us with privileges in terms of, among others, availability of miners and delivery schedule. In addition, we have also entered into a ten-year collaboration agreement with Bitmain, pursuant to which we can obtain 300 MW hosting capacity as well as stable, competitive power and hosting fee arrangements in mining hosting facilities across the world.

Flexible business model to weather market volatility

We have adopted an efficient and flexible business model, featuring a trio of integrated digital asset services, including cloud-mining, miner hosting and self-mining. Through our hash calculation dispatch system and connection with mining pools, we can seamlessly deploy miners sourced from various suppliers into cloud-mining or self-mining operations according to our business needs, which allows us to optimize our miner utilization and mining returns. With our ability to secure a stable access to advanced miners, we can also strategically allocate such resources between selling miners and mining digital assets to optimize monetization amid highs and lows of the relevant digital asset markets. The complementary deployments miner resources procured from suppliers will allow us to effectively adjust our business strategies and reduce risk exposure under volatile market conditions.

By slicing the mining capacity we procure into units for various renting periods, our cloud-mining solutions enable customers at all sophistication levels to mine digital assets. Customers can avoid the significant up-front investment in expensive miners and gain access to mining facilities in a number of jurisdictions with stable and economical power supply. We offer a matrix of cloud-mining service plans for an affordable service fee, which lowers the entry barrier to digital asset transactions for all. Leveraging our access to a network of miner hosting facilities with professional support, we enable our customers to access cost-efficient power supply and the day-to-day operational support for their mining activities.

With our expanding fleet of leased and self-owned miners, we have engaged in and capitalized on mining digital assets for our own accounts since February 2022. In 2022 and 2023, our revenue generated from our self-mining operations was approximately US$60.3 million and US$100.2 million, respectively. Currently, we primarily mine Bitcoin and accumulate the relevant digital assets for our current and future financial and operational needs. By diversifying our revenue streams from different income generating models, we believe we can better mitigate market volatility.

Visionary management team and R&D professionals with industry insight

Our management team believes that emerging technologies such as cloud computing and blockchain have great potential to drive the digital asset industry into an epoch. They are passionate about leveraging their industry know-how to explore more applications of digital assets. Our visionary management team has formulated a clear strategy to integrate high mining capacity and data flow efficiency into our solutions.

Our chairman and chief executive officer, Mr. Leo Lu, is a well-recognized leader in the digital asset and blockchain industry with rich industry experience. Prior to founding Finfront, Mr. Lu served as a business director of Bitmain and was responsible for co-founding Bitmain’s cloud-mining department, designing cloud-mining pricing model, and developing digital asset-related products. During his time at Bitmain, Mr. Lu was also in charge of the planning and design of the big data center of Internet products, and comprehensive planning and analysis of blockchain and big data technology. Our management team also possesses complementary experiences gained from industry-leading traditional financial institutions, internet giants and blockchain unicorns.

We are committed to enhancing our R&D capabilities to strengthen our technology advantages and optimize our solutions to customers. We retain an R&D team with profound industry and technology background, such as internet product development, cloud architecture and system design.

Business Model

Self-mining operations

Specialized computers, or “miners,” power and secure blockchains by providing hash calculations to validate transactions on specific digital asset networks. In order to add blocks to the blockchain, a miner must map an input data set consisting of the existing blockchain, plus a block of the most recent digital asset transactions and an arbitrary number called a “nonce,” to an output data set of a predetermined length using hash calculations. Providing these hash calculations results in a reward of digital assets, such as Bitcoin. These rewards of digital assets can be sold for fiat currency. The underlying cost of mining generally consists of the cost of mining hardware, the cost of the electrical power to operate the machine, and other facility costs to house and operate the equipment.

We have engaged in and capitalized on mining digital assets for our own accounts since February 2022. In 2022 and 2023, our revenue generated from self-mining operations was approximately US$60.3 million and US$100.2 million, respectively. We operate miners that perform hash calculations in support of blockchain network measured in hash rate. The efficiency of a mining hardware is measured by the hash rate of such miner. Miners with higher hash rate when operating at maximum efficiency have a higher chance of completing a block in the blockchain and receiving a digital asset reward.

Currently, the likelihood that an individual mining participant acting alone will solve a block and be rewarded a digital asset is extremely low. As a result, to maximize the opportunities to receive a reward, most large-scale miners have joined with other miners in “mining pools” where the hash calculations of each pool participant are coordinated to complete the block on the blockchain and mining rewards are distributed to participants in accordance with the rules of the mining pool. Fees payable to the operator of the pool vary but are typically as much as 0.3%~4% of the reward earned and are deducted from the amounts earned by each pool participant. Mining pools are subject to various risks including connection issues, outages and other disruptions which can impact the quantity of digital assets earned by participants.

Through our collaboration with third-party hosting facility suppliers and a fleet of advanced miners, we operate miners for the purpose of mining Bitcoin. We mine and accumulate Bitcoins for our current and future financial and operational needs, based on market condition and the prevalent price of Bitcoin.

Our self-mining operations utilize third-party mining pools, such as AntPool and Foundry, to receive mining rewards from a given network. We maintain our own account in each of the mining pools that supports our self-mining operations. Under the Full-Pay-Per-Share method, which we have selected as our mining pool payout method, the mining pool confirms the amount of our Bitcoins payout each day at midnight UTC in exchange for the hash calculations performed by us to the mining pool in the previous 24 hours. The Bitcoin payout is settled on the following day, on a daily basis. We are entitled to compensation regardless of whether the mining pool operators successfully record a block to the Bitcoin blockchain.

Our results of operations for our self-mining operations are affected by fluctuations and long-term trends in the value of Bitcoin, blockchain difficulty, the purchase cost or lease expense of mining equipment, and the cost of hosting services (in particular the cost of electricity). Cost of revenues for self-mining operations mainly consists of lease expense of mining equipment, hosting expenses and depreciation expenses. We measure the breakeven point for our self-mining operations by dividing the sum of cost of revenue and operating expenses by the number of Bitcoins actually mined from self-mining operations during the relevant period. In 2022 and 2023, we mined 2,825 and 3,577 Bitcoins, respectively, and the breakeven point for our self-mining operations was approximately US$21,500 and US$28,200, respectively. During the same periods, the average Bitcoin price was approximately US$26,300 and US$28,850, respectively, according to Coinbase. The increase in the breakeven point of our self-mining operations from 2022 to 2023 was primarily due to the combined effect of (1) the decrease in the number of mined Bitcoins per hash calculation, which is attributed to the increase in blockchain difficulty; and (2) temporary suspension of certain miners during the third quarter of 2023 due to bad weather, power curtailments and the relocation of miners between facilities.

As of the date of this Report, our digital assets are mined to and stored in offline cold wallet, which is a physical device that holds digital assets offline and aims to prevent hackers from being able to access digital assets via traditional internet-hacking means. Access to digital assets in such cold wallet requires separate authentication from different authorized individuals.

Cloud-mining services

Our cloud-mining services provide a one-stop solution that enables customers at all levels to purchase hash calculation services and earn digital asset mining rewards on our cloud-based platform. Our cloud-mining services also enable customers to save the usually high up-front investment in purchasing expensive miners. Instead, customers can select from a suite of cloud-mining service plans on our platform, based primarily on different digital asset types and plan duration. We adjust the pricing of cloud-mining products from time to time based on the then prevailing market price of Bitcoin and the estimated costs associated with operating the respective miner types. However, the fee rate of an order placed by customers on our platform is fixed at time of placing, consisting of an upfront service fee, and subsequent service fees charged at more flexible intervals before they are incurred. Currently, the cloud-mining services primarily support the mining of Bitcoin. We receive digital assets, such as BTC, ETH, BCH and USDT, as payments for our cloud-mining and hosting services. Such digital assets would be automatically converted into USDT. Since October 2022, we began to convert USDT into U.S. Dollars and deposit them with banking institutions on a daily or weekly basis.

Our results of operations for cloud-mining services are affected by the value of Bitcoin, expected blockchain difficulty, the purchase cost or lease expense of mining equipment, and the cost of hosting services (in particular the cost of electricity), as well as the pricing and duration of our cloud-mining services. Cost of revenues for cloud-mining services mainly consists of lease expense of mining equipment, hosting expenses, depreciation expenses, and system maintenance costs. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the breakeven point for our cloud-mining services was US$37,300, US$24,000 and US$24,100, respectively. During the same periods, the average Bitcoin price was US$47,400, US$26,300 and US$28,850, respectively.

To provide cloud-mining services to our customers, we deploy miners sourced from our suppliers or miners owned by ourselves, and further render these miners operational and remotely accessible by procuring mining equipment hosting service, including data center rack space, electricity supply, network connectivity, hardware maintenance, and other necessary infrastructure services from the same or other suppliers. We then repackage the services of providing hash calculations using these miners, and integrate them with other critical services such as performance monitoring, hash rate stabilization, and connection with mining pools. Thus, we create a one-stop mining capability that can be sold in the form of cloud-mining services. We then sell cloud-mining services to our customers by transferring the control of the sub-divided hash calculations. For the mining capacity procured by us that is not subscribed for by any customer, we may deploy it in our self-mining.

Our cloud-mining services are user friendly and highly transparent to customers. Customer can register an account on our platform to mine their desired type of digital assets. Our cloud-mining plans are efficient in obtaining mining block rewards. Currently, it is becoming less likely for individual miners with relatively low hash rate to successfully solve blockchain without pooling resources together with other miners or operate within a mining pool, where miners can contribute their hash calculations to collectively solve a blockchain transaction. When our customers subscribe for our cloud-mining services, they are simultaneously connected to a mining pool with greater mining capacity, thus allowing them to pool hash calculations and mine more efficiently. As a result of pool of resources, customers are more likely to beat other participants to generate a winning hash to earn a Bitcoin. While customers need not procure, transport, install, manage or maintain the underlying mining hardware or software by themselves, they monitor the hash calculation procedure and output in real time on our platform.

For our cloud-mining services, customers may apply the mining capacity bought by them to a selection of mining pools, including AntPool and F2Pool, through our platform. We could assist customers in applying mining capacity to other mining pools at customers’ election if it is technically feasible and commercially reasonable. After a customer places an order for cloud-mining solutions with us, we help customer create a separate account with the designated mining pool, and bind the customer’s digital asset wallet to such account. We will then apply mining capacity bought by the customer to his or her account in the mining pool to perform hash calculations, and the pool operator will directly distribute the mining rewards to the digital asset wallet associated with customer’s account. We do not charge any fees or receive any income from the mining pool with respect to our cloud-mining services, and the mining pool is neither a supplier nor a customer of us with respect to our cloud-mining services. To the extent that our cloud-mining customers choose the same mining pools that support our self-mining operations, the hash calculations used for our self-mining operations and the hash calculations bought by our customers are separately connected to the mining pool through different accounts, and the mining rewards are distributed and paid by the mining pool operator to the respective accounts of us and our customers.

