LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC. [LMFA] Filings

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023

OR

Commission File Number 001-37605

LM FUNDING AMERICA, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (813) 222-8996

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

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. 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 such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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

If an emerging growth company, 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 under 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 whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES ☐ NO ☒

The aggregate market value of voting and nonvoting common equity held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, as of June 30, 2023, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $9,165,600 based on the closing sales price as reported on the NASDAQ Capital Market as of such date.

The number of shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding as of March 22, 2024 was 2,492,964.

Table of Contents

PART I

Item 1. Business.

LM Funding America, Inc. (“we”, “our”, “LMFA”, or the “Company”) currently has two lines of business: our cryptocurrency mining business and our specialty finance business.

On September 15, 2021, we announced our plan to operate in the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, and we subsequently commenced Bitcoin mining operations in late September 2022. This business operation deploys our computing power to mine Bitcoin and validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. We conduct this business through a wholly owned subsidiary, US Digital Mining and Hosting Co, LLC, a Florida limited liability company ("US Digital"), which we formed in 2021 to develop and operate our cryptocurrency mining business.

With respect to our specialty finance business, the Company has historically engaged in the business of providing funding to nonprofit community associations primarily located in the state of Florida. We offer incorporated nonprofit community associations, which we refer to as “Associations,” a variety of financial products customized to each Association’s financial needs. Our original product offering consists of providing funding to Associations by purchasing their rights under delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments. Historically, we provided funding against such delinquent accounts, which we refer to as “Accounts,” in exchange for a portion of the proceeds collected by the Associations from the account debtors on the Accounts. In addition to our original product offering, we also purchase Accounts on varying terms tailored to suit each Association’s financial needs, including under our New Neighbor Guaranty™ program.

Cryptocurrency Mining Business

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 with the goal of serving as a digital means of exchanging and storing value. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that depends upon a consensus-based network and a public ledger called a “blockchain”, which contains a record of every Bitcoin transaction ever processed. The Bitcoin network is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network, powered by users participating in the consensus protocol, with no central authority or middlemen, that has wide network participation. The authenticity of each Bitcoin transaction is protected through digital signatures that correspond with addresses of users that send and receive Bitcoin. Users have full control over remitting Bitcoin from their own sending addresses. All transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain are transparent, allowing those running the appropriate software to confirm the validity of each transaction. To be recorded on the blockchain, each Bitcoin transaction is validated through a proof-of-work consensus method, which entails solving complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and post them on the blockchain. This process is called mining. Miners are rewarded with Bitcoins, both in the form of newly-created Bitcoins and fees in Bitcoin, for successfully solving the mathematical problems and providing computing power to the network.

Factors such as access to computer processing capacity, interconnectivity, electricity cost, environmental factors (such as cooling capacity) and location play important roles in mining. In Bitcoin mining, “hashrate” is a measure of the computing and processing power and speed by which a mining computer mines and processes transactions on the Bitcoin network. A company’s computing power measured in Hashrate is generally considered to be one of the most important metrics for evaluating Bitcoin mining companies.

We obtain Bitcoin as a result of our mining operations, and we sell Bitcoin from time to time to support our operations and strategic growth. We plan to convert our Bitcoin to U.S. dollars. We do not currently plan to engage in regular trading of bitcoin (other than as necessary to convert our bitcoin into U.S. dollars) or to engage in hedging activities related to our holding of bitcoin; however, our decisions to hold or sell bitcoin at any given time may be impacted by the bitcoin market, which has been historically characterized by significant volatility. Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell Bitcoin that we hold, or the number of Bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell Bitcoins are currently determined by management by monitoring the market in real time.

Factors Affecting Profitability

Market Price of Bitcoin

Our business is heavily dependent on the price of bitcoin. The prices of digital assets, including bitcoin, have historically experienced substantial volatility, and digital asset prices have in the past and may in the future be driven by speculation and incomplete information, subject to rapidly changing investor sentiment, and influenced by factors such as technology, macroeconomic conditions, regulatory void or changes, fraudulent actors, manipulation, and media reporting. Further, the value of bitcoin and other digital assets may be significantly impacted by factors beyond our control, including consumer trust in the market acceptance of bitcoin as a means of exchange by consumers and producers.

Bitcoin “Halving” Events

Bitcoin halving is a phenomenon that has historically occurred approximately every four years on the Bitcoin network. Halving is a key part of the Bitcoin protocol and serves to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in digital assets using a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. At a predetermined block, the mining reward is cut in half, hence the term “halving.” For example, the reward for adding a single block to the blockchain was initially set at 50 bitcoin currency rewards. The Bitcoin blockchain has undergone halving three times since its inception as follows: (1) on November 28, 2012 at block height 210,000; (2) on July 9, 2016 at block height 420,000; and (3) on May11, 2020 at block height 630,000, when the reward was reduced to its current level of 6.25 bitcoin per block. The next halving for the Bitcoin blockchain is anticipated to occur around April 2024 at block height 840,000. This process will recur until the total amount of bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21.0 million, and the theoretical supply of new bitcoin is exhausted, which is expected to occur around 2140. Many factors influence the price of Bitcoin, and potential increase or decrease in prices in advance of or following the future halving is unknown.

Halving is an important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem, and it is closely watched by miners, investors, and other participants in the digital asset market. Each halving event has historically been associated with significant price movements in the value of bitcoin.

Network Hash Rate and Difficulty

Generally, a bitcoin mining rig’s chance of solving a block on the Bitcoin blockchain and earning a bitcoin reward is a function of the mining rig’s hash rate, relative to the global network hash rate (i.e., the aggregate amount of computing power devoted to supporting the Bitcoin blockchain at a given time). As demand for bitcoin increases, the global network hash rate rapidly increases, and as more adoption of bitcoin occurs, we expect the demand for new bitcoin will likewise increase as more mining companies are drawn into the industry by this increase in demand. Further, as more and increasingly powerful mining rigs are deployed, the network difficulty for Bitcoin increases. Network difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to solve a block on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, or approximately every two weeks, so that the average time between each block is approximately ten minutes. A high difficulty means that it will take more computing power to solve a block and earn a new bitcoin reward which, in turn, makes the Bitcoin network more secure by limiting the possibility of one miner or mining pool gaining control of the network. Therefore, as new and existing miners deploy additional hash rate, the global network hash rate will continue to increase, meaning a miner’s share of the global network hash rate (and therefore its chance of earning bitcoin rewards) will decline if it fails to deploy additional hash rate at pace with the industry.

Equipment Purchases

During 2021, we purchased an aggregate of 5,046 Bitcoin S19J Pro Antminer cryptocurrency mining machines for an aggregate purchase price of $24.4 million (the “Mining Machines”) from Bitmain after certain credits. We received all of the Mining Machines purchased during 2021 from August 2022 through November 2022.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, we purchased an additional 400 Bitcoin Miner S19J Pro machines from Bitmain for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.3 million which were delivered in December 2022.

Additionally, during the year ended December 31, 2022, we purchased 200 Bitcoin S19 XP Antminer cryptocurrency mining machines ("XP Machines") from Bitmain for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.3 million. which were delivered in January 2023. We used various Bitmain credits and coupons totaling approximately $1.0 million to pay for the machines and we paid the remaining $0.3 million non-refundable payment in cash.

We purchased an additional 65 S19 XP machines on December 20, 2022 and another 125 S19 XP machines on January 15, 2023 from Bitmain for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.1 million. We used various Bitmain credits and coupons totaling approximately $0.6 million to pay for the 65 S19 XP machines that were ordered in December 2022, and in January 2023 we paid the remaining $0.5 million non-refundable payment relating to the 125 S19 XP machines in cash. All 190 XP machines were delivered in April 2023. We also paid $0.3 million to acquire an additional 101 S19 XP machines from Bitmain which were delivered in May 2023.

Since the inception of our contracts with Bitmain, we have paid an aggregate of approximately $28.0 million to Bitmain and related vendors relating to the purchase of these machines through December 31, 2023.

As of March 8, 2024, we have approximately 5,900 active machines with hashing capacity of approximately 0.61 EH/s.

Hosting Contracts

The Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, US Digital, entered into a hosting agreement (the “Core Hosting Agreement”) with Core Scientific Inc. (“Core”) pursuant to which Core agreed to host approximately 4,870 of the Company's Bitcoin Miner S19J Pro or XP machines at a secure location and provide power, maintenance and other services specified in the contract with a term of one year, with automatic renewals unless we or Core notifies the other in writing not less than ninety (90) calendar days before such renewal of its desire for the order not to renew unless terminated sooner pursuant to the terms of the Core Hosting Agreement. These

agreements mature in different tranches starting in May 2024 for approximately 4,380 machines and December 2024 for approximately 500 machines.

As required under the Core Hosting Agreement, the Company has paid approximately $2.2 million of deposits, of which $0.1 million has been applied to outstanding invoices as of December 31, 2023 as a deposit. As of March 8, 2024, Core has energized approximately 4,870 of our machines located at their sites with a hashing capacity of approximately 0.50 EH/s on a daily basis. In December 2022, Core filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and exited bankruptcy in January 2024. Core's bankruptcy filing did not negatively impact our mining ability at their sites.

On January 26, 2023, the Company entered into a hosting agreement (the “Phoenix Hosting Agreement”) with Phoenix Industries Inc. (“Phoenix”) pursuant to which Phoenix agreed to host 228 of the Company's Bitcoin Miner S19J Pro machines at a secure location and provide power, maintenance and other services specified in the contract with a term of two years. This Phoenix Hosting Agreement would renew automatically for an additional two years if the Company were to provide written notice to Phoenix of our desire of renewal at least sixty (60) days in advance of the conclusion of the initial term of two years, unless terminated sooner pursuant to the terms of the Phoenix Hosting Agreement. As required under the Phoenix Hosting Agreement, the Company paid approximately $36 thousand as a deposit in January 2023. The Company and Phoenix mutually terminated this agreement effective April 18, 2023 and the Company's S19J Pro machines were returned to the Company in May 2023. The Company fully impaired the $36 thousand deposit during the year ended December 31, 2023.

On March 9, 2023, the Company entered into a hosting agreement (the “Longbow Hosting Agreement”) with Longbow Host Co LLC (“Longbow”) pursuant to which Longbow agreed to host 500 of the Company's Bitcoin Miner S19J Pro machines at a secure location and provide power, maintenance and other services specified in the contract with a term of two years. Upon written request from the Company at least ninety (90) days prior to the conclusion of the then current term and approval by Longbow, the term shall renew for successive one year periods with a three percent (3%) increase as of the commencement of each renewal term unless terminated sooner pursuant to the terms of the Longbow Hosting Agreement. As required under the Longbow Hosting Agreement, the Company paid approximately $157 thousand as a refundable deposit in March 2023. The Company had 500 machines installed at the Longbow site as of June 30, 2023. The Company terminated this agreement on August 1, 2023 and expensed 50% of the $157 thousand deposit during the year ended December 31, 2023 and applied the remainder to outstanding invoices. The machines were returned to the Company in September 2023.

On May 5, 2023, the Company entered into a hosting agreement (the “GIGA Hosting Agreement”) with GIGA Energy Inc. (“GIGA”) pursuant to which GIGA agreed to host 1,080 of the Company's Bitcoin Miner S19J Pro machines at a secure location and provide power, maintenance and other services specified in the contract with a term of one year. As required under the GIGA Hosting Agreement, the Company paid approximately $173 thousand as a pre-payment in May 2023, which was applied to subsequent invoices. The Company also paid a refundable deposit of $94 thousand in August 2023 of which $42 thousand was applied to subsequent invoices. The Company had approximately 1,075 active machines installed at the GIGA site as of December 31, 2023.

Specialty Finance Business

In our specialty finance business, we purchase an Association’s right to receive a portion of the Association’s collected proceeds from owners that are not paying their assessments. After taking assignment of an Association’s right to receive a portion of the Association’s proceeds from the collection of delinquent assessments, we engage law firms to perform collection work on a deferred billing basis wherein the law firms receive payment upon collection from the account debtors or a predetermined contracted amount if payment from account debtors is less than legal fees and costs owed. Under this business model, we typically fund an amount equal to or less than the statutory minimum an Association could recover on a delinquent account for each Account, which we refer to as the “Super Lien Amount”. Upon collection of an Account, the law firm working on the Account, on behalf of the Association, generally distributes to us the funded amount, interest, and administrative late fees, with the law firm retaining legal fees and costs collected, and the Association retaining the balance of the collection. In connection with this line of business, we have developed proprietary software for servicing Accounts, which we believe enables law firms to service Accounts efficiently and profitably.

Under our New Neighbor Guaranty program, an Association will generally assign substantially all of its outstanding indebtedness and accruals on its delinquent units to us in exchange for payment by us of monthly dues on each delinquent unit. This simultaneously eliminates a substantial portion of the Association’s balance sheet bad debts and assists the Association to meet its budget by receiving guaranteed monthly payments on its delinquent units and relieving the Association from paying legal fees and costs to collect its bad debts. We believe that the combined features of the program enhance the value of the underlying real estate in an Association and the value of an Association’s delinquent receivables.

Because we acquire and collect on the delinquent receivables of Associations, the Account debtors are third parties about whom we have little or no information. Therefore, we cannot predict when any given Account will be paid off or how much it will yield. In assessing the risk of purchasing Accounts, we review the property values of the underlying units, the governing documents of the relevant Association, and the total number of delinquent receivables held by the Association.

Recent Developments

Equity Distribution Agreement

On June 26, 2023, we entered into an equity distribution agreement with Maxim Group LLC pursuant to which we may from time to time offer and sell shares of our common stock under our shelf registration statement having an aggregate offering price of up to $4.7 million (the “2023 ATM Program”) in “at-the-market” offerings as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. No shares of our common stock were sold under the 2023 ATM Program during the year ended December 31, 2023.

Asset Purchase Agreement with Symbiont.io, LLC

On June 2, 2023, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York entered an order (the “Symbiont Bankruptcy Order”) approving the sale of substantially all of the assets of Symbiont.io, LLC, as debtor in possession (“Symbiont”), to the Company pursuant to a form of asset purchase agreement attached to the Symbiont Bankruptcy Sale Order (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”) free and clear of all liens, claims and encumbrances. The Company and Symbiont signed the Asset Purchase Agreement on June 5, 2023, and the purchase and sale of the Symbiont assets pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement closed on June 5, 2023.

Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, the Company purchased substantially all of the assets of Symbiont (the “Symbiont Assets”) for a purchase price of $2.6 million, which was paid by means of a credit bid of the full amount of the note payable owed by Symbiont to the Company. The Symbiont Assets are comprised principally of intellectual property and software code relating to Symbiont’s financial services blockchain enterprise platform. The Company did not assume any liabilities of Symbiont in the transaction.

Asset Purchase Agreement with Platonic Holdings, Inc.

On December 26, 2023, we entered into an asset purchase agreement with Platonic Holdings, Inc. (“Platonic”) pursuant to which we agreed to sell to Platonic the Symbiont Assets. The sale of the Symbiont Assets closed on December 27, 2023. The sales price for the Symbiont Assets was $2.0 million in cash, of which $200,000 is being held in a customary indemnity escrow until December 26, 2024.

Reverse Stock Split

On November 9, 2023, our shareholders voted in favor of a proposal to amend to our Certificate of Incorporation, in the event it is deemed advisable by our Board of Directors, to effect a reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock at a ratio within the range of one-for-two (1:2) and one-for-ten (1:10), as determined by the Board of Directors.