Cloud mining service agreements with our largest customer

Our business operations and financial performance have relied significantly upon our cloud-mining services since our inception, in particular those offered to our major customers. For instance, revenue from our largest customer in 2021, 2022 and 2023, Chainup Technic Limited and its related parties (the “Major Customer”), accounted for 30%, 17% and 15% of our total revenue, respectively, and revenue from our top three customers accounted for 51%, 31% and 26% of our total revenue in the same periods, respectively.

We and the Major Customer would enter into a cloud-mining service agreement each time the Major Customer places an order on our platform. Pursuant to the cloud-mining service agreement, we are responsible for providing the Major Customer with cloud-mining services as displayed on our platform, or specially customized for the Major Customer, the details of which shall be subject to the specific order, and shall display operation status and outputs of the cloud-mining services in the Major Customer’s account. We shall ensure the quality of our service, such as maintaining the daily average amount of executed hash calculations to be no less than 95% of the declared hash rate in the order, and extending the service period as stipulated in the order or refunding service fees for unutilized mining capacity if we are unable to provide services due to force majeure events or reasons not attributable to us. The Major Customer undertakes to comply with our term of services and privacy policy as stipulated in our website, if any, and to provide true, accurate and complete personal/corporate data and information for the purpose of registering an account and using the services provided on our platform. The Major Customer also agrees to decide the mining pool to which the hash calculation services purchased from us will be provided. Once a mining pool is selected, the Major Customer agrees that it has read and accepted the service agreement of the mining pool. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim liabilities for any loss or damage arising out of, or in connection with, the use of the services to be provided by the mining pool. We may unilaterally terminate the cloud-mining service agreement and cease to provide our services if the use of such services violates the laws and regulations of the Major Customer’s country, or if the Major Customer fails to pay in full the service fees pursuant to this agreement. There was no minimum purchase amount commitment other than the purchase amount stipulated in the order.

Miner hosting services

We began to provide hosting services to customers of our cloud-mining services and other digital asset enthusiasts in July 2021. Our miner hosting services provide customers with miner deployment, monitoring, troubleshooting, optimization and maintenance, as well as necessary electrical power, repair and other infrastructure services necessary to operate, maintain and efficiently mine digital assets. Customers entrust us to deploy the miners in data centers in the premises of our hosting facility suppliers. Our customers retain the right to use the miners, and will pay us a set of service fees.

To provide miner hosting services to our customers, we procure mining equipment hosting service, including data center rack space, electricity supply, network connectivity, hardware maintenance and other necessary infrastructure services from various hosting facilities sourced by Bitmain and other suppliers. We then integrate these services with our own services, such as performance monitoring and stability optimization, into a combined hosting service, and sells the combined hosting service to our customers for service fees. We bear the risk of losses that may arise from the difference between the actual costs incurred by us and the selling price to the customers. As of December 31, 2023, we provided hosting services through three mining facilities in the United States (including North Carolina, South Carolina and Montana), all of which were sourced through hosting service cooperation arrangements with Bitmain. See “—Suppliers—Hosting service cooperation arrangements under the Service Framework Agreement with Bitmain.”

Electricity capacity and cost

Mining digital assets requires intensive hash calculations, and the generation of such calculations requires large amounts of electricity. As of December 31, 2023, we had access to approximately 515 MW in electricity capacity at 24 mining facilities in the three continents through Bitmain and other suppliers. Electricity cost is charged by hosting operators for actual power consumption incurred for operating miners, which is then paid by us to hosting facility suppliers, including Bitmain, as part of hosting fees. In order to minimize the impact of electricity price increases on the costs, we have been leasing more advanced miner series from suppliers since November 2022. The S19XP series are more energy efficiency compared to the S19j pro series.

Suppliers

Digital asset mining is dependent on specialized digital asset mining hardware, most predominantly utilizing ASIC chips. Almost all of these miners are produced outside of the United States, mostly in Asia. Currently, the largest of miner manufacturer is Bitmain with its industry leading Antminer S19 series. We typically entered into supply agreements for most of the miners we operated or acquired for our mining operations, with certain suppliers, including Bitmain, which also provided us with relevant maintenance and repair services. With respect to our cloud-mining services, we may need to make a significant amount of prepayments for the miners we lease, and for our miner purchases, we are typically required to pay deposits to our miner suppliers in advance of delivery. If the market value of digital assets has increased, the demand for the newest, most efficient miners will also increase, leading to scarcity in the supply, and thereby a resulting increase in the price of hash calculations and miner supplies. Our business is highly dependent upon suppliers providing an adequate supply of efficient digital asset mining resources at economical prices to enable profitable mining by us and by third-party customers intending to purchase our solutions.

Antminer purchase arrangements

In the ordinary course of our business, we entered into a number of purchase agreements for digital asset miners of Antminer S19 series with certain suppliers, including Bitmain. Such purchase agreements do not contain exclusivity clauses that prohibit either party thereto from selling or purchasing miners from other third parties. Suppliers have the right to discontinue the sale of their miners and/or to make changes thereto at any time without prior approval from or notice to us. In addition, suppliers retain the intellectual property rights to such miners. Each agreement will remain in effect for as long as one or more shipping orders are outstanding thereunder, and may be terminated upon either party’s uncured material breach or upon insolvency proceedings against us. The agreements with Bitmain for digital asset miners are governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

The foregoing description of the Antminer purchase arrangements with Bitmain does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the actual agreements. The Antminer purchase agreement with Bitmain, as amended and supplemented, is filed as Exhibit 10.7 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Hash rate server cooperation arrangements

We entered into hash rate server cooperation arrangements with our suppliers, pursuant to which they will lease miners that provide hash calculations to us. We make procurement order before the beginning of each month and is subject to a minimum purchase amount based on our quarterly business plan and these suppliers’ miner availability. Procurement orders shall be placed on a monthly basis, and may not be automatically renewed. After the suppliers lease the miners to us, we will use our Aladdin system to control the miners, standardize and dispatch the hash calculations of the miners, and make the cloud-mining services available on our platform to different customers. We will be responsible for the services provided through the miners. We will also take necessary technical measures to ensure the normal operations of the miners and remedial measures against security risks. These agreements are generally automatically renewed, subject to prior written notice of termination, and are governed by the laws of Hong Kong or Singapore.

Hosting service cooperation arrangements under the Service Framework Agreement with Bitmain

Costs attributed to our largest supplier, Bitmain, represented approximately 7%, 52% and 61% of our total cost of revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Pursuant to the Service Framework Agreement with Bitmain dated as of December 20, 2021, as amended, we can obtain 300 MW hosting capacity under the hosting service cooperation arrangements with Bitmain, which will source available hosting facilities and is responsible for storing miners, providing on-site IT consulting, maintenance and repair, power supply, cooling and other services. Bitmain typically has access to large-scale computing infrastructures that provide digital asset mining colocation services and handle the management of our mining equipment. We generally make payment under the Service Framework Agreement and the related service orders on a monthly basis, based on the number of miners under management and the amount of electricity consumed. The hosting service fee rate between us and Bitmain under the Service Framework Agreement is based on electricity cost actually consumed by miners under management at the respective hosting facilities, plus a fixed fee, which may be amended by mutual consent by us and Bitmain. In addition, we may incur additional electricity costs based on specific orders under the Service Framework Agreement, which may include periodic price adjustment mechanism with reference to local electricity price index. The Service Framework Agreement has a term of 10 years, and may be extended by mutual written agreement by Bitmain and us. The Service Framework Agreement may be terminated by mutual agreement between the parties, or by either party upon the material breach of the agreement, bankruptcy, dissolution, or revocation of business license of the counterparty. If we unilaterally terminate the Service Framework Agreement or any service order thereunder, we shall be liable for ten-day’s hosting fees. The Service Framework Agreement is governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

The foregoing description of the Service Framework Agreement with Bitmain does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the actual agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.6 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Server purchase and hosting service framework agreement with Burdy

Costs attributable to our supplier, Burdy Technology Limited (“Burdy”), represented 82%, 32% and 13% of our total cost of revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Burdy is a miner and mining service provider with broad miner access in the United States, Canada, Europe and Southeast Asia. The major terms of our material supply agreements with Burdy are set forth as follows.

According to the server purchase and hosting service framework agreement between us and Burdy dated June 25, 2021, as amended on October 20, 2021 and October 30, 2021, we commit to purchase a minimum number of Antminer S19 series from Burdy at the specified price per miner between July 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021. Burdy has the right to discontinue the sale of our miners and/or to make changes thereto at any time without prior approval from or notice to us. Burdy will deliver and install the miners at the facilities designated by us. After the products are delivered and the receipts are confirmed by both parties, the ownership of the miners will be transferred to us. We own all rights, interests and renumeration related to our ownership, and we will have Burdy provide the subsequent hosting and maintenance services for those miners and pay relevant fees. Burdy may terminate the hosting and maintenance services if, among other events, the output of the relevant mining activities is insufficient to pay for the hosting fees during a 30-day period, or if there is a facility outage over 180 days. We may terminate this agreement if there is a delay of 10 days in miner deployment due to facility issues. When the hosting service is terminated, we may choose to entrust Burdy to sell the products at the market price or repossess the physical products. The server purchase and hosting service framework agreement is governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

The foregoing description of the server purchase and hosting service framework agreement, as amended, does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the actual agreements, which are filed as Exhibits 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Hash computer server cooperation agreement

According to the hash computer server cooperation agreement between us and Burdy dated June 15, 2021, as amended on October 30, 2021, Burdy will lease miners that provide hash calculations to us. We make procurement order at the beginning of each month and are subject to a quarterly minimum purchase amount based on our quarterly business plan and Burdy’s miner availability. The parties will sign a minimum commitment of lease amount for next quarter upon confirmation. Burdy reserves the right to adjust the rental price from time to time. After Burdy leases the miners to us, we will use our system to control the miners, standardize and dispatch the hash calculations of the miners, and make the cloud-mining solutions available on our platform to our customers. We will be responsible for the services provided through the miners. We will also take necessary technical measures to ensure the normal operations of the miners and remedial measures against security risks. We may terminate the agreement if, among other events, Burdy fails to rectify within 48 hours after our request for rectification of substandard services. Burdy may terminate the agreement if, among other events, we fail to pay the relevant fees more than 15 days after the due date. This agreement has an initial term of two years, and will be automatically renewed subject to prior written notice of termination. The hash computer server cooperation agreement is governed by the laws of Hong Kong.