On February 23, 2024, the Board approved a one-for-six (1:6) reverse split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock, par value $0.001 per share, pursuant to which every six outstanding shares of common stock was converted into one share of common stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”). The Reverse Stock Split was effected by the filing of an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation on March 7, 2024 which provided that the Reverse Stock Split become effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 12, 2024. The amendment provides that no fractional shares shall be issued and, in lieu thereof, any person who would otherwise be entitled to a fractional share of common stock as a result of the Reverse Stock Split will be entitled to receive one share of common stock. The Company’s common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on a split-adjusted basis on March 12, 2024. The Company has retroactively adjusted all share amounts and per share data herein to give effect to the Reverse Stock Split.

Markets, Geography and Major Customers

Bitcoin is a global store and exchange of value used by people across the world as an asset and to conduct daily transactions. Mining Bitcoin supports the global Bitcoin blockchain and the millions of people that depend on it for economic security and other benefits. Strictly speaking, there is no customer market for mining Bitcoin but we consider our mining pool operators as customers because they compensate us for providing processing power to the mining pool (see Item 1A. Risk Factors- “Our reliance on a third-party mining pool service provider for our mining revenue payouts may adversely affect an investment in us.”). We lease hosting space for our mining equipment from other hosting and mining companies.

Our specialty finance business focused on Associations is focused entirely in the state of Florida.

Working Capital Items

The Bitcoin mining industry is highly competitive and dependent on specialized mining machines that have few manufacturers. Machine purchases require large down payments and miner deliveries often arrive many months after initial orders are placed. However, over the last 12 months, we have seen a significant improvement in the availability and pricing for Bitcoin mining machines. The recent market conditions have provided opportunities to purchase both new and used machines on the spot-market from other miners or retail-dealers of machines for better financial terms and delivery terms, but there can be no guarantee that such opportunities will continue on a long-term basis. Currently, we are purchasing mining machines from Bitmain.

In addition to the approximate 5,900 machines in operation as of the date of this filing, we also expect to receive an additional 300 S-21 miners in the second quarter of 2024 with respect to which we have prepaid 50% of the invoice price as of December 31, 2023. The

remaining 50% was paid in March 2024. The Company expects to enter into additional agreements to purchase more miners in the coming years. The majority of miners we operate and expect to operate once received are some of the latest generation of miners manufactured by Bitmain, including the S19J-Pro and S19 XP.

Materials and Suppliers

We engage in the operation of high efficiency Bitcoin mining machines. These specialized computers, often called mining rigs, have few manufacturers. All of the machines we purchased this year were manufactured by Bitmain, one of the preeminent manufacturers of Bitcoin mining rigs. It is headquartered in China and manufactures throughout Asia.

Historically, we have been able to manage our supply chains effectively, but global supply chains continue to be constrained, and from time-to-time experience substantial increases in shipping costs and logistical delays as we make efforts to ensure timely delivery of equipment. There can be no certainty that we will not be affected in the future, and we believe that there is a significant risk that equipment supply chains will continue to be affected in 2024.

While some macro-economic indicators available as of the date of this filing suggest that inflation may be slowing, inflationary pressures impact virtually all aspects of our materials and suppliers, including power prices, and are likely to impact our fiscal year 2024.

Bankruptcies of hosting companies and digital asset exchange companies may occur and may pose a risk to our ability to mine Bitcoin. As indicated above, the bankruptcy filing of Core did not impact our mining ability, and we do not have any business relationships with some of the notable digital asset exchange companies that have recently declared bankruptcy such as Three Arrow Capital, FTX, Genesis Global Holdco, Genesis Asia Pacific, BlockFi, Voyager Digital and Celsius.

Environmental Issues

No significant pollution or other types of hazardous emission result from the Company’s direct operations and it is not anticipated that our operations will be materially affected by federal, state or local provisions concerning environmental controls. Our costs of complying with environmental, health and safety requirements have not been material.

There are increasing concerns over the large energy usage of Bitcoin mining and its effects on the environment. Many media reports focus exclusively on the energy requirements of Bitcoin mining and cite it as an environmental concern. However, we do not believe that existing or pending climate change legislation, regulation, or international treaties or accords are reasonably likely to have a material effect in the foreseeable future on our business or markets that we serve, nor on our results of operations, capital expenditures or financial position. We continue to monitor emerging developments in this area.

Competition

Bitcoin mining is a global activity. During fiscal year 2021, a majority of Bitcoin mining occurred in China. After China banned Bitcoin mining in May 2021, the center of mining moved to North America. Although Bitcoin mining by its nature is not a directly competitive business, all miners compete for Bitcoin rewards; based on this, we define competitors as other Bitcoin miners. Our competitors include large, publicly-listed mining companies, large private mining companies, and, in some cases, independent, individual miners who pool resources. We believe our principal competitive advantages include our energy background, a combination of owned, operated, and co-located miners and facilities, our strategic use of the Bitcoin we mine to fund operations growth, and our commitment to sustainable business practices, including sourcing renewable energy. Within North America, our major competitors include:

In addition to the foregoing, we compete with other companies that focus all or a portion of their activities on mining activities at scale. We face significant competition in certain operational aspects of our business, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of new miners, obtaining low cost electricity, obtaining access to energy sites with reliable sources of power, and evaluating new technology developments in the industry.

Intellectual Property

We do not currently hold any patents or patent applications in connection with our Bitcoin mining related operations or our specialty finance business. We do rely, and expect to continue relying, upon trade secrets, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other non-patent intellectual property rights.

Government Regulation

Bitcoin Mining

Cryptocurrency mining is largely an unregulated activity at both the state and federal level. We anticipate that cryptocurrency mining will be a focus for increased regulation in the near- and long-term, and we cannot predict how future regulations may affect our business or operations. State regulation of cryptocurrency mining is important with respect to where we conduct our mining operations. The majority of our mining facilities are located in Kentucky, which we believe currently has one of the most favorable regulatory environments for cryptocurrency miners.

In March 2022, the United States announced plans to establish a unified federal regulatory regime for cryptocurrency, and a group of United States Senators sent a letter to the United States Treasury Department asking Treasury Secretary Yellen to investigate Treasury’s ability to monitor and restrict the use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions imposed by the United States. We are unable to predict the impact that any new regulations may have on our business at the time of filing this Annual Report. We continue to monitor and proactively engage in dialogue on legislative matters related to our industry.

In August 2021, the chair of the SEC stated that he believed investors using digital asset trading platforms are not adequately protected, and that activities on the platforms can implicate the securities laws, commodities laws and banking laws, raising a number of issues related to protecting investors and consumers, guarding against illicit activity, and ensuring financial stability. The chair expressed a need for the SEC to have additional authorities to prevent transactions, products, and platforms from “falling between regulatory cracks,” as well as for more resources to protect investors in “this growing and volatile sector.” The chair called for federal legislation centering on digital asset trading, lending, and decentralized finance platforms, seeking “additional plenary authority” to write rules for digital asset trading and lending. In addition, it is possible the failure of FTX Trading Ltd. (“FTX”) in November 2022 and the resulting market turmoil could lead to increased SEC, CFTC, or criminal investigations, enforcement, and/or other regulatory activity.

While these statements are focused on digital asset exchanges (not Bitcoin miners), the failure of large exchanges, such as the recent failure of the exchange operated by FTX Trading Ltd. (“FTX”), who applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, may impact the adoption and value of Bitcoin. Additionally, because we store and sell our Bitcoin on exchanges, we may also be potentially impacted by exchange failures in that respect. For those reasons, we carefully vet our custodians for adequate compliance with U.S. laws as well as liquidity, using the information available to us, but we cannot be certain that we will be able to avoid the negative effects of a large exchange failure. We have not been directly impacted by the FTX bankruptcy other than the impact it had on the price of Bitcoin.

As the regulatory and legal environment evolves, we may become subject to new laws, such as further regulation by the SEC, CFTC, and other agencies, which may affect our mining and other activities. For additional discussion regarding our belief about the potential risks existing and future regulation pose to our business, see Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors”

Insurance

We have property insurance coverage for our bitcoin miners under an insurance program for a total of $11,896,000 in limits. This insurance coverage covers all the Company’s bitcoin miners with a deductible of $100,000 or 5%, whichever is greater, with a $500,000 minimum and pertains to fire, water damage, water intrusion, named storms, wind, or hail. We do not maintain business interruption coverage, which is currently not being provided by underwriters to any bitcoin mining companies. The policy also excludes coverage of our bitcoin holdings and cybersecurity coverage. We engage our insurance broker annually to solicit underwriters to provide proposals to renew our current coverage or update our policies to meet our needs, prior to the policies’ expiration each year.

Human Capital

We believe that our future success depends, in no small part, on our ability to continue to attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel. As of March 22, 2024, we had 8 employees, all of which were full time and all located in the United States. We believe that we have adequate personnel and resources with the specialized skills required to carry out our operations successfully. Employees participate in equity incentive plans and receive what we believe is generous compensation in the form of salary and benefits. We continually seek to hire and retain talented professionals, although the competition for such personnel in our segments is significant. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we have never experienced a work stoppage. We believe we have a strong and engaging relationship with our employees.

We use outside consultants, attorneys, and accountants, as necessary. We endeavor to maintain a workplace that is free from discrimination or harassment on the basis of color, race, sex, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identification or expression or any other status protected by applicable law. The basis for recruitment, hiring, development, training, compensation and advancement is a person’s qualifications, performance, skills and experience. We believe that our employees are fairly compensated, without regard to gender, race and ethnicity, and routinely recognized for outstanding performance.

Corporate Information

The Company was originally organized in January 2008 as a Florida limited liability company under the name LM Funding, LLC. Prior to our initial public offering in 2015, all of our business was conducted through LM Funding, LLC and its subsidiaries. Immediately prior to our initial public offering in October 2015, the members of the LM Funding, LLC contributed all of their membership interests to LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated on April 20, 2015 (“LMFA”), in exchange for shares of the common stock of LMFA. Immediately after such contribution and exchange, the former members of LM Funding, LLC became the holders of 100% of the issued and outstanding common stock of LMFA, thereby making LM Funding, LLC a wholly-owned subsidiary of LMFA.

The Company organized two new subsidiaries in 2020: LMFA Financing LLC, a Florida limited liability company, on November 21, 2020, and LMFAO Sponsor LLC, a Florida limited liability company ("Sponsor"), on October 29, 2020. LMFAO Sponsor LLC organized a subsidiary, LMF Acquisition Opportunities Inc., on October 29, 2020. LM Funding America Inc. organized a subsidiary, US Digital Mining and Hosting Co., LLC. ("US Digital"), on September 10, 2021. US Digital has created various 100% owned subsidiaries to engage in business in various states. The Company also from time to time organizes other subsidiaries to serve a specific purpose or hold a specific asset.

Where you can Find More Information

We maintain a corporate website at: https://www.lmfunding.com. The contents of this website is not incorporated in, or otherwise to be regarded as part of, this Annual Report.

We are required to file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and other information, including our proxy statement, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The public can obtain copies of these materials by accessing the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, as soon as reasonably practicable after these materials are filed with or furnished to the SEC, we will make copies available to the public free of charge through our website, https://www.lmfunding.com. The information on our website is not incorporated into, and is not part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K or our other filings with the SEC.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You should carefully consider each of the risks described below, together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before making an investment decision with respect to our securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flow could be materially and adversely affected and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to our Business -- General Risks

Risks Relating to Our Cryptocurrency Mining Business

Risks Related to Governmental Regulation and Enforcement Operations

Risks Related to the Specialty Finance Business

Risks Relating to Our Securities

Risks Relating to our Business -- General Risks

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate and cause our stock price to decline.

Because of the nature of our business, our quarterly operating results may fluctuate, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock. Our results may fluctuate as a result of the following factors:

Any future acquisitions that we make may prove unsuccessful or strain or divert our resources.

We may seek to grow through acquisitions of related businesses. Such acquisitions present risks that could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance, including:

If we make such acquisitions we cannot predict whether:

In addition, future acquisitions by us may result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of additional debt, and the recognition of significant charges for depreciation and amortization related to goodwill and other intangible assets.

Although we have no definitive plans or intentions to make acquisitions of related businesses, we continuously evaluate such potential acquisitions. However, we have not reached any agreement or arrangement with respect to any particular acquisition and we may not be able to complete any acquisitions on favorable terms or at all.

Our investments in other businesses and entry into new business ventures may adversely affect our operations.

We previously made and subsequently disposed of, and may in the future acquire, interests in companies or may commence operations in businesses and industries that are not identical to those with which we have historically engaged. If these investments or arrangements are not successful, our earnings could be materially adversely affected by increased expenses and decreased revenues.

Our organizational documents and Delaware law may make it harder for us to be acquired without the consent and cooperation of our Board of Directors and management.

Certain provisions of our organizational documents and Delaware law may deter or prevent a takeover attempt, including a takeover attempt in which the potential purchaser offers to pay a per share price greater than the current market price of our common stock. Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, our Board of Directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. In addition, our directors serve staggered terms of one to three years each and, as such, at any given annual meeting of our stockholders, only a portion of our Board of Directors may be considered for election, which may prevent our stockholders from replacing a majority of our Board of Directors at certain annual meetings and may entrench our management and discourage unsolicited stockholder proposals. The ability to issue shares of preferred stock could tend to discourage takeover or acquisition proposals not supported by our current Board of Directors.

We are currently operating in a period of economic uncertainty and capital markets disruption, which has been significantly impacted by geopolitical instability due to the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any negative impact on the global economy and capital markets resulting from the conflict in Ukraine or any other geopolitical tensions.

U.S. and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops was reported. Although the length and impact of the ongoing military conflict is highly unpredictable, the conflict in Ukraine could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. We are continuing to monitor the situation in Ukraine and globally and assessing its potential impact on our business.

Additionally, the recent military conflict in Ukraine has led to sanctions and other penalties being levied by the United States, European Union and other countries against Russia. Additional potential sanctions and penalties have also been proposed and/or threatened. Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets, potentially making it more difficult for us to obtain additional funds.

Although our business has not been materially impacted by the ongoing military conflict between Russian and Ukraine to date, it is impossible to predict the extent to which our operations, or those of our suppliers and manufacturers, will be impacted in the short and long term, or the ways in which the conflict may impact our business. The extent and duration of the military action, sanctions and resulting market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial. Any such disruptions may also magnify the impact of other risks described in this Annual Report.

Volatile or recessionary conditions in the United States or abroad could adversely affect our business or our access to capital markets in a material manner.

Worsening economic and market conditions, downside shocks, or a return to recessionary economic conditions could severely reduce demand for our products and adversely affect our operating results. These economic conditions may also impact the financial condition of one or more of our key suppliers, which could affect our ability to secure product to meet our customers’ demand. Our results of operations and the implementation of our business strategy could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy. An economic downturn may cause uncertainty in the capital and credit markets and could have a material adverse effect on us. We could also be adversely affected by such factors as changes in foreign currency rates, weak economies, and political conditions in each of the countries in which we sell our products.

We have been adversely affected by the effects of inflation.

Inflation has the potential to adversely affect our liquidity, business, financial condition and results of operations by increasing our overall cost structure, particularly if we are unable to achieve commensurate increases in the prices we charge our customers. The existence of inflation in the economy has resulted in, and may continue to result in, higher interest rates and capital costs, shipping costs, supply shortages, increased costs of labor, weakening exchange rates and other similar effects. As a result of inflation, we have experienced and may continue to experience, cost increases. Although we may take measures to mitigate the impact of this inflation, if these measures are not effective our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially adversely affected. Even if such measures are effective, there could be a difference between the timing of when these beneficial actions impact our results of operations and when the cost inflation is incurred.

We rely heavily on our management team, whose continued service and performance is critical to our future success. Any failure by management to properly manage growth, including hiring and retaining competent and skilled management and other personnel, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We currently have four executive officers — our Chief Executive Officer and President, Bruce Rodgers, our Chief Financial Officer, Richard Russell, our VP of Operations, Ryan Duran, and our VP of Strategies, Christopher Taylor  — who are responsible for our management functions and are responsible for strategic development, financing and other critical functions. Some of the members of our management team and our Board of Directors do not have prior experience in the Bitcoin mining industry. This lack of experience may impair our management teams’ and directors’ ability to evaluate and make well-informed decisions involving our current operations and any future projects we may undertake in the industries in which we operate. Such impairment and lack of experience could adversely affect our business, financial condition and future operations.

Our future success depends significantly on the continued service and performance of our existing management team. The departure, death, disability or other extended loss of services of any member of our management team, particularly with little or no notice, could cause delays on projects, frustrate our growth prospects and could have an adverse impact on our industry relationships, our project exploration and development programs, other aspects of our business and our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and prospects.

Our success, growth prospects, and ability to capitalize on market opportunities also depend to a significant extent on our ability to identify, hire, motivate and retain qualified managerial personnel, including additional senior members of management. Our growth may be constrained by resource limitations as competitors and customers compete for increasingly scarce human capital resources. The demand for professionals familiar with Bitcoin mining and other skilled workers is currently high. Our competitors may be able to offer a work environment with higher compensation or more opportunities than we can. Any new personnel we hire may not be or become as productive as we expect, as we may face challenges in adequately or appropriately integrating them into our workforce and culture. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of skilled personnel, our ability to successfully implement our business plan, grow our company and maintain or expand our mining operations may be adversely affected, and the costs of doing so may increase, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our expansion could also place significant demands on our management, operations, systems, accounting, internal controls and financial resources. If we experience difficulties in any of these areas, we may not be able to expand our business successfully or

effectively manage our growth. Any failure by management to manage growth and to respond to changes in our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may engage in strategic acquisitions and other arrangements that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders, reduce our financial resources and harm our operating results.

We have previously engaged in strategic transactions, including acquisitions of companies, technologies and personnel, and, as part of our growth strategy, in the future, we may seek additional opportunities to grow our mining operations, including through purchases of miners and facilities from other operating companies, including companies in financial distress. Our ability to grow through future acquisitions will depend on the availability of, and our ability to identify, suitable acquisition and investment opportunities at an acceptable cost, our ability to compete effectively to attract those opportunities and the availability of financing to complete acquisitions. Future acquisitions may require us to issue common stock that would dilute our current stockholders’ percentage ownership, assume or otherwise be subject to liabilities of an acquired company, record goodwill and non-amortizable intangible assets that will be subject to impairment testing on a regular basis and potential periodic impairment charges, incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets, incur large acquisition and integration costs, immediate write-offs, and restructuring and other related expenses, and become subject to litigation.

The benefits of an acquisition may also take considerable time to develop, and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition will produce the intended benefits in a timely manner or to the extent anticipated or at all. We may experience difficulties integrating the operations, technologies, and personnel of an acquired company or be subjected to liability for the target’s pre-acquisition activities or operations as a successor in interest. Such integration may divert management’s attention from normal daily operations of our business. Future acquisitions may also expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience, especially when competitors in such markets have stronger market positions, the possibility of insufficient revenues to offset the expenses we incur in connection with an acquisition and potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees and suppliers as a result of integration of new businesses.

In the future, we may require additional financing to sustain and expand our operations, and we may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and prospects.

Our ability to operate profitably and to grow our business is dependent upon, among other things, generating sufficient revenue from our operations and, when and if needed, obtaining financing. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenues to operate and/or expand our business, we will be required to raise additional capital to fund operating deficits (if applicable) and growth of our business, pursue our business plans and to finance our operating activities, including through equity or debt financings, which may not be available to us on favorable terms, or at all. Our ability to obtain capital through sales of Bitcoin would also be impacted by declines in the price of Bitcoin.

We have raised capital to finance our strategic growth of our business through public offerings of our common stock, and we expect to need to raise additional capital through similar public offerings to finance the completion of current and future expansion initiatives. Utilizing those sources may be more challenging in the current financial market conditions, in particular where trading volume is diminished. We may not be able to obtain additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, if at all, which could impair our growth and adversely impact our existing operations.

To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, stockholder ownership interest in the Company may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect rights as a stockholder. Debt and equity financings, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as redeeming our shares of common stock, making investments, incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.

We maintain our cash at financial institutions, which at times, exceed federally insured limits.

The majority of our cash is held in accounts at U.S. banking institutions that we believe are of high quality. Cash held in non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations.

Risks Relating to Our Cryptocurrency Mining Business

Our cryptocurrency mining business has a limited operating history. If we are not able to grow our operations as anticipated, we may not be able to generate material revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

We have limited operating history in the cryptocurrency mining business and have only begun generating revenues in that business in late third quarter of 2022. Although we believe that our planned cryptocurrency mining business significant profit potential, we may not attain profitable operations and our management may not succeed in realizing our business objectives. If we are not

able to develop our business as anticipated, we may not be able to generate material revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

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

We have limited operating history in the cryptocurrency mining business upon which an investor may evaluate our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our cryptocurrency mining business. Furthermore, we plan to focus our business on cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining, a new and developing field, which could further exacerbate the risks. In the event that actual results differ from our plans and expectations, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

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

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

As a result of these factors, it may be difficult for us to forecast growth trends accurately and our business and future prospects are difficult to evaluate, particularly in the short term.

The impact of geopolitical and economic events on the demand for Bitcoin is uncertain.

Geopolitical crises may trigger large-scale purchases of Bitcoin, which could rapidly increase their prices. This may, however, also increase the likelihood of a subsequent price swing in the opposite direction as crisis-driven purchasing behavior dissipates, ultimately decreasing the value of Bitcoins or any other digital asset in our possession. Such risks are similar to the risks of purchasing commodities in generally uncertain times, such as the risk of purchasing, holding or selling gold.

Alternatively, global crises and economic downturns may discourage investment in Bitcoin and digital assets in general as investors shift their investments towards less volatile asset classes. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of Bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

The value of Bitcoin has historically been subject to wide swings. Because we do not currently hedge our investment in Bitcoin and do not intend to for the foreseeable future, we are directly exposed to Bitcoin’s price volatility and surrounding risks.

While Bitcoin prices are determined primarily using data from various exchanges, over-the-counter markets and derivative platforms, they have historically been volatile and are impacted by a variety of factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the worldwide growth in the adoption and use of Bitcoins, the maintenance and development of the software protocol of the Bitcoin network, changes in consumer demographics and public tastes, fraudulent or illegitimate actors, real or perceived scarcity, and political, economic,

regulatory or other conditions. Furthermore, pricing may be the result of, and may continue to result in, speculation regarding future appreciation in the value of Bitcoin, or our share price, making prices more volatile.

Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell Bitcoin that we hold, or the number of Bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell Bitcoins are currently determined by management by analyzing forecasts and monitoring the market in real time. Such decisions, however well-informed, may result in untimely sales and even losses, adversely affecting an investment in us. At this time, we do not anticipate engaging in any hedging activities related to our holding of Bitcoin; this would expose us to substantial decreases in the price of Bitcoin.

The sale of our Bitcoins to pay for expenses at a time of low Bitcoin prices could adversely affect an investment in us.

We sell our Bitcoins to pay for operating expenses and growth on an as-needed basis. Consequently, we may sell our Bitcoins at a time when Bitcoin prices are low, which could adversely affect an investment in us. At this time, we do not engage in contractual or financial hedging activities related to our Bitcoin holdings to mitigate potential decreases in the price of Bitcoin. See the above risk factor entitled, “The value of Bitcoin has historically been subject to wide swings. Because we do not currently hedge our investment in Bitcoin and do not intend to for the foreseeable future, we are directly exposed to Bitcoin’s price volatility and surrounding risks."

Our mining costs may be in excess of our mining revenues, which could seriously harm our business and adversely impact an investment in us.

Mining operations are costly and our expenses may increase in the future. Increases in mining expenses may not be offset by corresponding increases in revenue (i.e. the value of Bitcoin mined). Our expenses may become greater than we anticipate, and our investments to make our business more cost-efficient may not succeed. Further, even if our expenses remain the same or decline, our revenues may not exceed our expenses to the extent the price of Bitcoin continues to decrease without a corresponding decrease in Bitcoin network difficulty. Increases in our costs without corresponding increases in our revenue would adversely affect our profitability and could seriously harm our business and an investment in us.

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

The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to abandon Bitcoin. As we exclusively mine, and expect to exclusively mine Bitcoin, we could face difficulty adapting to emergent digital ledgers, blockchains, or alternatives thereto. This could prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account and harm investors.

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

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

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

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

Furthermore, the global supply chain for cryptocurrency miners is currently heavily dependent on China, which has been severely affected by the China as a main supplier of cryptocurrency miners has been called into question in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. China has also in the past limited the shipment of products in and out of its borders, which could negatively impact our ability to receive mining equipment from our China-based suppliers. Should similar outbreaks or other disruptions to the China-based global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware occur, such as, for example, as result of worsening of the U.S. trade relations with China, including imposition of new tariffs, trade barriers and bilateral trade frictions, we may not be able to obtain adequate equipment from the manufacturer on a timely basis. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Bankruptcy of our hosting vendors could lead to interruption of service and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have entered into several agreements for colocation, management and other services with vendors (“hosting vendors”) whereby our mining machines are installed, operated and maintained at third-party locations. In the event that any of our hosting vendors declare bankruptcy, the hosting vendors may be unable to fulfill all or some of their obligations under the contract, may operate at a reduced capacity or may be unable to continue operating their facilities entirely. Any disruption in the hosting vendors ability to operate, or any reduction or change in the services available to be provided to us by the hosting vendor, could negatively impact our ability to mine and receive revenue. In the event that the hosting company is unable to continue operations or is unable to provide services at the level necessary to support our business for a prolonged period we may find it necessary to relocate our mining machines to another facility. Relocation costs could be material and we may be unable to recover damages from the hosting vendor for such costs incurred, which would negatively impact our results of operations.

In December 2022, Core Scientific filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas and exited bankruptcy in January 2024. This bankruptcy did not negatively impact our existing mining operations.

Inability to contract with a hosting vendor could lead to interruption of service and could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Our existing hosting contracts expire between May 2024 and December 2024. These agreements provide for colocation, management and other services with vendors (“hosting vendors”) whereby our mining machines are installed, operated and maintained at third-party locations. In the event that we are unable to extend, expand or contract with new hosting vendors, we may be unable to continue operating our miners, which could negatively impact our ability to mine and receive revenue, and we may be unable to conduct our operations until we find and engage a new hosting vendor. Relocation costs to a new hosting vendor could be material, and the time required to re-locate could be significant, which would negatively impact our business and results of operations.

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

As part of the build out of our cryptocurrency mining operations, we have engaged several companies to host our machines at various cryptocurrency mining facilities (or sites). Actually securing these sites on terms acceptable to our management team may not occur within our timing expectations or at all. Although we have entered into agreements with Core and Giga Energy to provide hosting services, our inability to secure sites for our Bitcoin miners could adversely impact the anticipated timing of our buildout phase and therefore the time by which we are able to expand our operations.

Because our miners are designed specifically to mine Bitcoin and may not be readily adaptable to mining other cryptocurrencies, a sustained decline in Bitcoin’s value could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We have invested substantial capital in acquiring miners using ASIC chips designed specifically to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using the SHA-256 algorithm as efficiently and as rapidly as possible on our assumption that we will be able to use them to mine Bitcoin and generate revenue from our operations. Therefore, our mining operations focus exclusively on mining Bitcoin, and our mining revenue is based on the value of Bitcoin we mine. Accordingly, if the value of Bitcoin declines and fails to recover, for example, because of the development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies, including competing cryptocurrencies which our miners may not be able to mine, the revenue we generate from our mining operations will likewise decline. Moreover, because our miners use these highly specialized ASIC chips, we may not be able to successfully repurpose them in a timely manner, if at all, if we decide to switch to mining a different cryptocurrency (or to another purpose altogether) following a sustained decline in Bitcoin’s value or if Bitcoin is replaced by another cryptocurrency not using the SHA-256 algorithm. This would result in a material adverse effect on our business and could potentially impact our ability to continue as a going concern.

Our reliance primarily on a single model of miner may subject our operations to increased risk of design flaws.

The performance and reliability of our miners and our technology is critical to our reputation and our operations. Because we currently only use Bitmain Antminer type miners, if there are issues with those machines, such as a design flaw in the ASIC chips they employ, our entire system could be affected. Any system error or failure may significantly delay response times or even cause our system to fail. Any disruption in our ability to continue mining could result in lower yields and harm our reputation and business. Any exploitable weakness, flaw, or error common to Bitmain miners could affect all our miners; therefore, if a defect or other flaw exists and is exploited, our entire miner fleet could be adversely impacted. Any interruption, delay or system failure could result in financial losses, a decrease in the trading price of our common stock and damage to our reputation.

We may not be able to realize the benefits of forks.

The Bitcoin blockchain is subject to modification based on a consensus of the users on its network. When a significant minority of users on the network agree to a modification that is not compatible with the prior network protocol, a “fork” of the network results, with one prong running the pre-modified protocol and the other running the modified protocol. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two “versions” of the blockchain running in parallel that are not interchangeable, which requires exchange-type transaction to convert between the two forks. Additionally, it may be unclear following a fork which of the two protocols represents the original and which is the new protocol. Different metrics adopted by industry participants to determine which is the original asset include: referring to the wishes of the core developers of a cryptocurrency; determining based on the blockchain with the greatest amount of hash rate contributed by miners or validators; or by reference to the “length” of blockchain (i.e., the time between the first transaction recorded in the blockchain’s distributed ledger, and the date of the most recent transaction). Accordingly, we may not be able to realize the economic benefit of a fork, either immediately or ever, which could adversely affect an investment in our securities.

Bitcoins and other digital assets we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.

Bitcoin is subject to halving; the reward for successfully solving a block will halve several times in the future and its value may not adjust to compensate us for the reduction in the rewards we receive from our mining efforts.

Halving is a process designed to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in cryptocurrencies using a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. In an event referred to as Bitcoin “halving,” the Bitcoin reward for mining any block is cut in half. For example, the mining reward for Bitcoin declined from 12.5 to 6.25 Bitcoin on May 11, 2020. The mining reward for Bitcoin is expected to decline again during the second quarter of 2024 from 6.25 Bitcoin to 3.125 Bitcoin. This process is scheduled to occur once every 210,000 blocks, or roughly four years, until the total amount of Bitcoin rewards issued reaches 21 million, which is expected to occur around 2140. Once 21 million Bitcoin are generated, the network will stop producing more. Currently, there are more than 19 million Bitcoin in circulation. While Bitcoin prices have had a history of price fluctuations around halving events, there is no guarantee that the price change will be favorable or would compensate for the reduction in mining reward. If a corresponding and proportionate increase in the price of Bitcoin does not follow these anticipated halving events, the revenue from our mining operations would decrease, and we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease mining operations altogether, which may adversely affect an investment in us.