The foregoing description of the hash computer server cooperation agreement, as amended, does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms and conditions of the actual agreements, which are filed as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.4 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Digital Assets

We accumulate Bitcoin mined through our self-mining operations and will exchange Bitcoin for fiat currencies at established cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Coinbase, to satisfy our working capital needs. We also receive other digital assets, such as BTC, ETH, BCH and USDT, as payments for our cloud-mining service. Digital assets that are received as service payments would be converted into USDT. Since October 2022, we began to convert USDT into U.S. Dollars and deposit them with banking institutions. Prior to December 2022, we held digital assets pre-paid by customers for their anticipated purchase of services, and temporarily held mining rewards of customers on their behalf in separate wallets, if such customers do not have their own digital asset wallets. We are required to release safeguarded digital assets upon customers’ instruction. As of December 31, 2022, we ceased to offer such temporary custodian services.

As of December 31, 2023, the total value of Bitcoin and USDT held by us for our own account was US$43.9 million and US$60,860, respectively. Bitcoin is the only digital asset that accounted for more than 1.0% of our total digital assets as of December 31, 2023. We keep Bitcoins mined by our self-mining operations in offline cold wallet and holds the private key. Our management is responsible for overseeing the digital assets and their transfers. Our internal policy requires each employee holding the required credentials to obtain corporate approval prior to any transfer of our digital assets. The digital assets held for our own account are not insured or guaranteed by any government or government agency. We also rely on service providers to safeguard our digital assets, and may experience difficulties in recovering our digital assets when the associated private keys are lost or leaked. Any security incident resulting in a compromise of our digital assets could result in substantial costs to us. Such incidents could also subject us to litigation, significant financial losses and damage our reputation. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—We rely on third-party service providers to safeguard and manage certain digital assets. Loss of private keys, security breach and hacking attempts could cause the loss and theft of such digital assets, and materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

We are subject to risk associated with depositing fund and digital assets with such third-party cryptocurrency exchanges and may experience loss of fund and digital assets if such exchanges fail to manage our fund or digital assets appropriately and in compliance with applicable regulatory requirement. For example, we have not been able to recover the fund and digital assets deposited with FTX at the time of its bankruptcy filing. As a result, we recorded impairment loss on assets held by FTX of US$9.8 million in 2022 (remeasured using the carrying value of Bitcoin as of December 31, 2022). Since the voluntary bankruptcy proceeds of FTX, we have suspended our transactions with FTX. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Operations—We deposit certain fund and digital assets with cryptocurrency exchanges. If such cryptocurrency exchanges become bankrupt or otherwise unable to remit stored fund and digital assets, we may lose these assets, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.”

We do not engage in the trading of, or investing in, digital assets that may be deemed as “securities.” We intend to mine digital assets that are generally not deemed as “securities.” The SEC and its staff have taken the position that certain digital assets fall within the definition of a “security” under the U.S. federal securities laws. Public statements by senior officials at the SEC indicate that the SEC does not intend to take the position that Bitcoin or Ethereum, in their current form, are securities. However, such statements are not official policy statements by the SEC and reflect only the speakers’ views, which are not binding on the SEC or any other agency or court, and cannot be generalized to any other digital asset. In accordance with a framework for analyzing whether a given digital assets is a security, published by the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology in April 2019, we would need to determine whether each of the digital assets acquired and held by us are an “investment contract,” as well as other instruments such as stocks, bonds, and transferable shares.

We intend to consult counsel prior to attempting to mine any cryptocurrency other than those that are generally not considered as “securities,” such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, in order to avoid inadvertently dealing in a digital asset which may be deemed a security. We anticipate that, should we consider mining a digital asset other than those that are generally not considered as “securities,” we will seek the advice of securities counsel, and the process will include research, review and analysis of the current federal securities laws and regulations regarding digital assets, including judicial interpretations and administrative guidance. However, the processes employed for determining whether particular digital assets are securities within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws are risk-based assessments and are not a legal standard or binding on the SEC or other regulators. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework—We face uncertainties relating to whether cloud-mining operations and a particular digital asset will be deemed as “security” in any relevant jurisdiction, and we may be subject to regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, and other penalties if such digital asset is deemed to be dealing with “security,” which may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.” We recognize that whether a digital asset is a security is a complex and evolving legal issue. For that reason, we have no plan in the foreseeable future to mine anything other than digital assets that are generally not considered as “securities.” However, if our compliance procedures and legal reviews prove to be incorrect, we may be subject to prohibitive SEC penalties and/or private lawsuit defense costs and adverse rulings.

Research and Development

We invested significant time, resources and expenses into the research and development of our services. In particular, we designed and implemented the Aladdin system to handle ultra-large scale management and dispatching of hash calculations. The Aladdin system has the maximum capacity to simultaneously connect millions of miners and to provide services that resolve critical mining problems arising from scalability, efficiency, authenticity, and securing hash power.

The Aladdin system consists of three major components, including (1) the miner monitoring system, namely FuFu Sentry, (2) the mining capacity slicing system, namely FuFu Proxy System, and (3) the hash calculation dispatching engine, namely FuFu Dispatcher Engine. FuFu Sentry provides real-time monitoring, system alerts, data insights and automated operation functions, which allow our users to efficiently control the hash calculation status and facilitate their decision-making. FuFu Proxy System connects the miners and mining pools and is able to accurately submit the hash calculations of each miner to the mining pool, which enhances the precision of mining capacity slicing and transparency of hash calculation distribution. FuFu Dispatcher Engine distributes the protocols that apply the hash calculations and ensures the stable operation of the protocols.

Our leadership position in the global could-mining market is the result, in part, of our committed research and development activities. We are increasingly focused on research and development, and have increased compensation to our research and development staff, and other personnel performing related functions since 2021, resulting an increase in our research and development expenses significantly from US$469,931 in 2021 to US$1.6 million in 2022 and further to US$1.7 million in 2023.

Sales and Marketing

We market our cloud-mining and hosting solutions primarily through word of mouth, press releases of our solutions and major collaboration with leading industry participants. We also advertise our available solutions and hosting capacity on our website, which is updated periodically for product launches, available mining and hosting capacity and other trend and development of the digital asset industry. Furthermore, we maintain an active presence on social media in order to raise awareness of our brand. we have not relied heavily on sales force for advertising and marketing of our cloud-mining and hosting solutions, as most of our customers approach us proactively.

Compliance Infrastructure

Risk Management Procedure

We are subject to various anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws in the United States and jurisdictions where we operate. Our compliance infrastructure is designed to prevent our platform from being used to facilitate money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activity in countries, or with persons or entities, included on designated lists promulgated by OFAC and equivalent foreign authorities. We have developed, implemented, and maintained a know-your-customer (“KYC”) procedure and a risk-based anti-money laundering program, including internal policies that require our employees to report suspicious activities and transactions, comply with reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and collect and maintain information about our customers.

When a new customer first places an order on our platform, such customer is required to go through the KYC procedure and to submit certain authentication information. For individual customers, we will collect personal identification information, such as name, nationality and address, to verify the identity of individual customers. We collect identification documents, including valid national identity card, passport or driver license with a photo issued by the relevant local government, and confirm the identification with a photo of the individual customer with the identification documents provided by such customer. We also verify that submitted documents are not tampered with by photoshop and performs background checks by using the Refinitiv system, which is a world-check intelligence database that delivers accurate and reliable information and offers tools to help meet due diligence obligations, including meeting requirements under KYC screening and anti-money laundering.

For corporate customers, we will collect information such as corporate registration records, business license and business address, among others, and conduct background search for corporate customers’ major shareholders. Corporate customers must provide a valid certificate of incorporation & incumbency, and valid shareholders’ identity documents if any shareholders have equal to or more than 20% shareholding in the corporate customers. Based on the documents provided by such corporate customers, we will check the existence of the customer on the relevant local government website to verify the authenticity of the documents provided. Similar to individual customers, we also perform KYC check for individual shareholders that have equal to or more than 20% shareholding in our corporate customers.

Our customer services team would review this information, and report any suspicious activities in accordance with applicable regulations. Only after the KYC procedure has been completed by us will customers be able to use our services. We have designated employees to be responsible for monitoring and reporting global sanctions information, updating and operating KYC and anti-money laundering procedure, and regularly checking and updating risk control rules. We will report suspicious, questionable transactions and corporate/personal information to regulatory authorities in accordance with regulatory requirements in the place where we operate. Anti-money laundering regulations are constantly evolving and vary from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction. We continuously monitor our compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations and industry standards and implement policies, procedures, and controls in light of the most current legal requirements.

We do not provide cloud computing services to customers located in countries and regions that are subject to OFAC sanctions. Due to local regulatory policies and taxation considerations, we also currently do not accept order for our cloud-mining services from customers in mainland China, the United States and Singapore. Before customers can use our products and services, we require customers to confirm that the use of the services provided by us is legal in their country/region of residents. However, we may still be subject to investigation and enforcement action by regulators in these jurisdictions, to the extent that such regulators assert jurisdiction on digital assets and related transactions. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to the Regulatory Framework—Assertion of jurisdiction by U.S. and foreign regulators, or other government entities over digital assets and digital asset industry may subject market participants, including us, to additional regulation and investigation.”

Related Party Transaction Policy

We have adopted a written related person transaction policy setting forth the policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of its related person transactions. This policy covers any transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which it is a participant, in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 in any fiscal year and a related person (including any director, executive officer or shareholder holding 5% of our or our subsidiaries’ equity interest) has a direct or indirect material interest, including without limitation, purchases of goods or services by or from the related person or entities in which the related person has a material interest, indebtedness, guarantees of indebtedness and employment by us of a related person. In reviewing and approving any such transactions, our board of directors is tasked to consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including, but not limited to, whether the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in an arm’s length transaction and the extent of the related person’s interest in the transaction. In accordance with the related party transaction policy, our board of directors reviewed and approved the agreements between Finfront, Bitmain and Computing Inactive Beijing Technology Ltd., an entity controlled by Mr. Lu, and the loan between Mr. Lu and Finfront. Mr. Lu, an interested director of transactions between Finfront and Computing Inactive Beijing Technology Ltd., was involved in reviewing and approving such transactions after declaring his interests in the transactions to the board of directors and the shareholders of Finfront. Prior to the consummation of the Business Combination, the board of directors of Finfront did not have directors appointed or designated by Bitmain. As such, no interested directors were involved in reviewing and approving transactions between Finfront and Bitmain, which was a 5% shareholder of Finfront prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

Following the Business Combination, our related party transactions are reviewed and approved by an audit committee consisting entirely of independent directors. See “Item 6. Directors, Senior Management and Employees—C. Board Practices—Committees of the Board—Audit Committee.”