Furthermore, such reductions in Bitcoin rewards for uncovering blocks may result in a reduction in the aggregate hashrate of the Bitcoin network as the incentive for miners decreases. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions and make the Bitcoin network more vulnerable to malicious actors or botnets obtaining control in excess of 50 % of the processing power active on the blockchain. Such events may adversely affect our activities and an investment in us.

While Bitcoin prices have historically increased around these halving events, there is no guarantee that the price change will be favorable or would compensate for the reduction in mining rewards. If a corresponding and proportionate increase in the price of the Bitcoin does not follow future halving events, the revenue we earn from our Mining operations would see a decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

If we fail to grow our hash rate, we may be unable to compete, and our results of operations could suffer.

Generally, a Bitcoin miner’s chance of solving a block on the Bitcoin blockchain and earning a Bitcoin reward is a function of the miner’s hash rate (i.e., the amount of computing power devoted to supporting the Bitcoin blockchain), relative to the global network hash rate. As demand for Bitcoin has increased, the global network hash rate has increased, and as more adoption of Bitcoin occurs, we expect the demand for Bitcoin will increase, drawing more mining companies into the industry and further increasing the global network hash rate. As new and more powerful miners are deployed, the global network hash rate will continue to increase, meaning a miner’s chance of earning Bitcoin rewards will decline unless it deploys additional hash rate at pace with the industry. Accordingly, to compete in this highly competitive industry, we believe we will need to continue to acquire new miners, both to replace those lost to ordinary wear-and-tear and other damage, and to increase our hash rate to keep up with a growing global network hash rate.

We plan to grow our hash rate by acquiring newer, more effective and energy-efficient miners. These new miners are highly specialized servers that are very difficult to produce at scale. As a result, there are limited producers capable of producing large numbers of sufficiently effective miners, and, as demand for new miners has increased in response to increased Bitcoin prices, we have observed the price of these new miners has increased. If we can’t acquire sufficient numbers of new miners or access sufficient capital to fund our acquisitions, our results of operations and financial condition, which could adversely affect investments in our securities.

Transaction fees may decrease demand for Bitcoin and prevent expansion.

As the number of Bitcoins currency rewards awarded for solving a block in a blockchain has decreased, transaction fees have increasingly been used to incentivize miners to continue to contribute to the Bitcoin network. However, high Bitcoin transaction fees may slow the adoption of Bitcoin as a means of payment, which may decrease demand for Bitcoin and future prices of Bitcoin may suffer as a result. If Bitcoin prices are not sufficiently high, our Mining revenue may not exceed our associated costs, and our results of operations and financial condition may suffer. Further, because the price of shares of our common stock may be linked to the price of Bitcoin, if demand for Bitcoin decreases, causing future Bitcoin prices to decrease, the market price of our securities may be materially and adversely affected, limiting our ability to raise additional capital to fund our strategic growth plans.

Cryptocurrencies face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times.

Cryptocurrencies face significant scaling obstacles that can lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times, and attempts to increase the volume of transactions may not be effective. Scaling cryptocurrencies is essential to the widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, including Bitcoin. Many cryptocurrency networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, cryptocurrencies are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. Participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem debate potential approaches to increasing the average number of transactions per second that the network can handle and have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as increasing the allowable sizes of blocks, and therefore the number of transactions per block, and sharding (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. However, there is no guarantee that any of the mechanisms in place or being explored for increasing the scale of settlement of cryptocurrency transactions will be effective.

If adoption of Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies, generally) as a means of payment does not occur on the schedule or scale we anticipate, the demand for Bitcoin may stagnate or decrease, which could adversely affect future Bitcoin prices, and our results of operations and financial condition, which could have a material adverse effect on the market price for our securities.

Our reliance on a third-party mining pool service provider for our mining revenue payouts may adversely affect an investment in us.

We currently rely on open access mining pools that support cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, to receive our mining rewards and fees from the network. Our pools have the sole discretion to modify the terms of our agreement at any time, and, therefore, our future rights and relationship with our pools may change. In general, mining pools allow miners to combine their computing and processing power, increasing their chances of solving a block and getting paid by the Bitcoin network. The rewards, distributed proportionally to our contribution to the pool’s overall mining power, are distributed by the pool operator. Should our pools’ operator systems suffer downtime due to a cyber-attack, software malfunction or other similar issues, it will negatively impact our ability to mine and receive revenue. Furthermore, while we receive daily reports from our pools detailing the total processing power provided to the pools and the proportion of that total processing power, we provided to determine the distribution of rewards to us, we are dependent on the accuracy of our pool’s record keeping. Therefore, we have little means of recourse against our pools’ operators if we determine the proportion of the reward paid out to us by the mining pool operator is incorrect, other than leaving the pools. If we are unable to consistently obtain accurate proportionate rewards from our pools, we may experience reduced rewards for our efforts, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operations.

The open-source structure of the Bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol. A failure to properly monitor and upgrade the protocol could damage the Bitcoin network and an investment in us.

As an open-source project, Bitcoin does not generate revenues for its contributors, and contributors are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the Bitcoin network protocol. The lack of guaranteed financial incentives for contributors to maintain or develop the Bitcoin network and the lack of guaranteed resources to adequately address emerging issues with the Bitcoin network may reduce incentives to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner. To the extent that contributors may fail to adequately update and maintain the Bitcoin network protocol, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have an adverse effect on not only the price of Bitcoin but our ability to mine Bitcoin.

A disruption of the Internet may adversely affect the mining and use of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Generally, cryptocurrencies and our business of mining Bitcoin is dependent upon the Internet. A significant disruption in Internet connectivity could disrupt Bitcoin’s network operations until the disruption is resolved and have an adverse effect on the price of Bitcoin and our ability to mine Bitcoin.

Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that engage in cryptocurrency-related activities.

A number of companies that engage in Bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrency-related activities have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Similarly, a number of companies and individuals or businesses associated with cryptocurrencies may have had and may continue to have their existing bank accounts closed or services discontinued with financial institutions. To the extent that such events may happen to us, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

The loss or destruction of private keys required to access our Bitcoins may be irreversible. Our loss of access to our private keys or our experience of a data loss relating to our Bitcoins could adversely affect an investment in us.

Bitcoins may only be controlled by the possessor of both the unique public and private keys relating to the local or online digital wallet in which they are held. We publish the public key relating to digital wallets in use when we verify the receipt or transfers of Bitcoins to and from our wallets and disseminate such information into the network on an anonymous basis, but we safeguard the private keys relating to such digital wallets. Digital asset exchanges, such as Gemini, where we hold our Bitcoin, engage in similar practices. To the extent such private keys are lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised, we will be unable to access our Bitcoins and such private keys may not be capable of being restored by any network. Any loss of private keys relating to digital wallets used to store our Bitcoins whether by us or digital asset exchanges where we hold our Bitcoin, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

We may not have adequate sources of recovery if our digital assets are lost, stolen or destroyed.

We rely on Gemini to facilitate the custody of our Bitcoins. If our Bitcoins are lost, stolen or destroyed under circumstances rendering a party, including Gemini, liable to us, the responsible party may not have the financial resources sufficient to satisfy our claim. For example, as to a particular event of loss, the only source of recovery for us might be limited, to the extent identifiable, to other responsible third parties (e.g., a thief or terrorist), any of which may not have the financial resources (including liability insurance coverage) to satisfy a valid claim of ours. Gemini maintains certain commercial crime and specie insurance for digital assets they custody which insures against the theft of digital assets that results from a direct security breach or hack of Gemini's systems, a fraudulent transfer initiated by Gemini, or theft by a Gemini employee.

Bitcoins held by us are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.

We do not hold our Bitcoins with a banking institution or a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), and, therefore, our Bitcoins are not subject to the protections enjoyed by depositors with FDIC or SIPC member institutions. As a result, we may suffer a loss with respect to our Bitcoins that is not covered by insurance, and we may not be able to recover any of our carried value in these Bitcoins if they are lost or stolen or suffer significant and sustained reduction in conversion spot price. If we are not otherwise able to recover damages from a malicious actor in connection with these losses, our business and results of operations may suffer, which may have a material negative impact on our stock price.

Bitcoins we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.

There is a risk that some or all of our Bitcoins could be lost or stolen. Bitcoins are stored in and accessed by cryptocurrency sites commonly referred to as “wallets.” A hot wallet refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up and access than wallets in cold storage, but they are also more susceptible to hackers and other technical vulnerabilities. Cold storage refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold storage is generally more secure than hot storage, but is not ideal for quick or regular transactions. When we keep our Bitcoin in cold storage, we may experience lag time in our ability to respond to market fluctuations in the price of our cryptocurrency assets.

We currently mine Bitcoin by contributing to and benefiting from our pools’ processing power. Our share of Bitcoins mined from our pools are initially received by us in wallets we control, which are maintained by Gemini, a U.S. based digital assets exchange. We currently sell the majority of the Bitcoin we mine and utilize hot wallets to hold this Bitcoin immediately prior to selling for working capital purposes. We hold any remainder of our Bitcoin in cold storage. Bitcoins we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access. Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal, compromise or secure Bitcoins, such as by attacking the Bitcoin network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms (including Gemini), cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. We may be in control and possession of substantial holdings of Bitcoin, and as we increase

in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Any of these events may adversely affect our operations and, consequently, our investments and profitability.

If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power on the bitcoin network, or if significant contributors propose amendments to the bitcoin network’s protocols and software that are accepted, such actor, botnet, or contributor could manipulate or alter the network to adversely affect us, which would adversely affect an investment in us.

If a malicious actor or botnet, a collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers, obtains over 50% of the processing power dedicated to mining Bitcoin, such actor may be able to construct fraudulent blocks or prevent certain transactions from completing in a timely manner, or at all. The malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude or modify the order of transactions, though it could not generate new units or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could also “double-spend,” or spend the same Bitcoin in more than one transaction, or it could prevent transactions from being validated. In certain instances, reversing any fraudulent or malicious changes made to the Bitcoin blockchain may not be possible.

Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of blockchains achieved through controlling over 50% of the processing power on the Bitcoin network, it is believed that certain mining pools may have exceeded, and could exceed, the 50% threshold on the Bitcoin network. This possibility creates a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of Bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the Bitcoin ecosystem, and the administrators of mining pools, do not have adequate controls and responses in place, the risk of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power may increase. If such an event were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account and harm investors.

Further, significant contributors to the bitcoin network could propose amendments to the network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by the network, could adversely affect an investment in us. For example, a small group of individuals contribute to the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub.com. This group of contributors is currently led by Wladimir J. van der Laan, the current lead “maintainer.” These individuals can propose refinements or improvements to the bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the bitcoin network and the properties of bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new bitcoin. Proposals for upgrades and discussions relating thereto take place on online forums. For example, there is an ongoing debate regarding altering the blockchain by increasing the size of blocks to accommodate a larger volume of transactions. Although some proponents support an increase, other market participants oppose an increase to the block size as it may deter miners from confirming transactions and concentrate power into a smaller group of miners. To the extent that a significant majority of the users and miners on the bitcoin network install such software upgrade(s), the bitcoin network would be subject to new protocols and software that may adversely affect an investment in us. In the event a developer or group of developers proposes a modification to the bitcoin network that is not accepted by a majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial plurality of miners and users, two or more competing and incompatible blockchain implementations could result. This is known as a “hard fork.” In such a case, the “hard fork” in the blockchain could materially and adversely affect the perceived value of digital assets as reflected on one or both incompatible blockchains, which may adversely affect an investment in us.

The digital asset exchanges on which cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, trade are relatively new and largely unregulated, and thus may be exposed to fraud and failure. Such failures may result in a reduction in the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and can adversely affect an investment in us.

Digital asset exchanges on which cryptocurrencies trade are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated. Many digital exchanges do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices or regulatory compliance. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in, or may experience problems relating to, cryptocurrency exchanges, including prominent exchanges handling a significant portion of the volume of digital asset trading.

For example, in the first half of 2022, each of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital Ltd., and Three Arrows Capital declared bankruptcy, resulting in a loss of confidence in participants of the digital asset ecosystem and negative publicity surrounding digital assets more broadly. In November 2022, FTX, the third largest digital asset exchange by volume at the time, halted customer withdrawals and shortly thereafter, FTX and its subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy. The cryptocurrency lender Genesis Global Holdco also filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2023.

In response to these events, the digital asset markets, including the market for Bitcoin specifically, have experienced extreme price volatility and several other entities in the digital asset industry have been, and may continue to be, negatively affected, further undermining confidence in the digital assets markets and in Bitcoin. These events have also negatively impacted the liquidity of the digital assets markets as certain entities affiliated with FTX engaged in significant trading activity. If the liquidity of the digital assets markets continues to be negatively impacted by these events, digital asset prices (including the price of Bitcoin) may continue to experience significant volatility and confidence in the digital asset markets may be further undermined. These events are continuing to develop and it is not possible to predict at this time all of the risks that they may pose to us, our service providers or on the digital asset industry as a whole.

A perceived lack of stability in the digital asset exchange market and the closure or temporary shutdown of digital asset exchanges due to business failure, hackers or malware, government-mandated regulation, or fraud, may reduce confidence in digital asset networks and result in greater volatility in cryptocurrency values. These potential consequences of a digital asset exchange’s failure could adversely affect an investment in us.

We may not have adequate sources of recovery if our digital assets are lost, stolen or destroyed.

We rely on Gemini to facilitate the custody of a portion of our Bitcoin holdings. If our Bitcoins are lost, stolen or destroyed under circumstances rendering a party, including Gemini, liable to us, the responsible party may not have the financial resources sufficient to satisfy our claim. For example, as to a particular event of loss, the only source of recovery for us might be limited, to the extent identifiable, to other responsible third parties (e.g., a thief or terrorist), any of which may not have the financial resources (including liability insurance coverage) to satisfy a valid claim of ours.

Incorrect or fraudulent Bitcoin transactions may be irreversible.

Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and stolen or incorrectly transferred Bitcoins may thus be irretrievable. While we exchange our Bitcoins directly for U.S. dollars on Gemini and do not presently use, or expect to use, our Bitcoins for any other transactions other than limited payroll related payments, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent Bitcoin transactions may still adversely affect our investments and assets.

The limited rights of legal recourse available to us expose us and our investors to the risk of loss of our Bitcoins for which no person is liable.

At this time, there is no specifically enumerated U.S. or foreign governmental, regulatory, investigative or prosecutorial authority or mechanism through which to bring an action or complaint regarding missing or stolen cryptocurrency; though law enforcement agencies like the FBI have recovered stolen Bitcoin, that recovery has required significant amounts of time. To the extent that we are unable to recover our losses from such action, error or theft, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations of and potentially the value of any Bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

Potential that, in the event of a bankruptcy filing by a custodian, Bitcoin held in custody could be determined to be property of a bankruptcy estate and we could be considered a general unsecured creditor thereof.

The treatment of Bitcoins held by custodians that file for bankruptcy protection is uncharted territory in U.S. Bankruptcy law. We cannot say with certainty whether Bitcoin held in custody by a bankrupt custodian would be treated as property of a bankruptcy estate and, accordingly, whether the owner of that Bitcoin would be treated as a general unsecured creditor.

Demand for Bitcoin is driven, in part, by its status as a prominent and secure cryptocurrency. It is possible that a cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin could have features that make it more desirable to a material portion of the digital asset user base, resulting in a reduction in demand for Bitcoins.

Bitcoin holds a “first-to-market” advantage over other cryptocurrencies. This first-to-market advantage is driven in large part by having the largest user base and, more importantly, the largest combined mining power in use. Nonetheless, another form of cryptocurrency could become materially popular due to either a perceived or exposed shortcoming of the Bitcoin network or a perceived advantage of another form of digital currency. If another form of digital currency obtains significant market share, this could reduce the interest in, and value of, Bitcoin and the profitability of our Bitcoin operations.

If we fail to grow our hashrate, we may be unable to compete, and our results of operations could suffer.

Generally, a Bitcoin miner’s chance of solving a block on the Bitcoin blockchain and earning a Bitcoin reward is a function of the miner’s hashrate (i.e., the amount of computing power devoted to supporting the Bitcoin blockchain), relative to the global network hashrate. As demand for Bitcoin has increased, the global network hashrate has increased, and to the extent more adoption of Bitcoin occurs, we would expect the demand for Bitcoin would increase, drawing more mining companies into the industry and further increasing the global network hashrate. As new and more powerful miners are deployed, the global network hashrate will continue to increase, meaning a miner’s percentage of the total daily rewards will decline unless it deploys additional hashrate at pace with the growth of global hashrate. Accordingly, to compete in this highly competitive industry, we believe we will need to continue to acquire new miners, both to replace those lost to ordinary wear-and-tear and other damage, and to increase our hashrate to keep up with a growing global network hashrate.

We plan to grow our hashrate, in part, by acquiring newer, more effective, and energy-efficient miners. These new miners are highly specialized servers that are very difficult to produce at scale. As a result, there are limited producers capable of producing large numbers of sufficiently effective miners. The cost of these miners is directly correlated to Bitcoin prices and the profitability of Bitcoin mining. Demand for new miners increased in response to increased Bitcoin prices in 2021 followed by a decrease in demand due to falling Bitcoin prices in 2022. Demand for new machines started to increase in December 2023 as Bitcoin prices increased. We observed the price of these new miners followed changes in demand, resulting in elevated machine prices when Bitcoin mining economics are high and significantly lower prices when these economics are strained. As a result, positive Bitcoin economics may

negatively impact our future equipment costs and the increase the competition to secure mining equipment. If we can’t acquire sufficient numbers of new miners or access sufficient capital to fund our acquisitions, our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected, which could adversely affect investments in our securities.

We will likely need to raise additional capital to fund our cryptocurrency mining business and purchase related equipment, and such capital may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

We have entered into agreements under which we have agreed to purchase a substantial number of cryptocurrency mining machines, and we will have escalating operating expenses associating with growing our planned cryptocurrency mining business. Accordingly, we will likely require additional capital to fund our additional equipment purchases and to respond to technological advancements, competitive dynamics or technologies, customer demands, business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances. Accordingly, we will likely need to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for the above-mentioned or other reasons. We may not be able to timely secure additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds through equity financing, our existing stockholders could experience significant dilution.

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

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

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

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

Furthermore, there may be significant competition for suitable cryptocurrency mining sites, and government regulators, including local permitting officials, may potentially restrict our ability to set up cryptocurrency mining operations in certain locations. They can also restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage, or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision of electricity to mining operations. In addition, if cryptocurrency mining becomes more widespread, government scrutiny related to restrictions on cryptocurrency mining facilities and their energy consumption may significantly increase. The considerable consumption of electricity by mining operators may also have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which could set the public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities or create a negative consumer sentiment and perception of Bitcoin, specifically, or cryptocurrencies, generally. This, in turn, could lead to governmental measures restricting or prohibiting cryptocurrency mining or the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities. Any such development in the jurisdictions where we plan to operate could increase our compliance burdens and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. Government regulators in other countries may also ban or substantially limit their local cryptocurrency mining activities, which could have a material effect on our supply chains for mining equipment or services and the price of Bitcoin. It could also increase our domestic competition as some of those cryptocurrency miners or new entrants in this market may consider moving their cryptocurrency mining operations or establishing new operations in the United States.

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

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

A substantial portion of our power and hosting arrangements will likely contain certain price adjustment mechanisms in case of certain events. Furthermore, a portion of our power and hosting arrangements will likely include merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting market movements.

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

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

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

Our business will be subject to the risks of severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, any of which could result in system failures, power supply disruptions and other interruptions that could harm our business.

The majority of our power and hosting arrangements have merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting the market movements. In an event of a major power outage, the merchant power prices could be too high to make Bitcoin mining profitable. To extent the power prices increase significantly as result of severe weather conditions, natural disasters or any other causes, resulting in contract prices for power being significantly lower than current market prices, the counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements may refuse to supply power to us during that period of fluctuating prices.

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

Furthermore, state or regional government officials to introduce new legislation and requirements on power providers that may result in, among other things, restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations in general.

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

Any cryptocurrency mining sites we establish will be subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including:

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

Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage or loss of access to the electrical grid or loss by the grid of cost-effective sources of electrical power generating capacity.

Risks Related to Governmental Regulation and Enforcement Operations

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

To the extent our Bitcoin mining activities cause us to be deemed an MSB under the regulations promulgated by FinCEN under the authority of the BSA, 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 cryptocurrency activities cause us to be deemed a “money transmitter” (an “MT”) or be given an equivalent designation, under state law in any state in which we 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. Currently, the New York State Department of Financial Services maintains a comprehensive “BitLicense” framework for businesses that conduct “virtual currency business activity.” In July 2020, Louisiana enacted the Virtual Currency Businesses Act, becoming the second state after New York to enact a stand-alone virtual currency law. We will continue to monitor for developments in state-level legislation, guidance or regulations applicable to us.

Such additional federal or state regulatory obligations in the United States or obligations that could arise under the regulatory frameworks of other countries may cause us to incur significant expenses, possibly affecting its business and financial condition in a material and adverse manner. Furthermore, we and our service providers may not be capable of complying with certain federal or state regulatory obligations applicable to MSBs and MTs or similar obligations in other countries. If we are deemed to be subject to such additional regulatory and registration or licensing requirements, we may be required to substantially alter our Bitcoin mining activities and possibly cease engaging in such activities. Any such action may adversely affect our business operations and financial condition and an investment in our company.

Current regulation regarding the exchange of Bitcoins under the CEA by the CFTC is unclear; to the extent we become subject to regulation by the CFTC in connection with our exchange of Bitcoin, we may incur additional compliance costs, which may be significant.

The Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”), does not currently impose any direct obligations on us related to the mining or exchange of Bitcoins. Generally, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the federal agency that administers the CEA, regards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as commodities. This position has been supported by decisions of federal courts.

However, the CEA imposes requirements relative to certain transactions involving Bitcoin and other digital assets that constitute a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or an option on such a contract), a swap, or a transaction involving margin, financing or leverage that does not result in actual delivery of the commodity within 28 days to persons not defined as “eligible contract participants” or “eligible commercial entities” under the CEA (e.g., retail persons). Changes in the CEA or the regulations promulgated by the CFTC thereunder, as well as interpretations thereof and official promulgations by the CFTC, may impact the classification of Bitcoins and, therefore, may subject them to additional regulatory oversight by the agency. Although to date the CFTC has not enacted regulations governing non-derivative or non-financed, margined or leveraged transactions in Bitcoin, it has authority to commence enforcement actions against persons who violate certain prohibitions under the CEA related to transactions in any contract of sale of any commodity, including Bitcoin, in interstate commerce (e.g., manipulation and engaging in certain deceptive practices).

We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of Bitcoins under the law. Any requirements imposed by the CFTC related to our mining activities or our transactions in Bitcoin could cause us to incur additional extraordinary, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company. In addition, changes in the classification of Bitcoins could subject us, as a result of our Bitcoin mining operations, to additional regulatory oversight by the agency. Although to date the CFTC has not enacted regulations governing non-derivative or non-financed, margined or leveraged transactions in Bitcoin, it has authority to commence enforcement actions against persons who violate certain prohibitions under the CEA related to transactions in any contract of sale of any commodity, including Bitcoin, in interstate commerce (e.g., manipulation and engaging in certain deceptive practices).

Moreover, if our mining activities or transactions in Bitcoin were deemed by the CFTC to constitute a collective investment in derivatives for our shareholders, we may be required to register as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC through the National Futures Association. Such additional registrations may result in extraordinary, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company. If we determine not to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain of our operations. Any such action may adversely affect an investment in the Company.

While no provision of the CEA, or CFTC rules, orders or rulings (except as noted herein) appears to be currently applicable to our business, this is subject to change.

If the SEC or another regulatory body considers Bitcoin to be a security under U.S. securities laws, we may be required to comply with significant SEC registration and/or other requirements.

In general, novel or unique assets such as Bitcoin and other digital assets may be classified as securities if they meet the definition of investment contracts under U.S. law. In recent years, the offer and sale of digital assets other than Bitcoin, including Kik Interactive Inc.’s Kin tokens and Telegram Group Inc.’s TON tokens, have been deemed to be investment contracts by the SEC. The SEC has also sued Genesis Global Capital LLC and Gemini Trust Company LLC over their crypto-lending program that allegedly violated investor-protection laws, and has pursued a number of actions against cryptocurrency networks, exchanges, and related entities alleging violations of the federal securities laws. While we believe that Bitcoin is unlikely to be considered an investment contract, and thus a security under the investment contract definition, we cannot provide any assurances that digital assets that we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, including Bitcoin, will never be classified as securities under U.S. law. This would obligate us to comply with registration and other requirements by the SEC and, therefore, cause us to incur significant, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company.

It may be illegal now, or in the future, to mine, acquire, own, hold, sell or use Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, participate in blockchains or utilize similar cryptocurrency assets in one or more countries, the ruling of which could adversely affect us.

Although currently cryptocurrencies generally are not regulated or are lightly regulated in most countries, several countries, such as China, India and Russia, may continue taking regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to mine, acquire, own, hold, sell or use these cryptocurrency assets or to exchange for local currency. For example, in China and Russia (India is currently proposing new legislation), it is illegal to accept payment in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for consumer transactions and banking institutions are barred from accepting deposits of cryptocurrencies. In addition, in March 2021, the governmental authorities for the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia banned Bitcoin mining in the province due to the industry’s intense electrical power demands and its negative environmental impacts. If other countries, including the U.S., implement similar restrictions, such restrictions may adversely affect us. For example, in New York State, a moratorium on certain Bitcoin mining operations that run on carbon-based power sources was signed into law on November 22, 2022. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and thus harm investors.

Changing environmental regulation and public energy policy may expose our business to new risks.

Our Bitcoin mining operations require a substantial amount of power and can only be successful, and ultimately profitable, if the costs we incur, including for electricity, are lower than the revenue we generate from our operations. As a result, any mine we establish can only be successful if we can obtain sufficient electrical power for that mine on a cost-effective basis, and our establishment of new mines requires us to find locations where that is the case. For instance, our plans and strategic initiatives for expansion are based, in part, on our understanding of current environmental and energy regulations, policies, and initiatives enacted by federal, New York State and Georgia State regulators. If new regulations are imposed, or if existing regulations are modified, the assumptions we made underlying our plans and strategic initiatives may be inaccurate, and we may incur additional costs to adapt our planned business, if we are able to adapt at all, to such regulations.

In addition, there continues to be a lack of consistent climate legislation, which creates economic and regulatory uncertainty for our business because the Bitcoin mining industry, with its high energy demand, may become a target for future environmental and energy regulation. New legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting, and other costs to comply with such regulations. Further, any future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. For example, the recently passed legislation in the state of New York imposing a moratorium on certain Bitcoin mining operations that run carbon-based power.

Given the political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be addressed, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition and results of operations. Further, even without such regulation, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about potential impacts on climate change by us or other companies in our industry could harm our reputation. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

Future developments regarding the treatment of digital assets for U.S. federal income and applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax purposes could adversely impact our business.

Due to the new and evolving nature of digital assets and the absence of comprehensive legal guidance with respect to digital assets and related transactions, many significant aspects of the U.S. federal income and applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax treatment of transactions involving digital assets, such as the purchase and sale of Bitcoin and the receipt of staking rewards and other digital asset incentives and rewards products, are uncertain, and it is unclear what guidance may be issued in the future with respect to the tax treatment of digital assets and related transactions.

Current IRS guidance indicates that for U.S. federal income tax purposes digital assets such as Bitcoins should be treated and taxed as property, and that transactions involving the payment of Bitcoins for goods and services should be treated in effect as barter transactions. The IRS has also released guidance to the effect that, under certain circumstances, hard forks of digital currencies are taxable events giving rise to taxable income and guidance with respect to the determination of the tax basis of digital currency. However, current IRS guidance does not address other significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of digital assets and related transactions. Moreover, although current IRS guidance addresses the treatment of certain forks, there continues to be uncertainty with respect to the timing and amount of income inclusions for various crypto asset transactions, including, but not limited to, staking rewards and other crypto asset incentives and rewards products. While current IRS guidance creates a potential tax reporting requirement for any circumstance where the ownership of a Bitcoin passes from one person to another, it preserves the right to apply capital gains treatment to those transactions, which is generally favorable for investors in Bitcoin.

There can be no assurance that the IRS will not alter its existing position with respect to digital assets in the future or that other state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities or courts will follow the approach of the IRS with respect to the treatment of digital assets such as Bitcoins for income tax and sales tax purposes. Any such alteration of existing guidance or issuance of new or different guidance may have negative consequences including the imposition of a greater tax burden on investors in Bitcoin or imposing a greater cost on the acquisition and disposition of Bitcoin, generally; in either case potentially having a negative effect on the trading price of Bitcoin or otherwise negatively impacting our business. In addition, 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 applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax purposes.

Our interactions with the Bitcoin network may expose us to SDN or blocked persons or cause us to violate provisions of law that did not contemplate distributed ledger technology.

The Office of Financial Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the US Department of Treasury requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its specially designated nationals (“SDN”) list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, we may inadvertently and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC’s SDN list. We also may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the persons with whom we transact.

Risks Related to the Specialty Finance Business

We may not be able to purchase Accounts at favorable prices, or on sufficiently favorable terms, or at all.

Our success depends upon the continued availability of Association Accounts. The availability of Accounts at favorable prices and on terms acceptable to us depends on a number of factors outside our control, including:

In addition, our ability to purchase Accounts, in particular with respect to our original product, is reliant on state statutes allowing for a Super Lien Amount to protect our principal investment; any change of those statutes and elimination of the priority of the Super Lien Amount, particularly in Florida, could have an adverse effect on our ability to purchase Accounts. If we were unable to purchase Accounts at favorable prices or on terms acceptable to us, or at all, it would likely have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We may not be able to recover sufficient amounts on our Accounts to recover charges to the Accounts for interest and late fees necessary to fund our operations.

We acquire and collect on the delinquent receivables of Associations. Since Account debtors are third parties that we have little to no information about, we cannot predict when any given Account will pay off or how much it will yield. In order to operate profitably over the long term, we must continually purchase and collect on a sufficient volume of Accounts to generate revenue that exceeds our costs.

We are subject to intense competition seeking to provide a collection solution to Associations for delinquent Accounts.

Lawyers, collection agencies, and other direct and indirect competitors vying to collect on Accounts all propose to solve the problem delinquent Accounts pose to Associations. Additionally, Associations and their management companies sometimes try to solve their delinquent Account problems in house, without the assistance of third-party collection agencies. An Account that an Association attempts to collect through any of these other options is an Account we cannot purchase and collect. We compete on the basis of reputation, industry experience, performance and financing dollars. Some of these competitors have greater contacts with Associations, greater financial resources and access to capital, more personnel, wider geographic presence and greater resources than we have. In addition, we expect the entry of new competitors in the future given the relatively new nature of the market in which we operate. Aggressive pricing by our competitors could raise the price of acquiring and purchasing Accounts above levels that we are willing to pay, which could reduce the number of Accounts suitable for us to purchase or if purchased by us, reduce the profits, if any, generated by such Accounts. If we are unable to purchase Accounts at favorable prices or at all, the revenues generated by us and our earnings could be materially reduced.