Our Relationship with Bitmain

Bitmain is a world-leading cryptocurrency mining hardware manufacturer and a 5% shareholder of Finfront prior to consummation of the Business Combination. Pursuant to the Amended and Restated PIPE Subscription Agreement dated January 11, 2024, Bitmain purchased 4,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares upon the consummation of the Business Combination. As of February 29, 2024, Bitmain beneficially owned 11,500,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, representing 7.1% of our issued and outstanding Ordinary Shares.

As of the date of this Report, we are the only cloud-mining strategic partner of Bitmain. We are also a S-level client of Bitmain, the highest level among all of Bitmain’s clients, which has provided us with certain transaction privileges. We rely on Bitmain in the provision of our hosting services. We have entered into a ten-year Service Framework Agreement with Bitmain, pursuant to which we can obtain 300 MW hosting capacity as well as stable, competitive power and hosting fee arrangements in mining hosting facilities across the world. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, the aggregate consideration paid to, or to be paid to, Bitmain under the service cooperation arrangements was approximately US$7.0 million, US$83.9 million and US$166.5 million, respectively. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, costs attributed to the abovementioned agreements with Bitmain, as a percentage of the total cost of our revenue, was approximately 7%, 52% and 61%, respectively. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions—B. Related Party Transactions—Transactions with Bitmain and its affiliates.” As of December 31, 2023, the majority of hosting facilities utilized by us were sourced by Bitmain. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, hosting cost (including electricity cost) attributed to Bitmain accounted for 11%, 95% and 84% of all hosting cost, respectively. We procured miners from Burdy during 2022 and has begun to develop other hosting facility suppliers since 2023. However, we currently rely on Bitmain to source substantially all of our hosting facilities. See “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business—We rely on a limited number of suppliers to provide us with digital asset mining equipment, hosting facilities, and other products or services critical to our business operations. We may not be able to obtain such supplies at competitive prices during times of high demand, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.”

Competition

The digital asset industry in which we operate is competitive, with an increasing number of participants in and new technologies introduced to the digital asset industry.

Our cloud-mining operations compete with other hash calculation service providers that allow users to subscribe a fraction of larger digital asset mining capacities for a fee and enjoy the proportionate mining rewards, also known as hash calculation sharing services. We compete with other industry participants primarily on the service product design, pricing, anticipated return, quality and availability of cloud-mining services, and the stability and sufficiency of various supplies and resources supporting the provision the cloud-mining services.

For our hosting services, we compete with other industry participants primarily on hosting space and power supply and cost.

Our self-mining operations compete with mining operations throughout the world to complete new blocks in the blockchain and earn the reward in the form of an established unit of a digital asset. We compete with other industry participants on the basis of the total hash rate contributed by miners used for our self-mining business, the degree of mining difficulty, the efficiency of our mining operations, the fiat value of the mining reward, and obtain access to facilities for location of mining operations.

A significant percentage of mining equipment is manufactured by a single supplier and almost all mining equipment is provided by a small number of manufacturers. While miners of digital assets historically range from individual enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to large public company mining operations and large company mining hosting operations with dedicated mining facilities, the vast majority of mining is now undertaken and further trending towards large-scale, industrial mining farms. A mining pool is created when mining participants pool the processing power of their miners over a network and mine transactions together. Rewards are then distributed proportionately to the pool participants based on the work/hash power contributed to solving a block.

Several public companies (traded in the United States, Canada, and internationally), such as the following, may be considered competitors to us:

The digital assets industry is a highly competitive and evolving industry and new competitors and/or emerging technologies could enter the market and affect our competitiveness in the future. Other market participants in the digital assets industry include investors and speculators, retail users transacting in digital assets, and service companies that provide a variety of services including buying, selling, payment processing and storing of digital assets. To continue to be successful, we will require sufficient additional capital to secure access to additional facilities, new available mining equipment and related infrastructure.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property is an important aspect of our business, and we seek protection for our intellectual property as appropriate. To establish and protect our proprietary rights, we rely upon a combination of patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark laws and contractual restrictions such as confidentiality agreements, licenses and intellectual property assignment agreements.

We currently have filed four patent applications in various jurisdictions, including the United States, relating to technologies such as blockchain computing power supply, dispatching of blockchain hash calculations, mining capacity slicing and allocation, and hash calculation pricing and adjustment. We maintain a policy requiring our employees, contractors, consultants and other third parties to enter into confidentiality and proprietary rights agreements to control access to our proprietary information. These laws, procedures and restrictions provide only limited protection, and any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged, invalidated, circumvented, infringed or misappropriated. Furthermore, the laws of certain countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States, and we therefore may be unable to protect our proprietary technology in certain jurisdictions. Moreover, our platform incorporates software components licensed to the general public under open-source software licenses. We obtain many components from software developed and released by contributors to independent open-source components of our platform. Open-source licenses grant licensees broad permissions to use, copy, modify and redistribute those open-source components of our platform. As a result, open-source development and licensing practices can limit the value of our software copyright assets.

We continually review our development efforts to assess the existence and patentability of new intellectual property. We are in the process of registering our domain names and trademarks in the United States and in certain locations outside the United States to protect our brand.

Seasonality

Our hash calculations are typically slightly lower in summer, as higher temperature tends to affect miner performance and cause electricity costs to raise. In addition, extreme weather condition in winter may negatively affect the operations of hosting facilities, which in turn affects miner performance.

Employees

All aspects of our business require specialized knowledge and technical skill. Such knowledge and skills include the areas of blockchain technology, research and development, digital asset marketing and operations, human resource management, data privacy, as well as legal compliance, finance and accounting. We believe that we have adequate personnel and resources with the specialized skills required to carry out our operations successfully. As of December 31, 2023, we have 29 full-time employees, who have been engaged by Ethereal Singapore, and primarily work in Singapore during employment terms.

None of our employees are represented by a labor union or covered by collective bargaining agreements, and we have not experienced any work stoppages.

The remuneration payable to our employees includes salaries and allowances. We determine employee remuneration based on factors primarily including industry standard, department operation requirement and work performance. In order to maintain the quality, knowledge and skills of our employees, we appreciate the importance of training to employees. We provide regular trainings to our employees, which include orientation training for new employees and continuing on-the-job training for existing employees. We believe we offer our employees competitive compensation packages and a dynamic work environment that encourages initiative and is based on merit. As a result, we have been able to attract and retain talented personnel and maintain a stable core management team.

We enter into standard labor and confidentiality agreements with all employees and non-compete agreements with our core employees. The non-compete restricted period typically expires six months after the termination of employment.

Facilities

Our corporate headquarters is located at 111 North Bridge Road, #15-01, Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098, where we lease approximately 1,489 square feet of commercial office space pursuant to operating leases that expire in January 2025. We lease all of our facilities and believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the immediate future, and that, should it be needed, suitable additional space will be available on commercially reasonable terms to accommodate any such expansion of our operations.

In addition, we store miners in and have access to third-party facilities located at several states in the United States, including Montana, Texas, North Dakota, among others. In aggregate, we had access to approximately 515 MW electricity capacity in facilities primarily located in three continents as of December 31, 2023.

Insurance

We provide pension insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance and medical insurance for our employees. We also maintain general third-party liability insurance and insurance coverage for our miners that we believe are in line with the industry practice. We currently do not maintain business interruption insurance, product liability insurance or key-man insurance.

Legal Proceedings

From time to time, we have been involved in legal proceedings or be subject to claims arising out of our operations. Except as disclosed in “Item 8. Financial Information—A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information—Legal Proceedings,” we are not presently a party to any litigation the outcome of which, we believe, if determined adversely against us, would individually or taken together have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Defending such proceedings is costly and can impose a significant burden on management and employees. We may receive unfavorable preliminary or interim rulings in the course of litigation, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained.

Government Regulation

Due to the relatively short history of digital assets, and their emergence as a new asset class, government regulation of blockchain and digital assets has been constantly evolving worldwide, with increased interest expressed by the United States and other international government regulators. For example, the Cyber-Digital Task Force of the U.S. Department of Justice published a report titled “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework” in October 2020 that detailed the Department’s view with respect to digital assets and the tools at the Department’s disposal to deal with threats posed by digital assets. In March 2021, the nominee for Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission expressed the need for investor protection along with promotion of innovation in the digital asset space.

In addition, various foreign jurisdictions either have adopted, or may adopt, laws, regulations or directives that affect digital assets, digital asset networks, and their users and participants. Such laws, regulations or directives may conflict with those of the United States, may negatively impact the acceptance of digital assets by users, merchants and service providers outside of the United States, and may therefore impede the growth of digital assets. A number of Eastern European and Asian countries currently have a more restrictive stance toward digital assets and, thereby, have reduced the rate of expansion of digital asset use, as well as digital asset transaction processing, in each of those countries.

Any restrictions imposed by a foreign government could force us to restructure operations, perhaps significantly, which could result in significant costs and inefficiencies that harm our profitability, or even cause us to cease operations in the applicable jurisdiction. Digital asset is a recent technological innovation and the regulatory schemes to which mining and trading digital asset may be subject have not been fully explored or developed by foreign jurisdictions. Thus, our operations face an uncertain regulatory landscape in many foreign jurisdictions.

United States

Government regulation of blockchain and digital assets is under active consideration by the United States federal government via its agencies and regulatory bodies. State and local regulations also may apply to our activities and other activities in which we may participate in the future. Other governmental or semi-governmental regulatory bodies have shown an interest in regulating or investigating companies engaged in blockchain or digital asset businesses. For instance, the SEC has taken an active role in regulating the use of public offerings of proprietary coins (so-called “initial coin offerings”) and has made statements and official promulgations as to the status of certain digital assets as “securities” subject to regulation by the SEC. In addition, the state of New York passed a two-year moratorium in 2022, which restricts issuance of new permits for proof-of-work mining operations that are powered by an electric generating facility utilizing carbon-based fuel.

We have placed Bitcoin miners in third-party hosting facilities in several states in the United States, including Montana, Texas, North Dakota, among others. We are not aware of any state specific regulations applicable to digital assets that affect our operations in the United States. Currently, we do not believe any U.S. or State regulatory body has taken any action or position adverse to our main digital asset, Bitcoin, with respect to our production, sale, and use as a medium of exchange. As the regulatory and legal environment evolves, we may become subject to new laws, such as further regulation by the SEC and other agencies, which may affect our mining and other activities.

The effect of any regulatory change, either by the Federal, state, local or foreign governments or any self-regulatory agencies on our operations is impossible to predict, but such change could be substantial and may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. While we are unaware of significant adverse governmental or regulatory action adverse to Bitcoin or Ethereum mining in the United States, there is no guarantee that future regulation or adverse action will not take place and interpretation of existing regulations in a manner adverse to our business is possible.

Singapore

Singapore generally has embraced digital assets and sought to create a permissive environment for their operations largely to attract foreign operators to its market. In November 2017, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) issued a statement that tokens sold through the blockchain funding model may be considered securities under certain circumstances under Singapore law, and provided case studies as examples of tokens that do and do not constitute securities. However, an exchange platform facilitating secondary trading of cryptocurrency securities must be an approved exchange or market operator by the MAS.

In this regard, the MAS regulates seven payment services provided to consumers or merchants under the licensing framework of the Payment Services Act (Act 2 of 2019) (“PSA”). Entities that buy or sell Digital Payment Tokens (“DPT”), or establish or operate a DPT exchange are regulated under the PSA. Schedule 1 of the PSA states that a “digital payment token service” and “e-money issuance service” are both considered payment service under the PSA. Further, “digital payment tokens” include digital tokens that, among others, “is, or is intended to be, a medium of exchange accepted by the public, or a section of the public, as payment for goods or services or for the discharge of a debt.” MAS has provided the following examples in its “A Guide to Digital Token Offerings” (the “MAS Guide”): (1) digital tokens used to pay for, for example, the provision of crowd-sourced hash calculations on a platform will not be considered a “digital payment token”; (2) digital tokens that can be traded on a secondary market alone does not result in the digital token being construed as capital markets products under the SFA, but may be considered a “digital payment token” under the PSA if it is, or is intended to be, a medium of exchange accepted by the public, or a section of the public, as payment for goods or services or for the discharge of a debt; and (3) digital tokens issued to raise funds for the development of products and services by the issuer may be considered a “digital payment token,” if this token is, or is intended to be, a medium of exchange accepted by the public, or a section of the public, as payment for goods or services or for the discharge of a debt.

Under section 5 of the PSA, providers of “digital payment token services” would, among others, require a license as a “payment service provider,” with such “payment service providers” to be licensed, where applicable as a “standard payment institution” or “major payment institution.” In particular, section 6(4) of the PSA states that a person must have in force a Standard Payment Institution License (“SPI”) or Major Payment Institution License (“MPI”) to be entitled to carry on a business of providing “digital payment token service.” In May 2020, the MAS updated its MAS Guide, stating that in general, the MAS “will examine the structure and characteristics of, including the rights attached to, a digital token in determining if the digital token is a type of capital markets products under the SFA,” and that offers or issues of digital tokens may be regulated by MAS if the digital tokens are “capital markets products” as defined under the Securities and Futures Act (Cap 289) (“SFA”), which includes, among others, “securities” or units in a “collective investment scheme.”

The following general observations, among others, were made in the MAS Guide regarding an offer of digital tokens that constitute “capital markets products” as defined under the SFA: (1) unless otherwise exempted, such offer must be made in or accompanied by a prospectus that is prepared in accordance with the SFA and is registered with MAS; (2) where an offer is made in relation to units in a collective investment scheme (“CIS”) as defined under the SFA, the CIS may be subject to authorization or recognition requirements under Singapore securities laws. In this respect, an “authorized” or a “recognized” CIS under the SFA must comply with certain investment restrictions and business conduct requirements; and (3) with respect to intermediaries who facilitate offers or issues of such digital tokens, such persons may be required to hold a license to the extent that such activities are regulated by the SFA or the Financial Advisers Act (Chapter 110 of Singapore). Non-exhaustive examples of such persons include: (1) a person who operates a platform on which one or more offerors of such digital tokens may make primary offers or issues of such digital tokens; (2) a person who provides financial advice in respect of such digital tokens; and (3) a person who operates a platform at which such digital tokens are traded.

Further, a “payment service provider” will require a MPI if (1) it carries on a business of providing one or more of the listed payment services, which includes “account issuance service” (other than an e-money account issuance service), “cross-border money transfer service,” or “digital payment token service”; and (2) the average, over a calendar year, of the total value of all payment transactions that are accepted, processed or executed by such payment service provider in one month exceeds (a) S$3 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency), for any one of the payment services it provides, or (b) S$6 million (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for two or more payment services, in the event such payment service provider provides more than one payment service.

With regards to e-money, in a MAS Consultation Paper issued in December 2019 titled “Consultation on PSA: Scope of E-Money and DPT,” “Money” is defined under the PSA “to include e-money but not DPTs.” MAS noted that as e-money has fiat currency as its unit of account, there is a tight nexus between e-money and the predominant forms of money in the economy today (i.e. physical cash and bank deposits), and took the position that e-money is congruent with how money is traditionally viewed, while DPTs are new forms of payment instruments unable to fulfil the three main functions of money.

On March 7, 2022, the MAS updated its FAQ on PSA, in which the MAS stated that single currency stablecoins (“SCS”) which satisfy certain characteristics are not considered to be pegged by its issuer to a currency and as such, are not considered “e-money” for the purposes of the PSA. Such characteristics include: (1) where the exchange rate of the SCS to the currency it references may vary, when used, traded or offered by third-party service providers; and (2) holders of the SCS need not have a contractual relationship or an account with the issuer of the SCS, to use the SCS.

Other types of stablecoins that are not considered “e-money” for the purposes of the PSA include stablecoins whose values reference a basket of multiple currencies or other assets and stablecoins which aim to maintain stable values through algorithms that adjust the supply of the stablecoins in response to changes in demand. However, the MAS has cautioned that although such stablecoins may not meet the definition of “e-money” under the PSA, they may meet the definition of a “digital payment token” instead.

On July 21, 2020, the MAS issued a “Consultation Paper on the New Omnibus Act for the Financial Sector” proposing, among others, that entities in Singapore providing “digital token services” outside of Singapore require licensing under a new omnibus Act for the regulation of ML/CFT risks in the Singapore financial sector. Such licensing regime, if passed and brought into force, may require issuers of tokens or providers of “digital token services” based in Singapore to be licensed or exempted as “digital token service providers” under the proposed Omnibus Act, notwithstanding that they may be providing such “digital token services” solely to persons outside of Singapore.

We believe that the existing law governing the mining, licensing and transactions of digital assets may continue to evolve in Singapore.

Canada

The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) has and we believe will continue to regulate the offering and exchange of digital assets to the public and we believe that Canadian securities and derivatives laws apply to coin offerings. Canada has labeled Bitcoin as a digital or virtual currency, distinct from fiat currency. Canada has experimented with a digital version of its currency called CAD-COIN, intended to be used exclusively for interbank payment. On August 24, 2017, the CSA published a staff position on the proposal (or offering) of cryptographic tokens to the public. The CSA staff’s position indicated that there is an increasing trend in the offers of cryptographic tokens to the public, including the offerings of cryptographic tokens which are characterized as securities or derivatives, and therefore in these cases the Canadian securities and derivatives laws apply to coin offerings. Regarding the question of whether cryptographic tokens are securities, the CSA position stated that many of the coin offerings that were examined found that the tokens issued were securities, including in light of the fact that they were considered as “investment contract.” In January 2020, the CSA issued new guidance to assist operators of digital asset trading platforms determine how Canadian securities laws apply to their activities. In addition, the CSA declared that cryptocurrencies are taxable as commodities rather than currencies. On the CSA’s website, the agency maintains that any good bought using digital currency must, for tax purposes, be included in the seller’s income tax. In February 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission approved a blockchain exchange-traded fund for launch on the Toronto Stock Exchange and in August 2020, the CSA approved the launch of Canada’s first regulated crypto platform. In March 2019, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Canada announced that it will implement anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulations and expand its regulatory mandate regarding offshore crypto companies, resulting in additional reporting requirement. In December 2022, the province of Manitoba in Canada has enacted an 18-month moratorium on new crypto mining operations. As of the date of this Report, we no longer have any operations in Canada.

Upon consummation of the Business Combination, Finfront became our wholly-owned subsidiary. The following diagram depicts a simplified organizational structure of the Company as of the date of this Report. These subsidiaries are also set forth in Exhibit 8.1 to this Report.

Our corporate headquarters is located at 111 North Bridge Road, #15-01, Peninsula Plaza, Singapore 179098, where we lease approximately 1,489 square feet of commercial office space pursuant to operating leases that expire in January 2025. We lease all of our facilities and believe that our facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the immediate future, and that, should it be needed, suitable additional space will be available on commercially reasonable terms to accommodate any such expansion of our operations.

In addition, we store miners in and has access to third-party facilities located at several states in the United States, including Montana, Texas, North Dakota, among others. In aggregate, we had access to approximately 515 MW electricity capacity in facilities primarily located in three continents as of December 31, 2023. 

ITEM 4A. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

Following the Business Combination, we conduct business through Finfront and its subsidiaries. You should read the following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of Finfront in conjunction with its consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Report. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties about our business and operations. The actual results of Finfront and the timing of selected events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those we describe under “Item 3. Key Information—D. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report. References to “we,” “us,” and “our” in this “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” are to Finfront and its subsidiaries before the consummation of the Business Combination, and BitFuFu Inc. and its subsidiaries after the consummation of the Business Combination.

Overview

We are a fast-growing digital asset mining service and one of world-leading cloud-mining service providers, dedicated to fostering a secure, compliant, and transparent blockchain infrastructure. We make available a variety of stable and intelligent digital asset mining solutions, including one-stop cloud-mining services and miner hosting services to institutional customers and individual digital asset enthusiasts. In addition, we have access to a fleet of advanced Bitcoin miners for efficient cloud-mining service to our customers and self-mining for our own account, allowing us to seamlessly adjust business strategies and reduce risk exposure.

On February 29, 2024, we consummated the Business Combination with Arisz pursuant to the Merger Agreement. On March 1, 2024, our Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants commenced trading on Nasdaq under the symbols “FUFU” and “FUFUW,” respectively.