We are dependent upon third-party law firms to service our Accounts.

Although we utilize our proprietary software and in-house staff to track, monitor, and direct the collection of our Accounts, we depend upon third-party law firms to perform the collection work. As a result, we are dependent upon the efforts of our third-party law firms, particularly BLG Association Law, PLLC (“BLGAL”) to service and collect our Accounts.

On February 1, 2022, LM Funding America, Inc. (the “Company”) consented to the assignment by the law firm of Business Law Group, P.A. to the law firm BLG Association Law, PLLC of the Services Agreement, dated April 15, 2015, previously entered into by the Company and Business Law Group, P.A. (the “Services Agreement”). The Services Agreement had set forth the terms under which Business Law Group, P.A. would act as the primary law firm used by the Company and its association clients for the servicing and collection of association accounts. The assignment of the Services Agreement was necessitated by the death of the principal attorney and owner of Business Law Group, P.A. In connection with the assignment, BLGAL agreed to amend the Services Agreement on February 1, 2022, to reduce the monthly compensation payable to the law firm from approximately $82,000 to $53,000 (the “Amendment”). Bruce M. Rodgers, the chairman and CEO of the Company, is a 50% owner of BLGAL, and the assignment and Amendment was approved by the independent directors of the Company.

As of December 31, 2023, BLGAL was responsible for servicing over 98% of our Accounts. Our revenues and profitability could be materially affected if:

If we are unable to access external sources of financing, we may not be able to fund and grow our operations.

We depend upon loans from external sources from time to time to fund and expand our operations. Our ability to grow our business is dependent on our access to additional financing and capital resources. The failure to obtain financing and capital as needed would limit our ability to purchase Accounts and achieve our growth plans.

We may incur substantial indebtedness from time to time in connection with the purchase of Accounts and could be subject to risks associated with incurring such indebtedness.

We may incur substantial indebtedness from time to time in connection with the purchase of Accounts and could be subject to risks associated with incurring such indebtedness, including:

We may encounter difficulties managing changes in our business including cyclical growth and declines, which could disrupt our operations, and there is no assurance that any such growth (if experienced) can be sustained.

From time to time since our inception, we have experienced periods of significant growth and declines. Although there is no assurance that we will again experience periods of significant growth or continued declines in the future, if we do, there can be no assurance that we will be able to manage our changing operations effectively or that we will be able to maintain or accelerate our growth, and any failure to do so could adversely affect our ability to generate revenues and control expenses. Future growth will depend upon a number of factors, including:

Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience and size of our management team, we may not be able to effectively manage the growth of our business. Significant growth may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business strategy or disrupt our operations.

Government regulations may limit our ability to recover and enforce the collection of our Accounts.

Federal, state and municipal laws, rules, rules, regulations and ordinances may limit our ability to recover and enforce our rights with respect to the Accounts acquired by us. These laws include, but are not limited to, the following federal statutes and regulations promulgated thereunder and comparable statutes in states where Account debtors reside and/or located:

We may be precluded from collecting Accounts we purchase where the Association or its prior legal counsel, management company, or collection agency failed to comply with applicable laws in charging the account debtor or prosecuting the collection of the Account. Laws relating to the collection of consumer debt also directly apply to our business. Our failure to comply with any laws applicable to us, including state licensing laws, could limit our ability to recover our Accounts and could subject us to fines and penalties, which could reduce our revenues.

We may become regulated under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, and have not developed compliance standards for such oversight.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010), or Dodd-Frank Act, represents a comprehensive overhaul of the financial services industry within the U.S. The Dodd-Frank Act allows consumers free access to their credit score if their score negatively affects them in a financial transaction or a hiring decision, and also gives consumers access to credit score disclosures as part of an adverse action and risk-based pricing notice. Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act establishes the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, within the Federal Reserve Board, and requires the CFPB and other federal agencies to implement many new and significant rules and regulations. Significant portions of the Dodd-Frank Act related to the CFPB became effective on July 21, 2011. The CFPB has broad powers to promulgate, administer and enforce consumer financial regulations, including those applicable to us and possibly our funded Associations. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the CFPB is the principal supervisor and enforcer of federal consumer financial protection laws with respect to nondepository institutions, or “nonbanks”, including, without limitation, any “covered person” who is a “larger participant” in a market for other consumer financial products or services. We do not know if our unique business model makes us a covered person.

The CFPB has started to exercise authority to define unfair, deceptive or abusive acts and practices and to require reports and conduct examinations of these entities for purposes of (i) assessing compliance with federal consumer financial protections laws; (ii) obtaining information about the activities and compliance systems or procedures of such entities; and (iii) detecting and assessing risks to consumers and to markets for consumer financial products and services. The exercise of this supervisory authority must be risk-based, meaning that the CFPB will identify nonbanks for examination based on the risk they pose to consumers, including consideration of the entity’s asset size, transaction volume, risk to consumers, existing oversight by state authorities and any other factors that the CFPB determines to be relevant. When a nonbank is in violation of federal consumer financial protection laws, including the CFPB’s own rules, the CFPB may pursue administrative proceedings or litigation to enforce those laws and rules. In these proceedings, the

CFPB can obtain cease and desist orders, which can include orders for restitution or rescission of contracts, as well as other kinds of affirmative relief, and monetary penalties ranging from $5,000 per day for ordinary violations of federal consumer financial protection laws to $25,000 per day for reckless violations and $1 million per day for knowing violations. Also, where a company has violated Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act or CFPB regulations under Title X, the Dodd-Frank Act empowers state attorneys general and state regulators to bring civil actions for the kind of cease and desist orders available to the CFPB (but not for civil penalties). If the CFPB or one or more state officials believe that we have committed a violation of the foregoing laws, they could exercise their enforcement powers in a manner that could have a material adverse effect on us.

At this time, we cannot predict the extent to which the Dodd-Frank Act or the resulting rules and regulations, including those of the CFPB, will impact the U.S. economy and our products and services. Compliance with these new laws and regulations may require changes in the way we conduct our business and could result in additional compliance costs, which could be significant and could adversely impact our results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

Current and new laws may adversely affect our ability to collect our Accounts, which could adversely affect our revenues and earnings.

Currently all of our Accounts are located in Florida. But because our Accounts are generally originated and collected pursuant to a variety of federal and state laws by a variety of third parties and may involve consumers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, there can be no assurance that all Associations and their management companies, legal counsel, collections agencies and others have at all times been in compliance with all applicable laws relating to the collection of Accounts. Additionally, there can be no assurance that we or our law firms have been or will continue to be at all times in compliance with all applicable laws. Failure to comply with applicable laws could materially adversely affect our ability to collect our Accounts and could subject us to increased costs, fines, and penalties. Furthermore, changes in state law regarding the lien priority status of delinquent Association assessments could materially and adversely affect our business. Currently all of our Accounts are located in Florida,

Class action suits and other litigation could divert our management’s attention from operating our business, increase our expenses, and otherwise harm our business.

Certain originators and servicers involved in consumer credit collection and related businesses have been subject to class actions and other litigation. Claims include failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations such as usury and improper or deceptive origination and collection practices. From time to time we are a party to such litigation, and as a result, our management’s attention may be diverted from our everyday business activities and implementing our business strategy, and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected by, among other things, legal expenses and challenges to our business model in connection with such litigation.

If our technology and software systems are not operational or are subject to cybersecurity incidents, our operations could be disrupted and our ability to successfully acquire and collect Accounts could be adversely affected.

Our success depends in part on our proprietary software. We must record and process significant amounts of data quickly and accurately to properly track, monitor and collect our Accounts. Any failure of our information systems and their backup systems, including by means of cybersecurity attacks, breaches or other incidents, would interrupt our operations. We may not have adequate backup arrangements for all of our operations and we may incur significant losses if an outage occurs. In addition, we rely on third-party law firms who also may be adversely affected in the event of a cybersecurity breach or attack or other outage in which the third-party servicer does not have adequate backup arrangements. Any interruption in our operations or our third-party law firms’ operations could have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Insolvency of BLGAL could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Our primary Account servicer, BLGAL, deposits collections on the Accounts in its Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (“IOLTA Trust Account”) and then distributes the proceeds to itself, us and the Associations pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreements with the Associations and applicable law. We do not have a perfected security interest in the amounts BLGAL collects on the Accounts while such amounts are held in the IOLTA Trust Account. BLGAL has agreed to promptly remit to us all amounts collected on the Accounts that are owed to us. If, however, BLGAL were to become subject to any insolvency law and a creditor or trustee-in-bankruptcy of BLGAL were to take the position that proceeds of the Accounts held in BLGAL’s IOLTA Trust Account should be treated as assets of BLGAL, an Association or another third party, delays in payments from collections on the Accounts held by BLGAL could occur or reductions in the amounts of payments to be remitted by BLGAL to us could result, which could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Associations do not make any guarantee with respect to the validity, enforceability or collectability of the Accounts acquired by us.

Associations do not make any representations, warranties or covenants with respect to the validity, enforceability or collectability of Accounts in their assignments of Accounts to us. If an Account proves to be invalid, unenforceable or otherwise generally uncollectible, we will not have any recourse against the respective Association. If a significant number of our Accounts are later held

to be invalid, unenforceable or are otherwise uncollectible, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

All of our Accounts are located in Florida, and any adverse conditions affecting Florida could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Our primary business relates to revenues from Accounts purchased by us, which are all based in Florida, and our primary source of revenue consists of payments made by condominium and home-owners to satisfy the liens against their condominiums and homes. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, Florida represented 100% of our Accounts. An economic recession, adverse market conditions in Florida, and/or significant property damage caused by hurricanes, tornadoes or other inclement weather could adversely affect the ability of these condominium and home owners to satisfy the liens against their condominiums and homes, which could, in turn, have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Foreclosure on an Association’s lien may not result in our company recouping the amount that we invested in the related Account.

All of the Accounts purchased by us are in default. The Accounts are secured by liens held by Associations, which we have an option to foreclose upon on behalf of the Associations. Should we foreclose upon such a lien on behalf of an Association, we are generally entitled pursuant to our contractual arrangements with the Association to have the Association quitclaim its interests in the condominium unit or home to us. In the event that any Association quitclaims its interests in a condominium unit or home to us, we will be relying on the short-term rental prospects, to the extent permitted under bylaws and rules applicable to the Association, and value of its interest in the underlying property, which value may be affected by numerous risks, including:

It is possible that as a result of a decrease in the value of the property or any of the other factors referred to in this paragraph, the amount realized from the sale of such property after taking title through a lien foreclosure may be less than our total investment in the Account. If this occurs with regard to a substantial number of Accounts, the amount expected to be realized from the Accounts will decrease and our financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.

If Account debtors or their agents make payments on the Accounts to or negotiate reductions in the Accounts with an Association, it could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

From time to time Account debtors and/or their agents may make payments on the Accounts directly to the Association or its management company. Our sole recourse in this instance is to recover these misapplied payments through set-offs of payments later collected for that Association by our third-party law firms. A significant number of misapplied or reduced payments could hinder our cash flows and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Account debtors are subject to a variety of factors that may adversely affect their payment ability.

Collections on the Accounts have varied and may in the future vary greatly in both timing and amount from the payments actually due on the Accounts due to a variety of economic, social and other factors. Failures by Account debtors to timely pay off their Accounts could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Defaults on the Accounts could harm our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We take assignments of the lien foreclosure rights of Associations against delinquent units owned by Account debtors who are responsible for payment of the Accounts. The payoff of the Accounts is dependent upon the ability and willingness of the condominium and home owners to pay such obligations. If an owner fails to pay off the Account relating to his, her or its unit or home, only net amounts recovered, if any, will be available with respect to that Account. Foreclosures by holders of first mortgages generally result in our receipt of reduced recoveries from Accounts. In addition, foreclosure actions by any holder of a tax lien may result in us receiving no recovery from an Account to the extent excess proceeds from such tax lien foreclosure are insufficient to provide for payment to us. If, at any time, (i) we experience an increase in mortgage foreclosures or tax lien foreclosures or (ii) we experience a decrease in owner payments, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.

We depend on the skill and diligence of third parties to collect the Accounts.

Because the collection of Accounts requires special skill and diligence, any failure of BLGAL, or any other law firm utilized by us, to diligently collect the Accounts could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The payoff amounts received by us from Accounts may be adversely affected due to a variety of factors beyond our control.

Several factors may reduce the amount that can be collected on any individual Account. The delinquent assessments that are the subject of the Accounts and related charges are included within an Association’s claim of lien under the applicable statute. In Florida, Association liens are recorded in the official county records and hold first priority status with respect to a first mortgage holder for an amount equal to the Super Lien Amount. Associations have assigned to us the right to direct law firms to collect on the liens and foreclose, subject to the terms and conditions of the purchase agreements between each Association and us.

Each Account presents a separate risk as to the creditworthiness of the debtor obligated to pay the Account, which, in general, is the owner of the unit or home when the Account was incurred and subsequent owners. For instance, if the debtor has incurred a property tax lien, a sale related to such lien could result in our complete loss of the Account. Also, a holder of a first mortgage taking title through a foreclosure proceeding in which the Association is named as a defendant must only pay the Super Lien Amount in a state with a super lien statute. Although we purchase Accounts at a discount to the outstanding balance and the owner remains personally liable for any deficiency, we may decide that it is not cost-effective to pursue such a deficiency. As a result, the purchase or ownership of a significant number of Accounts which result in payment of only the Super Lien Amount or less where no statute specifying a Super Lien Amount applies, could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The liens securing the Accounts we own may not be superior to all liens on the related units and homes.

Although the liens of the Associations securing the Accounts may be superior in right of payment to some of the other liens on a condominium unit or home, they may not be superior to all liens on that condominium unit or home. For instance, a lien relating to delinquent property taxes would be superior in right of payment to the liens securing the Accounts. In addition, if an Association fails to assert the priority of its lien in a foreclosure action, the Association may inadvertently waive the priority of its lien. In the event that there is a lien of superior priority on a unit or home relating to one of the Accounts, the Association’s lien might be extinguished in the event that such superior liens are foreclosed. In most instances, the unit or home owner will be liable for the payment of such Account and the ultimate payment would depend on the creditworthiness of such owner. In the case of a tax lien foreclosure, an owner taking title through foreclosure would not be liable for the payment of obligations that existed prior to the foreclosure sale. The purchase or ownership of a significant number of Accounts that are the subject of foreclosure by a superior lien could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

We may not choose to pursue a foreclosure action against condominium and home owners who are delinquent in paying off the Accounts relating to their units or homes.

Although we have the right to pursue a foreclosure action against a unit or home owner who is delinquent in paying off the Account relating to his or her unit or home, we may not choose to do so as the cost of such litigation may be prohibitive, especially when pursuing an individual claim against a single unit or home owner. Our choice not to foreclose on a unit or home may delay our ability to collect on the Account. If we decide not to pursue foreclosure against a significant number of Accounts, it could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The holding period for our Accounts from purchase to payoff is indeterminate.

It can take our third-party law firms anywhere from three months to ten years or longer to collect on an Account. Approximately 65% of our Accounts were purchased prior to 2017, with some being purchased as early as 2008. Due to various factors, including those discussed above, we cannot project the payoff date for any Account. This indeterminate holding period reduces our liquidity and ability to fund our operations. If our ability to collect on a material number of Accounts was significantly delayed, it could adversely affect our cash flows and ability to fund our operations.