Major Factors Affecting Our Results of Operations

The growth and success of our business as well as our financial condition and results of operations have been, and will continue to be affected by a number of factors, including:

Price and market volatility of digital assets

Substantially all of our business is related to the mining of Bitcoin. Our revenue primarily comprises (1) service fees for cloud-mining solutions, (2) service fees for miner hosting services, (3) to the extent that we engage in the sales, leasing and sourcing of the mining equipment, the sales and lease income of the mining equipment and sourcing commission, and (4) proceeds from Bitcoin self-mining operations. As such, our results of operations and financial condition are substantially affected by fluctuations and long-term trends in the value of Bitcoin and, to a lesser extent, other digital assets. The prices of digital assets, specifically Bitcoin, have experienced substantial volatility, with the high or low prices having little or no relationship to identifiable market forces. The value of digital assets is also subject to rapidly changing investor sentiment, and may be influenced by factors such as technology, regulatory void or changes, fraudulent actors, manipulation, and media reporting. Digital assets, in particular Bitcoin, may have value based on various factors, including their acceptance as a means of exchange by consumers and others, scarcity, and market demand. The recent bankruptcy proceedings in the digital asset industry have contributed in 2022 and 2023, at least in part, to further price decreases in Bitcoin observed during those periods. A significant and prolonged drop in Bitcoin price may reduce the demand for our cloud-mining services and adversely affect our profitability.

The fluctuations and longer-term trends in the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets also affect the price of miners that we purchase or lease from our suppliers. A decrease in Bitcoin price is expected to allow us to expand our miner fleets and mining capacity at reasonable price, which may help us compensate potential operating loss associated with a drop in Bitcoin price. However, such hedging practice may not generate expected return. To the extent that we decide to monetize our digital asset holdings, our earning from the sale of digital assets is expected to be affected by the then prevailing market price of and demand for the relevant digital assets. A significant drop in the price of digital assets may also subject us to impairment loss for digital assets held for our own account. For example, we recorded impairment loss on digital assets of US$12.9 million in 2022 when the price of Bitcoin dropped significantly against its carrying value. The market for digital assets is relatively new, rapidly evolving and subject to regulatory, tax, political and market factors beyond our control, which makes it difficult for us to predict the market trend of our digital assets.

Capacity and efficiency of miners

Our financial condition and profitability are affected by the capacity and efficiency of miners we lease from our suppliers or own to mine digital assets. Increases in hash rate of blockchain network of digital assets, especially that of Bitcoin, resulting from the growth in the overall quantity and quality of miners working to solve blocks on the blockchain, will generally lead to increases in mining difficulty, which would reduce the mining proceeds of the equipment proportionally, and eventually require miners to be upgraded to remain profitable. Further, reward rates for digital assets are subject to adjustments at predetermined intervals. For example, for Bitcoin, the reward was initially set at 50 Bitcoin currency rewards per block and this was cut in half to 25 on November 28, 2012 at block 210,000, to 12.5 on July 9, 2016 at block 420,000, to 6.25 on May 11, 2020 at block 630,000 and again to 3.125 on April 20, 2024 at block 840,000. These adjustments have had and will continue to have material effects on the economic viability of mining digital assets. We expect to invest in system and miner upgrades and in vertical integration of upstream mining facility resources to maintain our mining efficiency, which is expected to cause us to incur relevant costs and expenditure in the future.

Cost of revenues

Our ability to operate in a cost-efficient manner also depends on our access to stable supply of power on commercially reasonable terms. Cost of revenues, which is in line with the above revenue streams, mainly includes lease expense of mining equipment, depreciation expenses of self-own mining equipment, outsourcing fee, electricity and hosting fee, platform technology fee, web service fee, salaries, allocated overhead, purchase cost of mining equipment and sourcing expenses. Mining digital assets requires a significant amount of electricity, and increases in power costs and disruption of power supply will decrease our operating margins.

As the market value of digital assets has increased, the demand for the newest, most efficient miners has also increased, leading to scarcity in the supply of and thereby resulting increase in the price of miners. As a result, the cost of new equipment can be unpredictable, and could also be significantly higher than our historical cost for new miners. We may have to obtain miners and other hardware from suppliers at higher prices than expected. In addition, we rely on a limited number of suppliers for their provision of hash calculations, miners and hosting facilities, and such suppliers could increase their pricings due to factors beyond our control. Higher cost will adversely affect our profit margin if it is unable to pass the additional cost to our customers.

Ability to improve customer acquisition and retention and compete effectively

Our success also depends on our ability to retain and develop opportunities with existing customers and attract new customers. Our relationship with our major customers is critical to our success, as sales to our largest customer, Chainup Technic Limited and its related parties, accounted for 30%, 17% and 15% of our total revenue, and sales to our top three customer accounted for 51%, 31% and 26% of our total revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Our ability to maintain our existing customers and attract new customers is determined by a number of factors, including our pricing strategies, mining efficiencies, customer services and brand recognition. In addition, we compete with other companies that focus all or a portion of their operations on mining activities at scale for customers. We face significant competition in every aspect of our business, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of mining resources at reasonable costs, the ability to raise capital, access to energy sites with reliable sources of power, and technology capacity.

Regulatory environment

Our financial prospects and continued growth depend in part on our ability to continue to operate in a compliant manner with all rules and regulations. Our business is subject to the oversight of numerous regulatory agencies in Singapore, the United States, Canada and other jurisdictions where we currently develop or may develop business operations in the future. We are subject to significant uncertainties regarding future regulations pertaining to the holding, using or mining of Bitcoin and other digital assets in these jurisdictions. While Bitcoin and other digital assets have gradually gained more market acceptance in many countries, digital mining and blockchain transactions are anonymous and may be used for illegal transactions. Some jurisdictions have introduced restrictions over the uses of digital assets and the conversion between digital assets and fiat currencies or between digital assets. We plan to continue to invest in our finance, legal, compliance, and security functions in order to comply with applicable regulations and remain at the forefront of digital asset regulatory trends. As the industry matures, we may experience fluctuations in our results of operations as a result of changes in the law and regulations that are applicable to our business, which may limit our ability to and offer solutions and services to customers across jurisdictions.

Impact of COVID-19

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the global outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic. We continue to closely monitor the impact of COVID-19 on our business and operations. COVID-19 has had and continues to have an adverse impact on our business and operations, particularly as a result of preventive and precautionary measures that we, our business partners, customers, and governments are taking. In particular, we experienced delay in miner delivery from our suppliers and temporary disruption of hosting facilities due to mandatory quarantine measures in 2021 and 2022.

We are unable to predict the full impact that the COVID-19 pandemic, including variant strains of COVID-19, will have on our future results of operations, liquidity and financial condition due to numerous uncertainties, including government authorities in Singapore, the United States and Canada may re-implement quarantine measures in the future. However, COVID-19, including variant strains of COVID-19, is not expected to result in any significant changes in our financial condition going forward. We will continue to monitor the performance of our business and assess the impacts of COVID-19 and the emergence of new variant strains of COVID-19, including potential constraints on the supply of new miners and access to hosting facilities.

Selected Operating Metrics

We have experienced rapid growth in the previous three financial years ended December 31, 2023. We have referred to the following operating metrics in evaluating our business performance:

Miner fleet

We have continued upgrading and expanding the miner fleets retained. While we primarily relied on Antminer S17 series in early 2021, we began to replace those with more advanced Antminer S19j pro series starting from the second quarter of 2021, and then replace S19j pro series with S19 XP series starting from November 2022. As of December 31, 2023, all of the miners under our management were from Antminer S19 series, more than 88% of which were from the Antminer S19 XP series, one of the most advanced miner series on the market. Antminer S19 XP series can reach an energy efficiency of 21.5 J/T, which outperform Antminer S17 series with a general energy efficiency of 40 J/T or 50 J/T. As of December 31, 2023, we have mining capacity of 22.9 EH/s, among which 20.3 EH/s were from suppliers or leased miners, 2.1 EH/s were from our self-owned miners, and 0.5 EH/s were from customers hosted miners.

Cloud-mining plan duration and customer retention

We primarily offer cloud-mining plans with a duration of 90, 120 or 180 days to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. These plans accounted for approximately 70%, 83% and 60% of our total cloud-mining revenue in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. In 2021, 2022 and 2023, our recurring revenue for our cloud-mining service, defined as revenue attributable to customers placing orders more than once in a year, was approximately US$73.4 million, US$96.6 million and US$174.0 million, respectively, accounting for 96.8%, 97.3% and 97.7% of our total cloud-mining revenue in the same periods, respectively. We had realized a net dollar retention rate of 140% for 2023 calculated by dividing the amount of recurring revenue in 2023 by the amount of revenue in 2022. The registered users of our cloud mining business increased from 188,460 as of December 31, 2022 to 304,270 as of December 31, 2023.

Key Components of Results of Operations

Revenues

We operate in a single segment that mainly includes: (i) providing cloud-mining services; (ii) providing mining machine hosting services; (iii) leasing of mining equipment; (iv) sourcing services for mining machine transactions; (v) selling of mining equipment; and (vi) Bitcoin self-mining. In 2023, we temporarily suspended our sales, leasing and sourcing services for mining equipment as part of the our strategic shift towards the development of our cloud-mining business.

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, our revenues were US$103.0 million, US$198.2 million and US$284.1 million, respectively. In 2021, we generated approximately 17% and 12% of our revenues from mainland China and Hong Kong, respectively. In 2022, we generated approximately 1% and 5% of our revenue from mainland China or Hong Kong for sales orders made within 2021 and continuously executed in 2022. In 2023, we did not generate revenues from mainland China and generated approximately 2% of our revenue from Hong Kong. We do not expect to generate revenues from mainland China in the near future. As we continue to expand our business globally, we do not expect the cessation of service offerings to customers in mainland China would have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The following table sets forth the breakdown of our revenues by business line both in absolute amount and as a percentage of the total revenues in the periods indicated.

Cost of revenue

In 2021, 2022 and 2023, our cost of revenue was US$94.0 million, US$162.0 million and US$271.4 million, respectively. The following table sets forth the breakdown of our cost of revenue by business line both in absolute amount and as a percentage of total cost of revenue in the periods indicated.

Gross profit

Our gross profit was US$9.0 million, US$36.2 million and US$12.7 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. Our gross profit margin was 8.8%, 18.3% and 4.5% in the same periods, respectively. The following table sets forth a breakdown of our gross profit and gross profit margin by business line in the periods indicated.

Operating expenses/income

The following table sets forth our operating expenses/income, both in absolute amount and as a percentage of our total operating expenses/income, for the periods indicated.

Sales and marketing expenses

Our sales and marketing expenses were US$1.6 million, US$2.0 million and US$1.9 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, primarily representing (1) referral fees incurred in our sales and promotional activities; (2) compensation to our sales and marketing staff and other personnel performing related functions; and (3) advertising and promotion fees to reach more customers.

General and administrative expenses

Our general and administrative expenses were US$1.4 million, US$2.7 million and US$3.7 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, primarily representing (1) compensation to our administrative staff and management team, and other personnel performing related functions; and (2) professional service expenses representing audit fees, consulting fees and legal fees.

Research and development expenses

Our research and development expenses were US$0.5 million, US$1.6 million and US$1.7 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively, primarily representing compensation paid to our research and development staff, and other personnel performing related functions.

Realized fair value gain on digital asset borrowings

We entered into digital asset borrowing agreements with a third party to borrow 300 Bitcoins in total at an annual interest rate of 1% in February and March 2022, which were primarily used to supplement our working capital. The borrowings were due in June 2022. We fully repaid the Bitcoins in June 2022, and recognized a fair value gain on digital asset borrowings of US$4.2 million in 2022 due to the changes in the Bitcoin spot price between the day of receiving and day of repaying the Bitcoins borrowed. We did not record realized fair value gain or loss on digital asset borrowings in 2023.

Credit loss provision for receivables

Our accounts receivables balance consists of amounts due from our cloud-mining rewards and mining equipment sales income. We make provision for potentially uncollectable accounts under the current expected credit loss (“ECL”) impairment model. The ECL impairment model requires an estimate of expected credit losses, measured over the contractual life of an instrument, that considers forecasts of future economic conditions in addition to information about past events and current conditions, such as the age of the balance, collection history, and current economic trends.

Impairment loss on assets held by FTX

In November 2022, it was reported that the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the United States. As of the time of such bankruptcy filing, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoin (with an equivalent value of US$7.7 million after re-measurement using the carrying value of Bitcoin as of December 31, 2022) in our account maintained at FTX. Since the uncertain result of the bankruptcy proceeding of FTX, we have reclassified those fund and Bitcoin balances from cash or digital assets to custodian assets held by FTX and made full impairment on those balances. We did not further record or reverse impairment loss on assets held by FTX in 2023.

Impairment loss on mining equipment

We recognize impairment of mining equipment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be fully recoverable. During 2022, our operating performance was adversely affected by the challenging business climate, which included a decrease in the price of Bitcoin and a resulting decrease in the market price of miners. Furthermore, both primary and secondary market prices for ASIC miners of the type used by us in our business operations experienced significant declines from previous levels. Based on the impairment assessment, a testing indicated that the estimated fair value of the mining equipment was less than our net carrying value as of December 31, 2022 and an impairment charge of US$11.9 million was recognized, decreasing the net carrying value of our mining equipment to their estimated fair value. We did not record impairment loss on mining equipment in 2023.

Impairment loss on digital assets

We recognize impairment loss on digital assets in relation to Bitcoins held for our own account once an identical digital asset is bought and sold in the principal market at a price below its carrying value. We recorded impairment loss on digital assets of US$12.9 million and US$7.0 million in 2022 and 2023, respectively whenever the fair value of the digital asset dropped against its carrying value, while we did not record impairment loss on digital assets in 2021 due to low balance of Bitcoin during 2021.

Realized gain on sales of digital assets

We recognized realized gain on sale/exchange of digital assets of US$0.4 million, US$4.9 million and US$18.2 million in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively. The realized gain on sales of digital assets was primarily derived from our operating activities.

The realized gain for 2021 was primarily related to our cloud-mining operations. When customers make payments by digital assets, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, we convert those digital assets to USDT on third-party cryptocurrency exchanges. The fluctuation in the price of digital assets at the time of receipts and conversion is recorded as gain or loss accordingly.

The realized gain for 2022 and 2023 was primarily attributable to our self-mining operations starting from February 2022, as we may, from time to time, dispose our Bitcoins from self-mining operations according to our working capital demand or the management’s judgement on the short-term trends of market price of Bitcoin. The significant increase in our realized gain for 2023 was primarily due to a 50% year-over-year increase in the amount of Bitcoins sold in 2023 and an increase in the difference between the selling price and the carrying value of Bitcoin sold in 2023 driven by the increase in Bitcoin price during the second half of 2023 when the sales were made.

Taxation

We recorded income tax expenses of US$1.0 million in 2021, income tax credit of US$665,929 in 2022 and income tax expenses of US$2.2 million in 2023.

Cayman Islands

We are an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based upon profits, income, gains or appreciation and there is no taxation in the nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be material to us levied by the government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or after execution, brought within the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. In addition, the Cayman Islands does not impose withholding tax on dividend payments.

Singapore

Our headquarters is located in Singapore and one of our subsidiaries, Ethereal Singapore is incorporated in Singapore. Ethereal Singapore is subject to Singapore profits tax rate of 17% for the year ended December 31, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Under the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134 of Singapore) (“ITA”), the prevailing corporate income tax rate is 17%, and a company’s statutory income (for the purposes of determining assessable and chargeable income) is based on the full amount of its income for the year preceding the year of assessment (“YA”).

Under section 43(1) of the ITA, every company will be taxed at the rate of 17% of chargeable income for each YA unless, amongst others, the company falls under: (a) the partial tax exemption in section 43(6A) of the ITA applicable to all companies save for Qualifying Companies (defined below) (“Partial Tax Exemption”); or (b) the tax exemption for “qualifying company[ies]” in section 43(6C) of the ITA (“Qualifying Companies”) in their first three YAs, provided such YAs fall on or after YA 2008 (“Qualifying Company Tax Exemption”).

Ethereal Singapore had been a dormant company from its incorporation in May 2018 to November 2021. From November 2021 onwards, Ethereal Singapore is subject to the 17% corporate income tax rate for each fiscal year, unless it falls within the aforementioned Partial Tax Exemptions or Qualifying Company Tax Exemption.

Under Singapore tax laws, we are exempted from Singapore income tax on its foreign sourced dividend income received in Singapore, provided that (1) such income is subject to income tax of a similar character under the laws of the jurisdiction from which such income is received at the time the income is received in Singapore; (2) at the time the income is received in Singapore, the highest rate of such tax on any gains or profits from a trade or business carried on in such jurisdiction is not less than 15%; and (3) the Singapore Comptroller of Income Tax is satisfied that the tax exemption would be beneficial to the person resident in Singapore.

United States

One of our subsidiaries, Ethereal Tech US Corporation was incorporated in Delaware in December 2021 and started operations in February 2022. Ethereal US is subject to U.S. federal, state and local income taxes, if any. We evaluate our ability to recognize our deferred tax assets quarterly by considering all positive and negative evidence available as proscribed by the FASB under its general principles of ASC 740, Income Taxes.

Results of Operations

The following table presents a condensed statement of operations for the periods indicated.

Year ended December 31, 2023 compared to year ended December 31, 2022

Revenues

Our revenues increased significantly from US$198.2 million in 2022 to US$284.1 million in 2023, representing an increase of 43.3%, primarily due to an increase in revenue from cloud-mining solutions and self-mining operations which was partially offset by the suspension of sales and leasing of mining equipment and sourcing services for mining equipment sales operations as part of the Company’s strategic shift towards the development of its cloud-mining business in 2023.

Revenue from cloud-mining solutions increased significantly from US$99.4 million in 2022 to US$178.0 million in 2023, representing an increase of 79.1%, primarily due to increases in repeat purchases of cloud-mining services from existing customers and new customers, and increase in average selling price. Revenue from existing customers was US$138.9 million and new customers was US$39.1 million in 2023, accounting for 78.0% and 22.0% of revenue from cloud-mining solutions, respectively. In 2022, revenue from existing customers was US$66.0 million and new customers was US$33.4 million, accounting for 66.4% and 33.6% of revenue from cloud-mining solutions, respectively.

Revenue from self-mining operations increased from US$60.3 million in 2022 to US$100.2 million in 2023, representing an increase of 66.2%, primarily due to an 88.4% year-over-year increase in the average hash rate used for self-mining operations and a 9.5% year-over-year increase in the annual average price of Bitcoin produced, which was partially offset by an increase in blockchain difficulty for Bitcoin mining resulting in a decrease in Bitcoin output per tera-hash. Bitcoin production from self-mining operations increased 26.6% to 3,577 Bitcoins in 2023, from 2,825 Bitcoins in 2022. Blockchain difficulty is a technical term in Bitcoin mining, which affects the unit mining output per tera hash. The higher of blockchain difficulty, the less Bitcoin will be produced by each hash rate unit.

Revenue from miner hosting services and others decreased from US$8.0 million in 2022 to US$5.9 million in 2023, representing a decrease of 26.3%, primarily due to the temporary suspension of hosted miners by customers seeking to limit mining losses during periods when Bitcoin prices were low.

We did not generate revenue from its sourcing services for mining equipment, leasing services or sales of mining equipment in 2023, as part of our strategic shift towards the development of its cloud-mining business. We generated US$18.8 million, US$1.3 million and US$10.4 million from its sourcing services for mining equipment, leasing services and sales of mining equipment in 2022, respectively.

Cost of revenues

Our cost of revenues increased significantly from US$162.0 million in 2022 to US$271.4 million in 2023, representing an increase of 67.5%, primarily due to costs associated with the expansion of its cloud-mining solutions and self-mining operations which was partially offset by a decrease in costs associated with hosting services and sourcing, leasing and sales of mining equipment.

Cost of revenues from cloud-mining solutions increased significantly from US$79.1 million in 2022 to US$164.5 million in 2023, representing an increase of 108%, primarily due to associated costs with the expansion of our cloud-mining business.

Cost of revenues from self-mining operations increased from US$59.3 million in 2022 to US$101.4 million in 2023, representing an increase of 71.0%, primarily due to associated costs with the expansion of our self-mining business.

Cost of revenues from miner hosting services and others increased significantly from US$7.8 million in 2022 to US$5.5 million in 2023, representing a decrease of 29.5%, primarily due to the temporary suspension of hosted miners by customers seeking to limit mining losses during periods when Bitcoin prices were low.

Cost of revenues from sales of mining equipment, leasing of mining equipment and sourcing services for mining equipment sales were nil in 2023, compared with US$10.1 million, US$0.8 million and US$4.9 million in 2022, respectively, as we temporarily suspended these services as part of our strategic shift towards the development of its cloud-mining business.

Gross profit

Our gross profit decreased from US$36.2 million in 2022 to US$12.7 million in 2023, and the gross profit margin decreased from 18.3% in 2022 to 4.5% in 2023, primarily due to the decrease in the gross profit margin of cloud-mining solutions and the suspension of high margin business, including sourcing services for mining equipment sales.

The gross profit margin of cloud-mining solutions decreased from 20.5% in 2022 to 7.6% in 2023, primarily due to our competitive pricing strategies to increase the revenue and market shares of our cloud mining business. The gross profit margin of our cloud-mining solutions primarily depends on our sales price, the degree of market competition, lease cost of mining equipment, price of electricity fee, and the agreed service period of orders and timing of orders.

Sales and marketing expenses

Our sales and marketing expenses decreased from US$2.0 million in 2022 to US$1.9 million in 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by an increase in market demand which partially reduced the need for advertising and promotional campaigns.

General and administrative expenses

Our general and administrative expenses increased from US$2.7 million in 2022 to US$3.7 million in 2023, representing an increase of 37.0%, primarily due to a US$0.5 million increase in payroll costs associated with the recruiting of additional talent and a US$0.3 million increase in consulting expenses associated with the Company’s business development.

Research and development expenses

Our research and development expenses increased significantly from US$1.6 million in 2022 to US$1.7 million in 2023, primarily due to an increase in payroll costs of technical and development employees.

Impairment loss on assets held by FTX

There was no impairment loss on assets held by FTX in 2023. As of the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing in November 2022, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoin in our account maintained at FTX. Since the uncertain result of the bankruptcy proceeding of FTX, we reclassified those fund and Bitcoin balances from cash or digital assets to custodian assets held by FTX and made full impairment on those balances, and recognized impairment loss on assets held by FTX of US$9.8 million in 2022.

Impairment loss on digital assets

Impairment loss on digital assets in 2023 was US$7.0 million, representing a decrease of 45.7% from US$12.9 million in 2022, primarily due to the increase in Bitcoin price in 2023. We did not implement the early adoption of FASB fair value accounting rules, ASU No. 2023-08, Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets, for 2022 and 2023. We calculated impairment on digital assets whenever the carrying value of our digital assets exceeds the fair value of the digital assets on a daily basis.

Impairment loss on mining equipment

In 2022, our operating performance was adversely affected by the challenging business climate, which included a decrease in the price of Bitcoin and a resulting decrease in the market price of miners. Furthermore, both primary and secondary market prices for ASIC miners of the type used by us in our business operations experienced significant declines from previous levels. As a result, we recognized an impairment loss on mining equipment of US$11.9 million in 2022, and no such impairment loss was recognized in 2023.

Realized fair value gain on digital asset borrowings

We recorded US$4.2 million realized gain for the fair value changes of digital asset borrowings for 2022 due to the changes in the Bitcoin spot price between the day of receiving and day of repaying the Bitcoins borrowed. We did not record similar gain or losses for 2023, as we did not have such digital asset borrowings during that period.

Realized gain on sales of digital assets

Realized gain on sales of digital assets increased significantly from US$4.9 million in 2022 to US$18.2 million in 2023, primarily due to a 50% year-over-year increase in the amount of BTC sold in 2023 and an increase in the difference between the selling price and the carrying value of Bitcoin sold in 2023 driven by the increase in Bitcoin price during the second half of 2023 when the sales were made.

Year ended December 31, 2022 compared to year ended December 31, 2021

Revenues

Our revenues increased significantly from US$103.0 million in 2021 to US$198.2 million in 2022, primarily due to the significant increase in the revenue from cloud-mining and self-mining operations.

Revenue from cloud-mining solutions increased significantly from US$75.9 million in 2021 to US$99.4 million in 2022, primarily due to the business expansion of our cloud-mining solutions, including the increase in customers and the number of miners under management. In 2021, revenue from existing customers and new customers of cloud-mining solutions was US$5.4 million and US$70.5 million, respectively, representing 7% and 93% of our total revenues, respectively. In 2022, revenue from existing customers and new customers of cloud-mining solutions was US$66.2 million and US$33.2 million, respectively, representing 67% and 33% of our total revenues, respectively.

Revenue from self-mining operations increased from nil in 2021 to US$60.3 million in 2022, as we started to engage in self-mining operations from February 2022, and there were no such self-mining operations in 2021. In 2022, we obtained 2,825 Bitcoins from mining pool operators in connection with our self-mining operations, as consideration for our hash calculations contributed to the mining pools in 2022. Such contributed hash calculations were generated from our self-owned miners and leased miners from our suppliers.

Revenue from sales of mining equipment decreased from US$18.2 million in 2021 to US$10.4 million in 2022, as because we strategically reduced our sales of mining equipment as a result of declining price of Bitcoins in 2022, which caused a decrease in the market price of miners.

Revenue from leasing of mining equipment decreased from US$7.3 million in 2021 to US$1.3 million in 2022, primarily due to the adjustment of business focus from leasing service to cloud-mining solutions and hosting services.

Revenue from sourcing services for mining equipment sales increased from US$0.8 million in 2021 to US$18.8 million in 2022, as we recognized commission of sourcing services at the time of equipment delivery, and we delivered more miners to customers in 2022 as compared to 2021.

Revenue from miner hosting services and others increased significantly from US$0.9 million in 2021 to US$8.0 million in 2022, as we started to provide miner hosting services from July 2021 and expanded our hosting services in 2022.

Cost of revenues

Our cost of revenues increased significantly from US$94.0 million in 2021 to US$162.0 million in 2022, primarily due to the significant increase in cost of revenues attributable to cloud-mining services and self-mining operations.

Cost of revenues from cloud-mining solutions increased significantly from US$68.0 million in 2021 to US$79.1 million in 2022, primarily due to the expansion of our cloud-mining operations and the associated costs in 2022, including an increase of US$28.8 million in hosting and electricity fees, partially offset by a decrease of US$17.8 million in miner rental expenses due to the declines of Bitcoin price in 2022.

Cost of revenues from self-mining operations increased from nil in 2021 to US$59.3 million in 2022, as we did not have any self-mining operations in 2021. The cost of revenues from self-mining operations mainly consists of depreciation of miners, rental cost of miners and electricity fees.

Cost of revenues from sales of mining equipment decreased from US$17.0 million in 2021 to US$10.1 million in 2022, primarily because fewer miners were sold in 2022 due to the volatile condition of the digital asset market.

Cost of revenues from leasing of mining equipment decreased from US$7.9 million in 2021 to US$0.8 million in 2022, primarily due to the decrease in leasing transactions due to the adjustment on business focus.

Cost of revenues from sourcing services for mining equipment sales increased from US$0.4 million in 2021 to US$4.9 million in 2022, because more miners were delivered in 2022, and we recognized revenue and the associated cost of revenues for sourcing services at the time of delivery.

Cost of revenues from miner hosting services and others increased significantly from US$0.6 million in 2021 to US$7.8 million in 2022, which was in line with the revenue growth in our hosting services in 2022.

Gross profit

Our gross profit increased significantly from US$9.0 million in 2021 to US$36.2 million in 2022 due to our business expansion. Our gross profit margin increased from 8.8% in 2021 to 18.3% in 2022, due to the increase in gross profit margin of cloud-mining solutions and the increase in the revenue proportion of the sourcing services for mining equipment transaction business, which had higher gross profit margin in 2022. The gross profit margin of cloud-mining solutions increased from 10.3% in 2021 to 20.5% in 2022, primarily due to the decrease in the monthly purchase price of hash calculations in 2022 in line with the decline of Bitcoin price, while the revenue recognized was in part associated with sales orders submitted in late 2021 or early 2022, when the Bitcoin price was relatively higher. The gross profit margin of our cloud-mining solutions primarily depends on our sales price, the degree of market competition, lease cost of mining equipment, price of electricity fee, and the agreed service period of orders and timing of orders. As the sales price of cloud-mining solutions depends in part on the Bitcoin price at the time of order submission, and the monthly lease cost of mining equipment depends in part on the Bitcoin price, the gross profit margin of our cloud-mining solutions may fluctuate with the Bitcoin price over time. Should the Bitcoin price decline from the time of order submission and we lease miners after order submission, we expect our gross profit margin of cloud-mining solutions to be generally higher in the corresponding periods (and vice versa). In addition, we achieved a higher profit margin of 74% for our sourcing services, and the percentage of revenue contributed by our sourcing services increased from 0.8% in 2021 to 9.5% in 2022, which as a whole had a positive impact on our gross margin.

Sales and marketing expenses

Our sales and marketing expenses increased from US$1.6 million in 2021 to US$2.0 million in 2022, which was in line with our business growth, and primarily due to the increase in compensation to our sales and marketing staff and other personnel performing related functions of US$0.4 million, as we increased our sales and marketing efforts in 2022.

General and administrative expenses

Our general and administrative expenses increased significantly from US$1.4 million in 2021 to US$2.7 million in 2022, primarily due to the increases in (1) compensation to our administrative staff and management team, and other personnel performing related functions of US$0.5 million, (2) professional services expenses of US$0.5 million, as we incurred consulting fees and legal fees related to the preparation of the Business Combination, and (3) other miscellaneous expenses of US$0.3 million.

Research and development expenses

Our research and development expenses increased significantly from US$469,931 in 2021 to US$1.6 million in 2022, primarily due to the increases in compensation to our research and development staff, and other personnel performing related functions of US$1 million.

Impairment loss on assets held by FTX

As of the time of FTX’s bankruptcy filing in November 2022, we deposited US$2.1 million and 480 units of Bitcoin in our account maintained at FTX. Since the uncertain result of the bankruptcy proceeding of FTX, we reclassified those fund and Bitcoin balances from cash or digital assets to custodian assets held by FTX and made full impairment on those balances, and recognized impairment loss on assets held by FTX of US$9.8 million in 2022.

Impairment loss on digital assets

Impairment loss on digital assets in 2021 is nil, as our digital assets in 2021 were primarily related to the service fees from our cloud-mining customers, which were automatically converted into USDT every 10 minutes after receipt and the difference between their carrying value and fair value was therefore insignificant. Impairment loss on digital assets increased to US$12.9 million in 2022, as we began our self-mining operations from February 2022, under which we held the Bitcoins obtained from self-mining operations in our accounts, and recognized impairment loss for 2022 when the price of Bitcoin dropped significantly against its carrying value.

Impairment loss on mining equipment