Our business model and related accounting treatment may result in acceleration of expense recognition before the corresponding revenues can be recognized.

As we expand our business, we may incur significant upfront costs relating to the acquisition of Accounts. Under United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) such amounts may be required to be recognized in the period that they are expended. However, the corresponding revenue stream relating to the acquisition of such Accounts will not be recognized until future dates. Therefore, we may experience reduced earnings in earlier periods until such time as the revenue stream relating to the acquisition of such Accounts may be recognized.

Risks Relating to Our Securities

Our common shares could be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Nasdaq’s listing standards provide that a company may be delisted if the bid price of its stock drops below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days. On April 13, 2023, we received a Notification Letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it was not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirements set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, due to the bid price of the Company’s common stock closing below the minimum $1 per share for the thirty (30) consecutive business days prior to the date of the Notification Letter. In accordance with listing rules, the Company was afforded 180 days, or until October 11, 2023, to regain compliance.

The Company was unable to regain compliance with the bid price requirement by October 11, 2023. However, on October 12, 2023, the Company received a notice from Nasdaq granting the Company an additional 180 calendar days, or until April 8, 2024, to regain compliance with the minimum $1.00 bid price per share requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Nasdaq determined that the Company is eligible for the second compliance period due to the Company meeting the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other applicable requirements for initial listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and the Company’s written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary.

On March 7, 2024, we filed an Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a one-for-six reverse stock split of our common stock which became effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern time, on March 12, 2024. The Reverse Split was effected with the intent to satisfy the minimum bid price requirements and, on March 26, 2024, we received written notification from Nasdaq indicating that the Company’s common stock had a closing price of $1.00 per share or greater for the last ten consecutive business days, from March 12, 2024 to March 25, 2024, and that, as a result, the Company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirements and that the matter is now closed.

Even though we have regained compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market’s minimum closing bid price requirement, there is no guarantee that we will remain in compliance with such listing requirements or other listing requirements in the future. Any failure to maintain compliance with continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market could result in delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market and negatively impact our company and holders of our common stock, including by reducing the willingness of investors to hold our common stock because of the resulting decreased price, liquidity and trading of our common stock, limited availability of price quotations and reduced news and analyst coverage. Delisting may adversely impact the perception of our financial condition, cause reputational harm with investors, our employees and parties conducting business with us and limit our access to debt and equity financing.

Future sales of our common stock by our affiliates or other stockholders may depress our stock price.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause a decrease in the market price of our common stock. We had authorized 350,000,000 shares of common stock and 150,000,000 shares of preferred stock as of December 31, 2023.

We had 2,492,964 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2023. In addition, pursuant to our 2021 Omnibus Incentive Plan, options to purchase 599,597 shares of our common stock were outstanding as of December 31, 2023, of which 379,194 options were exercisable. There were 1,274,807 warrants outstanding and exercisable as of December 31, 2023 that allowed for the issuance of 1,274,807 shares of common stock, respectively.

We may issue additional shares in connection with our business and may grant additional stock options or restricted shares to our employees, officers, directors and consultants under our present or future equity compensation plans or we may issue warrants to third parties outside of such plans. If a significant portion of these shares were sold in the public market, the market value of our common stock could be adversely affected.

The market price and trading volume of our shares of common stock may be volatile and you may not be able to resell your shares of common stock (as the case may be) at or above the price you paid for them.

Our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for it, in which case, holders of our securities may experience difficulty in reselling, or an inability to sell, our securities. In addition, when the market price of a company’s equity drops significantly, equity holders often institute securities class action lawsuits against the company. A lawsuit against us could cause us to incur substantial costs and could divert the time and attention of our management and other resources away from the day-to-day operations of our business.

Securities analysts may not initiate coverage of our securities or may issue negative reports, which may adversely affect the trading price of our securities.

We cannot assure you that securities analysts will continue to cover our company. As of December 31, 2023, we had two analysts covering our company. If securities analysts do not cover our company, this lack of coverage may adversely affect the trading price of

our securities. In the event that securities analysts begin to cover our company, the trading market for our securities will rely in part on the research and reports that such securities analysts publish about us and our business. If one or more of the analysts who cover our company downgrades our securities, the trading price of our securities may decline. If one or more of these analysts then ceases to cover our company, we could lose visibility in the market, which, in turn, could also cause the trading price of our securities to decline. Further, because of our small market capitalization, it may be difficult for us to attract securities analysts to cover our company, which could significantly and adversely affect the trading price of our securities.

We have the right to designate and issue additional shares of preferred stock. If we were to designate and/or issue additional preferred stock, it is likely to have rights, preferences and privileges that may adversely affect the common stock.

We are authorized to issue 150,000,000 shares of blank-check Preferred Stock, with such rights, preferences and privileges as may be determined from time to time by our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue Preferred Stock in one or more series, and to fix for any series the dividend rights, dissolution or liquidation preferences, redemption prices, conversion rights, voting rights, and other rights, preferences and privileges for the Preferred Stock.

The issuance of shares of Preferred Stock, depending on the rights, preferences and privileges attributable to the Preferred Stock, could reduce the voting rights and powers of the common stock and the portion of our assets allocated for distribution to common stockholders in a liquidation event, and could also result in dilution in the book value per share of the common stock. The preferred stock could also be utilized, under certain circumstances, as a method for raising additional capital or discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company, to the detriment of the investors in the common stock offered hereby. We cannot assure that we will not, under certain circumstances, issue shares of our Preferred Stock.

We incur significant costs and demands upon management and accounting and finance resources as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies; any failure to establish and maintain adequate internal controls and/or disclosure controls or to recruit, train and retain necessary accounting and finance personnel could have an adverse effect on our ability to accurately and timely prepare our financial statements and otherwise make timely and accurate public disclosure.

As a public company, we incur significant administrative, legal, accounting and other burdens and expenses beyond those of a private company, including public company reporting obligations and Nasdaq listing requirements. In particular, we have needed, and continue to need, to enhance and supplement our internal accounting resources with additional accounting and finance personnel with the requisite technical and public company experience and expertise to enable us to satisfy such reporting obligations. Any failure to maintain an effective system of internal controls (including internal control over financial reporting) could limit our ability to report our financial results accurately and on a timely basis, or to detect and prevent fraud and could expose us to regulatory enforcement action and stockholders claims.

Furthermore, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sarbanes-Oxley Act"), we are required to document and test our internal control procedures and prepare annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Our assessments must include disclosure of identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Our independent registered public accounting firm also attests to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The existence of one or more material weaknesses could affect the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting. Testing and maintaining internal control over financial reporting involves significant costs and could divert management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business. Additionally, we may not be successful in remediating any deficiencies that may be identified.

Our management may identify material weaknesses in the future. If we fail to remediate the material weakness or if we otherwise fail to establish and maintain effective control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately and timely report our financial results may be affected, and such failure may adversely affect investor confidence and business operations.

In the course of preparing our financial statements, we and our independent registered public accounting firm may identify a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. For example, as previously disclosed in Part II Item 4A Controls and Procedures in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, we identified a material weakness associated with segregation of duties, specifically, the Company did not effectively segregate certain accounting duties nor have a proper multi-level review process due to the small size of its accounting staff. As of December 31, 2023, we concluded that this material weakness had been remediated. 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.

If we are unable to remediate a material weakness and otherwise implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to record, process and report financial information accurately, and to prepare financial statements and satisfy our public reporting obligations within required time periods, could be adversely affected. We could also be required to restate financial statements for prior periods. If we are unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm is unable to express an unqualified opinion as to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected and we could become subject to private litigation or to investigations or enforcement actions by the

SEC or other regulatory authorities, all of which could require our expenditure of additional financial and management resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Those adverse consequences could be more severe if we are forced to effect any financial statement restatements.

We qualify as a smaller reporting company, and, under the smaller reporting company rules, we are subject to scaled disclosure requirements that may make it more challenging for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.

Currently, we qualify as a “smaller reporting company” as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. We have elected to provide disclosure under the smaller reporting company rules and, therefore, are subject to decreased disclosure obligations in our filings with the SEC, including being required to provide only two years of audited financial statements in our annual reports. Consequently, it may be more challenging for investors to analyze our results of operations and financial prospects.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

None.

Item 1C. Cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity Risk Management and Strategy

We recognize the importance of assessing, identifying and managing material risks associated with cybersecurity threats, as such term is defined in Item 106(a) of Regulation S-K. Our share of Bitcoins mined from our pools are initially received by us in wallets we control. We currently sell the majority of the Bitcoin we mine and utilize hot wallets to hold this Bitcoin immediately prior to selling for working capital purposes. We hold any remainder of our Bitcoin in cold storage. Bitcoins we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access. Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal, compromise or secure Bitcoins, such as by attacking the Bitcoin network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms (including Gemini), cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. We may be in control and possession of substantial holdings of Bitcoin, and as we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats.

Our management evaluates all cybersecurity matters, with the purpose of meeting at least semi-annually and providing recommendations with respect to our information technology use and protection, including, but not limited to, data governance, privacy, compliance and cybersecurity. We have implemented controls, policies, procedures and technological safeguards to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of our IT systems and data that we believe to be reasonably consistent with industry standards and practices, or as required by applicable regulatory standards. We are also required to comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of our IT systems and data and to the protection of such IT systems and data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.

To our knowledge there has been no security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure, or other compromise of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries hard wallets, cold wallets, information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data and databases, equipment or technology. We have not been notified of, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that could result in, any security breach or incident, unauthorized access or disclosure or other compromise to their IT systems and data, and we have implemented appropriate controls, policies, procedures, and technological safeguards to maintain and protect the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of our IT systems and Data reasonably consistent with industry standards and practices, or as required by applicable regulatory standards. We are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT systems and data and to the protection of such IT systems and data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.

Cybersecurity Governance

Our Board of Directors considers cybersecurity risk and other information technology risks as part of its risk oversight function and meets at least quarterly to discuss matters involving cybersecurity risks. The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer provide information to our Board of Directors regarding its activities, including those related to cybersecurity risks, and are responsible for notifying the Board of material cybersecurity incidents.

Item 2. Properties.

Our executive and administrative offices are located in Tampa, Florida, where we lease approximately 5,600 square feet of general office space for approximately $8,900 per month, plus utilities. The lease began on July 15, 2019 and, as extended, expires on July 31, 2025.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

We are not currently a party to material litigation proceedings, and we are not subject to any known material threatened legal proceedings other than described under Note 7 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included herein under the caption “Legal Proceedings.” In addition to the foregoing, we periodically become a party to litigation in the ordinary course of business, including either the prosecution or defense of claims arising from contracts by and between us and client Associations. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of prosecution, defense, and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.

None.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

Market Information

Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “LMFA”. On December 31, 2023, there were 5 holders of record of our common stock.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

See “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in Part III, Item 12 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer

None.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including without limitation, statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy, budgets, projected revenues, projected costs and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “believes” or the negative thereof or any variation thereon or similar terminology or expressions.

We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors which could materially affect our results and our future performance include, without limitation, the following risks, as well as other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in this report.

Except as required by law, we assume no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Corporate History

The Company was originally organized in January 2008 as a Florida limited liability company under the name LM Funding, LLC. Prior to our initial public offering in 2015, all of our business was conducted through LM Funding, LLC and its subsidiaries. Immediately prior to our initial public offering in October 2015, the members of the LM Funding, LLC contributed all of their membership interests to LM Funding America, Inc., a Delaware corporation incorporated on April 20, 2015 (“LMFA”), in exchange for shares of the common stock of LMFA. Immediately after such contribution and exchange, the former members of LM Funding, LLC became the holders of 100% of the issued and outstanding common stock of LMFA, thereby making LM Funding, LLC a wholly-owned subsidiary of LMFA.

The Company organized two new subsidiaries in 2020: LMFA Financing LLC, a Florida limited liability company, on November 21, 2020, and LMFAO Sponsor LLC, a Florida limited liability company, on October 29, 2020. LMFAO Sponsor LLC organized a subsidiary, LMF Acquisition Opportunities Inc., on October 29, 2020. LM Funding America Inc. organized a subsidiary, US Digital Mining and Hosting Co., LLC. ("US Digital"), on September 10, 2021. US Digital has created various 100% owned subsidiaries to

engage in business in various states. The Company also from time to time organizes other subsidiaries to serve a specific purpose or hold a specific asset.

Overview

LM Funding America, Inc. (“we”, “our”, “LMFA”, or the “Company”) currently has two lines of business: our recently commenced cryptocurrency mining business and our historical specialty finance business.

On September 15, 2021, we announced our plan to operate in the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, and we commenced Bitcoin mining operations in late September 2022. This business operation deploys our computing power to mine Bitcoin and validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. We believe that developments in Bitcoin mining have created an opportunity for us to deploy capital and conduct large-scale mining operations in the United States. We conduct this business through a wholly owned subsidiary, US Digital, which we formed in 2021 to develop and operate our cryptocurrency mining business.

With respect to our specialty finance business, the Company has historically engaged in the business of providing funding to nonprofit community associations primarily located in the state of Florida. We offer incorporated nonprofit community associations, which we refer to as “Associations,” a variety of financial products customized to each Association’s financial needs. Our original product offering consists of providing funding to Associations by purchasing their rights under delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments. Historically, we provided funding against such delinquent accounts, which we refer to as “Accounts,” in exchange for a portion of the proceeds collected by the Associations from the account debtors on the Accounts. In addition to our original product offering, we also purchase Accounts on varying terms tailored to suit each Association’s financial needs, including under our New Neighbor Guaranty™ program. corporate history.

Bitcoin Mining

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 with the goal of serving as a digital means of exchanging and storing value. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that depends upon a consensus-based network and a public ledger called a “blockchain,” which contains a record of every bitcoin transaction ever processed. The bitcoin network is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network, powered by users participating in the consensus protocol, with no central authority or middlemen, that has wide network participation. The authenticity of each bitcoin transaction is protected through digital signatures that correspond with addresses of users that send and receive bitcoin. Users have full control over remitting bitcoin from their own sending addresses. All transactions on the bitcoin blockchain are transparent, allowing those running the appropriate software to confirm the validity of each transaction. To be recorded on the blockchain, each bitcoin transaction is validated through a proof-of-work consensus method, which entails solving cryptographic functions to validate transactions and post them on the blockchain. This process is called mining. Miners are rewarded with bitcoins, both in the form of newly created bitcoins and fees in bitcoin, for successfully solving for the cryptographic function and providing computing power to the network.

Factors such as access to computer processing capacity, interconnectivity, electricity cost, environmental factors (such as cooling capacity) and location play important roles in mining. As of December 31, 2023, our operating mining units were capable of producing over 0.61 EH/s of computing power. In bitcoin mining, “hashrate” is a measure of the computing and processing power and speed by which a computer processes transactions on the bitcoin network. A company’s computing power measured in hashrate is generally considered to be one of the most important metrics for evaluating bitcoin mining companies. We expect to continue increasing our computing power through 2024 and beyond.

We owned approximately 5,900 miners as of December 31, 2023. These miners range in age as of date of placed in service from 6-16 months and have an average age of approximately 11 months. We do not have scheduled downtime for our miners. We periodically perform unscheduled maintenance on our miners, but such downtime has not historically been significant. When performing unscheduled maintenance, we will typically replace the miner with a substitute miner to limit overall downtime. The miners owned as of December 31, 2023 have a range of energy efficiency (watts per terahash – “w/th”) of 18.9 to 29.5 w/th with an average energy efficiency of 28.6 w/th.

We obtain bitcoin as a result of our mining operations, and we sell bitcoin from time to time, to support our operations and strategic growth. We do not currently plan to engage in regular trading of bitcoin (other than as necessary to convert our bitcoin into U.S. dollars) or to engage in hedging activities related to our holding of bitcoin; however, our decisions to hold or sell bitcoin at any given time may be impacted by the bitcoin market, which has been historically characterized by significant volatility. Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell bitcoin that we hold, or the number of bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell bitcoins are currently determined by management by analyzing forecasts and monitoring the market in real time.

Factors Affecting Profitability

Market Price of Bitcoin

Our business is heavily dependent on the price of bitcoin. The prices of digital assets, including bitcoin, have historically experienced substantial volatility, and digital asset prices have in the past and may in the future be driven by speculation and incomplete information, subject to rapidly changing investor sentiment, and influenced by factors such as technology, macroeconomic conditions, regulatory void or changes, fraudulent actors, manipulation, and media reporting. Further, the value of bitcoin and other digital assets may be significantly impacted by factors beyond our control, including consumer trust in the market acceptance of bitcoin as a means of exchange by consumers and producers.

Bitcoin “Halving” Events

Bitcoin halving is a phenomenon that has historically occurred approximately every four years on the Bitcoin network. Halving is a key part of the Bitcoin protocol and serves to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in digital assets using a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. At a predetermined block, the mining reward is cut in half, hence the term “halving.” For example, the reward for adding a single block to the blockchain was initially set at 50 bitcoin currency rewards. The Bitcoin blockchain has undergone halving three times since its inception as follows: (1) on November 28, 2012 at block height 210,000; (2) on July 9, 2016 at block height 420,000; and (3) on May11, 2020 at block height 630,000, when the reward was reduced to its current level of 6.25 bitcoin per block. The next halving for the Bitcoin blockchain is anticipated to occur around April 2024 at block height 840,000. This process will recur until the total amount of bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21.0 million, and the theoretical supply of new bitcoin is exhausted, which is expected to occur around 2140. Many factors influence the price of Bitcoin, and potential increase or decrease in prices in advance of or following the future halving is unknown.

Halving is an important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem, and it is closely watched by miners, investors, and other participants in the digital asset market. Each halving event has historically been associated with significant price movements in the value of bitcoin.

Network Hash Rate and Difficulty

Generally, a bitcoin mining rig’s chance of solving a block on the Bitcoin blockchain and earning a bitcoin reward is a function of the mining rig’s hash rate, relative to the global network hash rate (i.e., the aggregate amount of computing power devoted to supporting the Bitcoin blockchain at a given time). As demand for bitcoin increases, the global network hash rate rapidly increases, and as more adoption of bitcoin occurs, we expect the demand for new bitcoin will likewise increase as more mining companies are drawn into the industry by this increase in demand. Further, as more and increasingly powerful mining rigs are deployed, the network difficulty for Bitcoin increases. Network difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to solve a block on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, or approximately every two weeks, so that the average time between each block is approximately ten minutes. A high difficulty means that it will take more computing power to solve a block and earn a new bitcoin reward, which, in turn, makes the Bitcoin network more secure by limiting the possibility of one miner or mining pool gaining control of the network. Therefore, as new and existing miners deploy additional hash rate, the global network hash rate will continue to increase, meaning a miner’s share of the global network hash rate (and therefore its chance of earning bitcoin rewards) will decline if it fails to deploy additional hash rate at pace with the industry.

The value of bitcoin has historically been subject to wide swings. The following table provides a range of intraday low and intraday high bitcoin prices between January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we held approximately 95 and 55 bitcoins, respectively. The carrying value of our bitcoins as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was approximately $3.4 million and $0.9 million, respectively, on our Consolidated Balance Sheet. We account for our bitcoin as indefinite-lived intangible assets, which are subject to impairment losses if the fair value of our bitcoin decreases below their carrying value at any time since their acquisition. Impairment losses cannot be recovered for any subsequent increase in fair value. The carrying value of each bitcoin we held at the end of each reporting period reflects the lowest price of one bitcoin quoted on the active exchange at any time since its acquisition. Therefore, negative swings in the market price of bitcoin could have a material impact on our earnings and on the carrying value of our bitcoin.

Recent Developments

Reverse Stock Split

On November 9, 2023, our shareholders voted in favor of the approval of an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation, in the event it is deemed advisable by our Board of Directors, to effect a reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock at a ratio within the range of one-for-two (1:2) and one-for-ten (1:10), as determined by the Board of Directors.

On February 23, 2024, the Board approved a one-for-six (1:6) reverse split of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock, par value $0.001 per share, pursuant to which every six outstanding shares of common stock was converted into one share of common stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”). The Reverse Stock Split was effected by the filing of an amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation on March 7, 2024 which provided that the Reverse Stock Split become effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern time on March 12, 2024. The amendment provides that no fractional shares shall be issued and, in lieu thereof, any person who would otherwise be entitled to a fractional share of common stock as a result of the Reverse Stock Split will be entitled to receive one share of common stock. The Company’s common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on a split-adjusted basis on March 12, 2024. The Company has retroactively adjusted all share amounts and per share data herein to give effect to the Reverse Stock Split.

Results of Operations

Bitcoin Mining Operations

The table below describes the average cost of mining each bitcoin for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

(1) Average revenue of each bitcoin mined is calculated by dividing the sum of bitcoin mining revenue for hosted facilities by the total number of bitcoin mined during the respective periods. The Company uses the daily closing prices from our principal market as the source of recording revenue, which is not materially different from the fair value at contract inception. See the table "Range of intraday bitcoin prices" for information on the range of intraday bitcoin prices for quarterly periods since January 1, 2022.

(2) Weighted average cost of mining one bitcoin is calculated by dividing the sum of total hosting fee expense by the total bitcoin mined during the respective periods.

The Year Ended December 31, 2023 compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2022

Revenues

During the year ended December 31, 2023, total revenues increased by approximately $11.3 million to approximately $13.0 million from approximately $1.7 million in the year ended December 31, 2022.

Digital mining revenues increased to approximately $12.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 from $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the commencement of our digital mining operations in late September 2022.

Interest on delinquent association fees for the year ended December 31, 2023 was approximately $266 thousand which represents a decrease of 25.9% as compared to the approximately $359 thousand generated in the year ended December 31, 2022.

Underwriting and origination fees decreased by approximately $29 thousand or 30.1% due to a reduction in units submitted for collection.

Rental revenue (which includes sales of units) for the year ended December 31, 2023 was approximately $144 thousand as compared to approximately $162 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Operating Costs and Expenses

During the year ended December 31, 2023, operating costs and expenses decreased by approximately $3.4 million, or 12.7%, to approximately $23.0 million from approximately $26.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 primarily due to a decrease in staff costs and payroll and professional fees and an increase in realized gain on sale of digital assets, offset by an increase in digital mining costs of revenues, depreciation, and other expenses.

The net decrease of approximately $13.6 million in staff costs and payroll is due to a decrease in the non-cash stock compensation expense of which $2.9 million was incurred in 2023 versus $17.7 million was incurred in 2022 ($5.3 million of the 2022 expense is associated with the cancellation of options for the CEO and CFO), offset in part by an increase in payroll of approximately $1.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2023.

The increase in depreciation and amortization expense of $4.5 million and digital mining cost of revenues of $8.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 is related to the commencement of mining operations in late September 2022.

Professional fees (excluding fees paid pursuant to our service agreement with BLG and BLGAL), for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were approximately $1.2 million and $2.4 million, respectively. Professional fees for the year ended December 31, 2022 included an expense of $0.3 million related to the settlement of a legal claim and an expense of $0.7 million due to the amortization of prepaid annual consulting fees paid in 2021 for digital strategy consultant work performed in 2022, which did not recur in the year ended December 31, 2023.

Legal fees for BLG and BLGAL for the year ended December 31, 2023 were approximately $0.6 million compared to approximately $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Legal fees for the year ended December 31, 2022 include a $150 thousand termination fee paid to BLG which did not recur in the year ended December 31, 2023. See Note 9. Related Party Transactions for further discussion regarding the service agreements with BLG and BLGAL.

Other operating costs decreased by $0.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as the result of a $1.1 million decrease in non-cash stock expense for consultants incurred in the year ended December 31, 2022 that did not recur during the year ended December 31, 2023, offset in part by a $0.2 million increase in investor relations cost, $0.1 million increase in audit fees and $0.2 million increase in insurance costs.

The Company recognized an impairment loss on the holding of mined digital assets (Bitcoin) of $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $80 thousand for year ended December 31, 2022. Impairment loss is measured using the intraday low bitcoin price during the holding period of the mined digital asset. ASC Topic 350 - Goodwill and Other provides that subsequent increases in bitcoin prices are not allowed to be recorded (unrealized gains) unless the bitcoin is sold, at which the point the gain is recognized.

The Company also recognized a realized gain on the sale of mined digital assets of $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to nil for year ended December 31, 2022. Realized gain on sale of bitcoin is the difference between the sale proceeds of bitcoin and the carrying amount.

Other Income and Loss

Realized loss on marketable securities - the Company recognized a $4 thousand dollar realized gain on marketable securities for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to a $0.3 million loss for the year ended December 31, 2022. The prior year loss was primarily due to the sale of Borqs stock.

Realized gain on convertible debt securities - the Company incurred a realized gain on convertible debt securities of nil for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 due to the conversion of Borqs convertible debt securities to common stock during fiscal year 2022.

Impairment loss on prepaid mining machine deposits - the Company incurred an impairment loss on prepaid mining machine deposits of $3.15 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 due to a $3.15 million impairment charge for deposits held by Uptime Armory arising from the non-performance of Uptime Armory under the Uptime Purchase Agreement.

Impairment loss on prepaid hosting deposits - the Company incurred an impairment loss on prepaid hosting deposits of $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 versus a $1.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 due to a $0.2 million and $1.0 million, respectively of impairment charge on the deposits held by Compute North, which is in bankruptcy, and a $0.8 million impairment charge in fiscal year 2022 for deposits held by Uptime Hosting arising from the non-performance of Uptime Hosting under the Uptime Purchase Agreement.

Impairment loss on digital assets - During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company purchased an aggregate of approximately 32 Bitcoin for $1.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2022, we recorded approximately $0.5 million of impairment losses on such digital assets.

Impairment loss on Symbiont assets - The Company recognized an impairment loss on Symbiont assets of approximately $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to impairment loss on debt securities of approximately $1.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2022 an impairment of the Symbiont debt security was recognized due to Symbiont declaring bankruptcy. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company acquired Symbiont intangible assets through bankruptcy proceedings, and then subsequently recognized a $0.8 million impairment on such assets as a result of the sale of Symbiont assets in December 2023.

Gain on adjustment of note receivable allowance - During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company reversed the previously established $1.1 million loss reserve on Symbiont notes receivable due to the acquisition of the Symbiont intangible assets as a result of Symbionts bankruptcy proceedings.

Unrealized gain (loss) on investment and equity securities - The Company recognized an unrealized loss on securities of approximately $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to an unrealized gain of approximately $4.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from the revaluation of Seastar Medical Holding Corporation (formerly LMAO’s) common stock and warrants upon LMAO’s merger with Seastar Medical Holding Corporation.

Interest (Income) Expense, net

During the year ended December 31, 2023, net interest income was approximately $0.2 million as compared to $0.4 million of net interest income for the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease is related to the reduction in investments in notes receivable for the year ended December 31, 2023.

Income Tax Expense

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated a $18.8 million net loss before income taxes. The Company's income tax due was $0.1 million as of December 31, 2023. The Company recognized net income tax expense of $0.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.

During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company generated a $26.4 million net loss before income taxes. However, due to a change in estimate from the year ended December 31, 2021 that resulted in a limitation on the use of its net operating loss carryforwards, the Company's income tax due was $1.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company recognized net income tax expense of $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Under ASC 740-10-30-5, Income Taxes, deferred tax assets should be reduced by a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more-likely-than-not (i.e., a likelihood of more than 50%) that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company considers all positive and negative evidence available in determining the potential realization of deferred tax assets including, primarily, the recent history of taxable earnings or losses. Based on operating losses reported by the Company during 2022, 2020, 2019 and 2018, the Company concluded there was not sufficient positive evidence to overcome this recent operating history. As a result, the Company believes that a valuation allowance continues to be necessary based on the more-likely-than-not threshold noted above. The Company recorded a valuation allowance of approximately $14.1 million and $8.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Net Income Attributable to Non-Controlling Interest

The Company owns 69.5% of LMFAO Sponsor LLC ("Sponsor"). As such, approximately $2.9 million and $1.4 million of the $9.8 million and $4.4 million net unrealized gain recognized by the Sponsor’s ownership of Seastar Medical Holding Corporation (formerly LMAO) is attributed to the Non-Controlling Interest for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Net Loss Attributable to LM Funding America, Inc.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company generated a net loss attributable to LM Funding America, Inc. of approximately $15.9 million as compared to net loss attributable to LM Funding America, Inc. of approximately $29.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, for the reasons mentioned above.

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

General

As of December 31, 2023, we had $2.4 million of cash and cash equivalents and $3.4 million of digital assets (95.1 BTC with average cost of approximately $36 thousand) compared with $4.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $0.9 million of digital assets (54.9 BTC with average cost of approximately $16 thousand) at December 31, 2022. The Company also had $18 thousand of marketable securities as of December 31, 2023 compared with $4 thousand at December 31, 2022. The decrease in cash for the year ended December 31, 2023 is due primarily to the use of $1.6 million for the purchase of Bitcoin mining machines offset in part by the receipt of $2.7 million of loan repayments from Seastar Medical Holding Corporation.

Our working capital needs may increase in the future as we continue to expand and enhance our mining operations. Our ability to raise additional funds for working capital through equity or debt financings or other sources may depend on the financial success of our then current business and successful implementation of our key strategic initiatives, financial, economic and market conditions and other factors, some of which are beyond our control. No assurance can be given that we will be successful in raising the required capital at a reasonable cost and at the required times, or at all. Further equity financings may have a dilutive effect on shareholders and any debt financing, if available, may require restrictions to be placed on our future financing and operating activities. If we require additional capital and are unsuccessful in raising that capital, we may not be able to continue our business operations in the cryptocurrency mining industry which could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, our liquidity was comprised of:

The Company's Bitcoin balance as of December 31, 2023, and 2022, was as follows:

The Company's cash flow summary for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 are as follows:

Recent Capital Raising Transactions

The Company did not receive cash from equity financing transactions during the year ended December 31, 2023 or 2022.

Contractual Obligations

The Company has digital mining hosting contracts that expire between May 2024 and December 2024. These contracts currently require total monthly payments of approximately $700 thousand to $800 thousand monthly.

Cash from Operations

Net cash used in operations was approximately $3.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 compared with net cash used in operations of $9.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company paid $3.2 million as a deposit for hosting services.

Cash from Investing Activities

Net cash provided by investing activities was $2.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to net cash used in investing activities of $18.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company invested $1.6 million in deposits for mining equipment but received $2.7 million from a notes receivable for Seastar Medical Holding Corporation and $1.8 million from the sale of Symbiont assets. During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company invested $14.7 million in deposits for mining equipment and $3.7 million in a notes receivable for Seastar Medical Holding Corporation.

Cash from Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities was $0.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to net cash used in financing activities of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Outstanding Debt

Debt of the Company consisted of the following: