ABTS
Published on 04/30/2026 at 12:06 am EDT
OR
For the year ended December 31, 2025 OR
OR
Date of event requiring this shell company report
For the transition period from to Commission file number 333-256665
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
British Virgin Islands
(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
Level 24, Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue Causeway Bay, Hong Kong SAR
(Address of principal executive offices)
Kai Zhang, Chief Financial Officer
+852 6915 7257- telephone [email protected]
(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
Symbol
Name of each exchange on which registered
Ordinary Shares, no par value per share
ABTS
Nasdaq Capital Market
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer's classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the transition report: 2,369,995 ordinary shares as of December 31, 2025.
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes ☒ No
If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes ☒ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act: ☐
† The term "new or revised financial accounting standard" refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.
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 which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:
U.S. GAAP ☒ International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board
☐
Other ☐
If "Other" has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.
Item 17 ☐ Item 18
If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).
Yes ☒ No
(APPLICABLE ONLY TO ISSUERS INVOLVED IN BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PAST FIVE YEARS)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed all documents and reports required to be filed by Sections 12, 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 subsequent to the distribution of securities under a plan confirmed by a court.
Yes ☐ No
ABITS GROUP INC
FORM 20-F ANNUAL REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PART I
Item 1.
Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers
1
Item 2.
Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable
1
Item 3.
Key Information
1
Item 4.
Information on The Company
40
Item 4A.
Unresolved Staff Comments
46
Item 5.
Operating and Financial Review and Prospects
46
Item 6.
Directors, Senior Management and Employees
47
Item 7.
Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions
53
Item 8.
Financial Information
54
Item 9.
The Offer and Listing
54
Item 10.
Additional Information
55
Item 11.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
64
Item 12.
Description of Securities Other Than Equity Securities
64
PART II
Item 13.
Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies
65
Item 14.
Material Modifications to The Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds
65
Item 15.
Controls and Procedures
65
Item 16.
[Reserved]
66
Item 16A.
Audit Committee Financial Expert
66
Item 16B.
Code of Ethics
66
Item 16C.
Principal Accountant Fees and Services
67
Item 16D.
Exemptions from The Listing Standards for Audit Committees
67
Item 16E.
Purchases of Equity Securities by The Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
67
Item 16F.
Change in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
67
Item 16G.
Corporate Governance
68
Item 16H.
Mine Safety Disclosure
68
ITEM 16I.
Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
68
ITEM 16J.
Insider Trading Policy
68
ITEM 16K.
Cybersecurity
68
PART III
Item 17.
Financial Statements
69
Item 18
Financial Statements
69
Item 19.
Exhibits
69
i
PART I CERTAIN INFORMATION
In this annual report on Form 20-F, unless otherwise indicated, "we," "us," "our," the "Company," "Abits" and "ABTS" refer to Abits Group Inc, a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and when describing the financial results of Abits Group Inc, also includes its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.
References to "subsidiaries" are to:
Abit Hong Kong Limited ("Abit Hong Kong"), a company established under the laws of Hong Kong SAR and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abits Group Inc;
Abit USA, Inc ("Abit USA"), a company incorporated in the State of Delaware, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abit Hong Kong;
Beijing Bitmatrix Technology Co. Ltd. ("Bitmatrix"), a company incorporated under the laws of the People's Republic of China and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abit Hong Kong
Abits Inc ("Abit"), a company incorporated in the State of Delaware, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abit Hong Kong;
Unless the context indicates otherwise, all references to "China" and the "PRC" refer to the People's Republic of China, all references to "Renminbi" or "RMB" are to the legal currency of the People's Republic of China, all references to "U.S. dollars," "dollars" and "$" are to the legal currency of the United States. This annual report contains translations of Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. We make no representation that the Renminbi or U.S. dollar amounts referred to in this report could have been or could be converted into
U.S. dollars or Renminbi, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that represent our beliefs, projections and predictions about future events. All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward-looking statements," including any projections of earnings, revenue or other financial items, any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new projects or other developments, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, any statements of management's beliefs, goals, strategies, intentions and objectives, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Words such as "may", "will", "should", "could", "would", "predicts", "potential", "continue", "expects", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" and similar expressions, as well as statements in the future tense, identify forward-looking statements.
These statements are necessarily subjective and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements described in or implied by such statements. Actual results may differ materially from expected results described in our forward-looking statements, including with respect to correct measurement and identification of factors affecting our business or the extent of their likely impact, and the accuracy and completeness of the publicly available information with respect to the factors upon which our business strategy is based or the success of our business.
Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times by which, our performance or results may be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and management's belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed under the headings "Risk Factors", "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects," and elsewhere in this report.
ITEM 1. IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISERS
Not Applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.
ITEM 2. OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE
Not Applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.
ITEM 3. KEY INFORMATION
Abits is not a U.S. or PRC operating company, but a holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. As a holding company, the Company owns equity interests, directly or indirectly, in our subsidiaries in the United States, Hong Kong and mainland China. This corporate structure involves certain unique risks to the shareholders. Investors in our securities do not own equity interests in our operating subsidiaries in the U.S. or China but instead hold equity interests in a British Virgin Islands company.
Our Corporate Structure
Abits Group Inc, or Abits, is a British Virgin Islands business company (the "Company") resulting from a merger with its U.S. domiciled parent holding company in August 2021. As a holding company with no material operations of its own, the Company conducts substantially all of its revenue generating operations in the United States through its subsidiaries, Abit USA and Abit, with limited administrative functions supported by the mainland China subsidiary, Bitmatrix. The Company owns equity interests in the operating subsidiaries indirectly through Abit Hong Kong. The Company's investors own equity interests in a British Virgin Islands holding company but not the equity of the operating companies in the U.S. or mainland China.
In July 2022, the Company divested its entire interest in Moxian (Hong Kong) Limited, or Moxian HK, with the result that it no longer has any substantial business operations in the PRC, other than certain administrative functions supported by a wholly owned indirect subsidiary located in Beijing.
To reflect that change, the Company changed its name to Abits Group Inc as it now solely operates in the bitcoin mining industry, with principal operations in the United States through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Abit USA, Inc.
1
As of the date of this report, we have the following wholly-owned subsidiaries:
Subsidiary Jurisdiction of incorporation
Abit Hong Kong Limited Hong Kong
Abit USA, Inc. Delaware
Abits Inc. Delaware
Beijing Bitmatrix Technology Co. Ltd. China
The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Trading in our securities may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("HFCAA"), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and related regulations if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or investigate completely our auditor for a period of two consecutive years, and that as a result an exchange may determine to delist our securities.
As part of a continued regulatory focus in the U.S. on access to audit and other information protected by national law, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in the U.S. Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the HFCAA. The HFCAA was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 2, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the HFCAA was signed into law by the U.S. President. The HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit foreign companies from listing securities on U.S. securities exchanges if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years beginning in 2021. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of the disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act ("AHFCAA") and on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by the U.S. President, which contained a provision identical to the AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three, thus reducing the time before an issuer's securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
Pursuant to the HFCAA, on December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it was unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong because of positions taken by mainland China and Hong Kong authorities in those jurisdictions, and identified the registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong that were subject to such determinations. On June 14, 2022, we were conclusively identified by the SEC as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA following the filing of our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, which contained the audit report issued by Centurion ZD CPA & Co. ("Centurion"), a registered public accounting firm headquartered in Hong Kong that the PCAOB had determined it was previously unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in such jurisdiction. Effective June 30, 2022, we appointed Audit Alliance LLP ("Audit Alliance") as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and accepted the resignation of Centurion, effective on the same date. Audit Alliance was not among the registered public accounting firms listed on the determination list issued by the PCAOB.
2
On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol (SOP) Agreement with the CSRC and the Ministry of Finance, or the MOF, of the PRC regarding cooperation in the oversight of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong to establish a method for the PCAOB to conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the Protocol disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB has independent discretion to select any issuer audits for inspection or investigation and has the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and vacated its previous 2021 adverse determinations. However, should the PCAOB fails to have complete access in the future, the PCAOB will consider the need to issue a new determination.
Our current auditor, Audit Alliance LLP, is based in the Republic of Singapore and gives complete access to the PCAOB on a regular basis. Our auditor is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB's determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the future, if the PCAOB determines that it is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely, or if there is any regulatory change or step taken by any regulators that does not permit our auditor to provide audit documentations to the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, our investors would be deprived of the benefits of such inspection. Any audit reports not issued by auditors that are completely inspected or investigated by the PCAOB, or a lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work undertaken in mainland China or Hong Kong that prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditors' audits and their quality control procedures, could result in a lack of assurance that our financial statements and disclosures are adequate and accurate, which could result in restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets, and trading of our securities, including trading on the national exchange or "over-the-counter" markets, may be prohibited under the HFCAA.
Foreign Private Issuer
As an offshore holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, we are qualified as a "foreign private issuer" within the meaning of the rules under the Exchange Act. As such, we are exempt from certain rules under the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. Moreover, we are not required to provide as many Exchange Act reports, or as frequently or as promptly, as U.S. domestic issuers. We are also not required to provide the same level of disclosure on certain issues. In addition, as a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, we are permitted to adopt certain home country practices in relation to corporate governance matters that differ significantly from that applied to the U.S. domestic issuers under the Nasdaq listing rules. These exemptions and practices may afford less protection to our shareholders than they would enjoy if we were a U.S. domestic issuer.
Permissions Required from the PRC Authorities
We conduct substantially all of our business operations in the United States through our U.S. subsidiaries. Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, provides limited in-house administrative support to us and our other subsidiaries and does not conduct any revenue generating business. As of the date of this report, Bitmatrix is required to obtain, and has obtained, a business license. As advised by Jincheng Tongda & Neal Law Firm, our counsel as to PRC law, Bitmatrix is not required to obtain any other permission or approval from the PRC authorities, and we are not aware any permission or approval has been denied.
While Bitmatrix does not conduct substantial business operations and its function is limited solely to intra-subsidiary administrative support, certain PRC laws and regulations may apply to it as a PRC company.
3
No CSRC Filing or Approval Required
On February 17, 2023, China Securities Regulatory Commission (the "CSRC") promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Measures, and the relevant five guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either in direct or indirect means, are required to complete the filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. The Trial Measures provides that if the issuer meets both of the following criteria, the overseas securities offering and listing conducted by such issuer will be deemed as indirect overseas offering by PRC domestic companies: (i) 50% or more of any of the issuer's operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent fiscal year is accounted for by domestic companies; and (ii) the main parts of the issuer's business activities are conducted in mainland China, its main place(s) of business are located in mainland China, or the majority of senior management staff in charge of its business operations and management are PRC citizens or have their usual place(s) of residence located in mainland China. As advised by Jincheng Tongda & Neal, our counsel as to PRC law, under current PRC laws, regulations and rules, neither we nor our PRC subsidiary is required to submit an application for the approval of the CSRC in connection with our securities offerings pursuant to the Trial Measures, because (i) we are a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, no operating revenue was generated from mainland China, and less than 50% of our total loss, total assets, and net assets were attributable to our subsidiary in mainland China; (ii) the main parts of our business activities, bitcoin mining and data center operations, are not conducted in mainland China but in the U.S., and the main places of our business are located outside mainland China; and (iii) less than a majority of our senior management members managing our data center and bitcoin mining operations are PRC citizens or have their usual places of residence located inside mainland China. Our CEO, Mr. Deng, maintains his residences in both the U.S. and Hong Kong and spends a significant amount of time each year in the U.S. overseeing and managing the overall operations of our business. The senior management member in charge of our bitcoin mining operations, Mr. Phillip Hicks, is a U.S. citizen residing in the U.S. The above analysis and conclusion have not been confirmed with the CSRC.
On February 24, 2023, the CSRC, together with Ministry of Finance, National Administration of State Secrets Protection, and National Archives Administration of China, released the Provisions on Strengthening the Confidentiality and Archives Administration Related to the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Enterprises (the "Confidentiality Provisions"). Under the Confidentiality Provisions, domestic companies established in mainland China seeking overseas offering and listing, by both direct and indirect means, are required to institute a sound confidentiality and archives system. If such domestic companies established in mainland China intend to, either directly or through its overseas listed entity, publicly disclose or provide to relevant individuals or entities including securities companies, securities service providers and overseas regulators, any documents and materials that contain state secrets or secrets of government agencies, they shall obtain approval from competent authorities and complete the relevant filing procedure with the competent secrecy administrative department prior to their disclosure or provision of such documents and materials. Based on the opinion of our counsel as to PRC law, (i) we and our PRC subsidiary are not subject to the Confidentiality Provisions, because our offering of securities will not be deemed as a direct or indirect offering of securities by PRC domestic companies under the relevant PRC laws, and (ii) we and our PRC subsidiary are not required to obtain any permissions or approvals under the Confidentiality Provisions or other relevant PRC laws and regulations, because none of the documents and materials possessed, provided or disclosed by the Company or Bitmatrix contains any PRC state secrets or secrets of PRC government agencies.
No CAC or Other Regulatory Approvals Required
On December 28, 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China ("CAC"), jointly with other government authorities, formally published Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) which took effect on February 15, 2022. Measures for Cybersecurity Review (2021) stipulates that operators of critical information infrastructure purchasing network products and services and online platform operator carrying out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security, shall conduct a cybersecurity review. Any online platform operator who controls more than one million users' personal information must go through a cybersecurity review by the cybersecurity review office if it seeks to be listed in a foreign country. As advised by Jincheng Tongda & Neal, our counsel as to PRC law, under current PRC laws, regulations and rules, the Company is not required to apply for cybersecurity review with the CAC, if the Company (i) have not received any notification from relevant government departments identifying you as critical information infrastructure operators; (ii) have not carried out data processing activities that affect or may affect national security; (iii) have not received any notification from relevant government departments such as national or local cybersecurity authorities requesting the application of cybersecurity review; and (iv) have not possessed personal information of more than one million users. Because none of the above referenced events has ever occurred to the Company or its PRC subsidiary, the Company or Bitmatrix is not required to apply for cybersecurity review with the CAC, nor is required to apply to the competent cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfer.
4
On July 7, 2022, the CAC issued the Measures for Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfer, or the Data Outbound Transfer Measures, which took effect on September 1, 2022. According to the Data Outbound Transfer Measures, in addition to the self-risk assessment requirement for provision of any data outside mainland China, a data processor shall apply to the competent cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfer in any of the following events: (i) outbound transfer of important data by a data processor; (ii) outbound transfer of personal information by an operator of critical information infrastructure or a data processor which has processed more than one million users' personal data; (iii) outbound transfer of personal information by a data processor which has made outbound transfers of more than 100,000 users' personal information or more than 10,000 users' sensitive personal information cumulatively since January 1 of the previous year; (iv) such other circumstances where ex-ante security assessment and evaluation of cross-border data transfer is required by the CAC.
On March 22, 2024, the CAC issued the Regulations on Promoting and Regulating Cross-Border Data Flows, effective on the same day (the "Data Flow Regulations"), which relaxes the control over the cross-border transfer of non-sensitive personal information, and exempts certain common international affairs scenarios from reviews of cross-border transfer of personal information. In accordance with the Data Outbound Transfer Measures, the Data Flow Regulations, and the related guidelines issued by the CAC, a data processor shall apply for a data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfers in either of the following circumstances: (a) outbound transfer of personal information or important data by a CIIO; or (b) outbound transfer of important data by a non-CIIO data processor, or personal information by such a non-CIIO data processor who has made outbound transfers of more than one million users' personal information (not including sensitive personal information), or more than 10,000 users' sensitive personal information cumulatively since January 1 of the current year. Our mainland China subsidiary's activity related to cross-border data transfer is limited to corporate records, including financial data and certain non-sensitive personal information of our employees (such as name, age, and resumes of such employees). From January 1, 2023 to the date of this report, our mainland China subsidiary made outbound data transfers of significantly less than 10,000 users' personal information cumulatively and did not transfer any sensitive personal information outbound. Based on the above facts, as advised by our PRC counsel, Jincheng Tongda & Neal, we and our PRC subsidiary are not required to apply from the relevant cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfers.
On September 24, 2024, the CAC released the Regulations for the Administration of Network Data Security, or the Network Data Security Regulations, which took effect on January 1, 2025. The Network Data Security Regulation requires that a network data processor who carries out network data processing activities that affect or may affect national security shall undergo a national security review in accordance with relevant regulations. Based on the assessment of the management, none of our Company, our Hong Kong subsidiary and U.S. Subsidiaries conduct any data processing activities within the PRC, or those outside the PRC that may damage the national security, public interests, or legitimate interests of PRC persons. Based on the opinion of our PRC counsel, Jincheng Tongda & Neal, the Company, the Hong Kong subsidiary and the U.S. Subsidiaries are not subject to the Network Data Security Regulations. Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, conducts network data processing activities, including the processing of personal information, for its operation in the PRC and is subject to the Network Data Security Regulations. Such data processing activities do not affect national security, and Bitmatrix does not process large amount of personal data or any important data. It is not a network platform service provider. None of the Company and our subsidiaries (including Bitmatrix) have been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement for a national security review or any reporting and/or security assessment under the Network Data Security Regulations. Based on the opinion of our PRC counsel, Jincheng Tongda & Neal, we and our PRC subsidiary are not required to undergo the national security review under the Network Data Security Regulation, because none of the network data processing activities carried out by us or Bitmatrix affects or may affect national security of the PRC.
Based on PRC laws and regulations effective as of the date of this report, we believe that we have not entered into a transaction or offering that would require us or Bitmatrix to obtain any permission from the CSRC, the CAC, or any other PRC authority. Given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of the PRC laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by PRC government authorities, we cannot assure you that relevant policies in this regard will not change in the future, which may require us or our subsidiaries to obtain additional licenses, permits, filings or approvals. If we or our subsidiaries do not receive or maintain required permissions or approvals, or inadvertently conclude that such permissions or approvals are not required, or applicable laws, regulations, or interpretations change which require us to obtain such permissions or approvals in the future, we cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain such permissions or approval, and we may be subject to governmental investigations or enforcement actions, fines, penalties, suspension of operations, or be prohibited from engaging in relevant business or conducting securities offering, and these risks could result in a material adverse change in our operations, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, or cause such securities to significantly decline in value or become worthless.
5
Cash Flows through Our Organization
Abits is a holding company with no operations of its own. It conducts substantially all of its operations through its principal subsidiary in the United States, Abit USA.
Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is a stand-alone operation that has its own banking account in China. It does not rely on any funding from Abits, the public holding company, or from any of other subsidiary companies. Bitmatrix's expenses are solely in Renminbi.
Abit USA, the subsidiary with our principal business operations in the prior three fiscal years, finances not only its own operating expenses in the United States but also settles the corporate expenses of the holding company, Abits, and the limited corporate expenses of Abit Hong Kong, both of which have no operations of their own. These advances are treated as inter-company loans which are non-interest bearing and have no fixed terms of repayment. Abit USA derives its funds from the sale of bitcoins generated from its bitcoin mining operations.
Abit USA's inter-company loans for each of the three years ended December 31, 2025 were as follows:
Year ended December 31
2025
2024
2023
Amount due from Abits Group Inc
2,241,294
1,241,125
590,188
Amount due from Abit Hong Kong
1,081,862
880,841
283,058
In general, as a holding company, Abits may rely on dividends or payments by its subsidiaries to fund its cash and financing requirements, including funds necessary to pay dividends or other distributions to our shareholders and investors, to pay any debts we may incur, and to pay operating expenses.
Our U.S. subsidiaries may provide dividend or other distributions to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary. Our Hong Kong subsidiary is permitted under Hong Kong law to provide funding to us through dividend distributions or payments, without restrictions on the amount of the funds. If our subsidiaries incur debt on their own behalf, the instruments governing the debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends or make other distributions to us. Our PRC subsidiary's only function is to provide administrative support to us and other subsidiaries, and it does not generate revenue and is not expected to make any cash or other distributions.
As of the date of this report, none of our subsidiaries has issued any dividends or distributions to us, and we have not made any dividends or distributions to our shareholders. Our subsidiaries in the U.S. generate and retain cash generated from operating activities and reinvest it in our business.
We are permitted under BVI law to provide funding to our subsidiaries through loans or capital contributions without restrictions on the amount of the funds, subject to complying with applicable laws (including with respect to economic substance). Abit Hong Kong is also permitted under Hong Kong law to provide funding to its subsidiaries through loans or capital contributions without restrictions on the amount of the funds.
As an offshore holding company, we are permitted under PRC laws and regulations to provide funding from the proceeds of our offshore fundraising activities to our PRC subsidiary through loans or capital contributions, subject to the satisfaction of the applicable government registration and approval requirements. If we provide loans to our PRC subsidiary, we will be required to make filings about details of the loans with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange of the PRC ("SAFE") in accordance with relevant PRC laws and regulations. If our subsidiary in China receives loans, it is only allowed to use the loans for the purposes set forth in these laws and regulations. There have been no loans or such filings with SAFE on loans, or capital contributions, to our PRC subsidiary since our inception.
6
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares. We do not have any plan to pay any cash dividends on our shares in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain most, if not all, of our available funds and any future earnings to support operations and to finance the growth and development of our business. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual requirements, business prospects and other factors the board of directors deems relevant.
As of the date of this report, we do not anticipate any difficulties on our ability to transfer cash between our subsidiaries other than Bitmatrix which is a stand-alone operation and has enough working capital of its own for the foreseeable future. We have not adopted cash management policy that dictate the amount of such funds and how such funds are transferred.
Selected Financial Data
The following table presents the selected consolidated financial information of our Company as of 2025, 2024 and 2023. The selected consolidated statements of operations data and the selected consolidated balance sheets data have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, of which that for the year ended December 31, 2025 and December 31. 2024 are included in this annual report. These audited consolidated financial statements begin on F-1 and are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. Our historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future period. You should read the following selected financial data in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes and "Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" included elsewhere in this report.
Summary Consolidated Statements of Operations:
Year ended December 31
2025
2024
2023
Revenue
9,128,666
6,711,225
1,681,533
Profit from operations
3,676,498
3,375,406
1,226,065
Loss before taxation
(2,766,220)
(798,293)
(12,585,250)
Summary Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
The following table presents our summary consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
December 31
December 31
2025
2024
Cash and cash equivalents
83,837
1,118,929
Digital assets
1,483,451
257,753
Property, equipment and vehicles
8,530,215
9,435,908
Other assets
816,847
558,707
Total assets
10,914,350
11,371,297
Total liabilities
(3,133,579)
(990,347)
Shareholders' equity
7,780,771
10,380,950
Corporate Information
Abits Group Inc is a BVI business company limited by shares incorporated on May 18, 2021. Its registered office in the BVI is located at Floor 4, Banco Popular Building, Road Town, Tortola BG 110, British Virgin Islands. Its registered agent is Campbells Corporate Services (BVI) Limited.
Our principal executive offices are located at Level 24, Lee Garden One, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong SAR. Our telephone number is +1 (852) 3959-8605. Our website is https://www.abitsgroup.com. The information on or linked to on our website is not a part of this report.
B. Capitalization and Indebtedness
Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.
C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds
Not applicable for annual reports on Form 20-F.
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3D. Risk Factors
An investment in our ordinary shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all other information contained in this annual report, including the matters discussed under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Operating and Financial Review and Prospects" before you decide to invest in our ordinary shares. If any of the following risks, or any other risks and uncertainties that are not presently foreseeable to us, actually occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity and our future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Summary Of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to a number of risks, including risks that may prevent us from achieving our business objectives or may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and prospects. These risks are discussed more fully below and include, but are not limited to, risks related to:
General Risks
Failure to manage our liquidity and cash flows may materially and adversely affect our financial conditions and results of operations. As a result, we may need additional capital, and financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.
We have a history of operating losses, and we may not be able to achieve or sustain profitability; we have recently shifted our bitcoin mining business, and we may not be successful in this business.
Our results of operation may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
We may acquire other businesses, form joint ventures or acquire other companies or businesses that could negatively affect our operating results, dilute our stockholders' ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expense; notwithstanding the foregoing, our growth may depend on our success in uncovering and completing such transactions.
From time to time, we may evaluate and potentially consummate strategic investments or acquisitions, which could require significant management attention, disrupt our business and adversely affect our financial results.
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Risks Related to Bitcoin Mining
Our results of operations are expected to vary with Bitcoin price volatility.
Our mining operating costs outpace our mining revenues, which could seriously harm our business or increase our losses.
We have an evolving business model which is subject to various uncertainties.
Regulatory changes or actions may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of cryptocurrencies in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.
The development and acceptance of cryptographic and algorithmic protocols governing the issuance of and transactions in cryptocurrencies is subject to a variety of factors that are difficult to evaluate.
Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that engage in bitcoin-related activities or that accept cryptocurrencies as payment, including financial institutions of investors in our securities.
We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have an adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.
Acceptance and/or widespread use of bitcoin is uncertain.
The decentralized nature of bitcoin systems may lead to slow or inadequate responses to crises, which may negatively affect our business.
Our bitcoins may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.
There is a lack of liquid markets, and possible manipulation of blockchain/bitcoin-based assets.
Incorrect or fraudulent bitcoin transactions may be irreversible.
Our reliance primarily on a single model of miner may subject our operations to increased risk of mine failure.
Our future success will depend in large part upon the value of bitcoin; the value of bitcoin may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings.
Cryptocurrencies, including those maintained by or for us, may be exposed to cybersecurity threats and hacks.
We are subject to risks associated with our need for significant electrical power. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours.
We may not adequately respond to price fluctuations and rapidly changing technology, which may negatively affect our business.
Risks Involving Intellectual Property
Bitcoin and bitcoin mining operations rely on software and specialized technology.
We may not be able to prevent others from unauthorized use of our intellectual property, which could harm our business and competitive position.
We may be subject to intellectual property infringement claims, which may be expensive to defend and may disrupt our business and operations
Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical, and if it contains undetected errors, our business could be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Being Based in or Having Some Portion of Operations in China
Trading in our ordinary shares may be prohibited under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, and related regulations if the PCAOB determines that it cannot inspect or investigate completely our auditor for a period of two consecutive years and as a result, Nasdaq may determine to delist our securities.
If the Chinese government determines that our corporate structure does not comply with the Chinese laws and regulations, or if such laws and regulations change or are interpreted differently in the future, Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our current operating structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of our ordinary shares, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
PRC laws and regulations can change quickly with little advance notice, and uncertainties in the interpretation and enforcement of PRC laws and regulations could adversely affect us including causing our ordinary shares to significantly decline in value.
The PRC government may intervene in or influence the operations of our PRC subsidiary at any time, or may exert more control over offerings conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, which could result in a material change in our and our PRC subsidiary's operations and the value of our ordinary shares.
The Chinese government may exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and foreign investment in China-based issuers, and any actions by the Chinese government to exert more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers could significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors and cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
If we were to be required to obtain any permission or approval from or complete any filing procedures with the CSRC, the CAC, or other PRC governmental authorities under the PRC laws, we could be subject to fines or other regulatory sanctions.
Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is subject to data security, personal information protection, and other data related PRC laws and regulations, and if Bitmatrix were found to be noncompliant with such laws and regulations, it could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
We may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries for our cash and liquidity requirements, and any limitation on the ability of our U.S. operating subsidiaries to pay dividends to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary could have a material adverse effect on liquidity needs and our ability to distribute to our shareholders.
We could be negatively affected as a result of being previously associated with Moxian subsidiaries divested in 2022 which had conducted business operations in mainland China.
Risks Related to Our Ordinary Shares
Our ordinary shares may be thinly traded and you may be unable to sell at or near ask prices or at all if you need to sell your shares to raise money or otherwise desire to liquidate your shares.
We are not likely to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
You may face difficulties in protecting your interests as a shareholder, as the laws of British Virgin Islands provides substantially less protection when compared to the laws of the United States and it may be difficult for a shareholder of ours to effect service of process or to enforce judgements obtained in the United States courts.
Volatility in our ordinary shares price may subject us to securities litigation.
We may be unable to comply with the applicable continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, which may adversely impact our access to capital markets and may cause us to default certain of our agreements
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General Risks
As of the date of this Report, the Company operates in one self-owned mining site in Duff, Tennessee. New mining sites are always being explored but none has yet to be developed. This dependence on one site has its risks on local factors such as a power failure or adverse weather conditions. If we cannot execute the bitcoin mining, it would seriously affect our financial and business condition and deepen the losses of the Company.
The Company is new to bitcoin mining and is operating in the United States for the first time. If we fail to manage our liquidity and cash flows, it will seriously affect our financial condition and results of operations. We may need additional financing and such access may be limited or at unacceptable terms.
We are not profitable and have incurred losses since our inception. We expect to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future, and these losses could increase as we continue to work to develop our business. We were previously engaged in the business of mobile payments which we ceased operation in June 2018. Whilst we had continued with the digital advertising business, it later proved to be increasingly difficult because of restrictions on online gaming by the PRC government, which was a key business of our then clients. Starting in March 2022, we diversified into the bitcoin mining business and subsequently divested all of the equity in Moxian HK and the digital advertising business conducted by Moxian HK's subsidiaries. Our current operations and business strategy are new, are in an industry that is relatively itself new and evolving and are subject to the risks discussed below. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods.
Our results of operations, including the levels of our net revenues, expenses, net loss and other key metrics, may vary significantly in the future due to a variety of factors, some of which are outside of our control, and period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, especially given our limited operating history. Accordingly, the results for any one quarter are not necessarily an indication of future performance. Fluctuations in quarterly results may adversely affect the market price of our ordinary shares. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our quarterly financial results include:
the amount and timing of operating expenses related to our new business operations and infrastructure;
fluctuations in the price of bitcoin; and
general economic, industry and market conditions.
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We are actively seeking other business opportunities, however, we cannot offer any assurance that acquisitions of businesses, assets and/or entering into strategic alliances or joint ventures will be successful. We may not be able to find suitable partners or acquisition candidates and may not be able to complete such transactions on favorable terms, if at all. If we make any acquisitions, we may not be able to integrate these acquisitions successfully into our existing infrastructure. In addition, in the event we acquire any existing businesses we could assume unknown or contingent liabilities.
Any future acquisitions also could result in the issuance of stock, incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or future write-offs of intangible assets or goodwill, any of which could have a negative impact on our cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. Integration of an acquired company may also disrupt ongoing operations and require management resources that otherwise would be focused on developing and expanding our existing business. We may experience losses related to potential investments in other companies, which could harm our financial condition and results of operations. Further, we may not realize the anticipated benefits of any acquisition, strategic alliance or joint venture if such investments do not materialize.
To finance any acquisitions or joint ventures, we may choose to issue ordinary shares, preferred stock or a combination of debt and equity as consideration, which could significantly dilute the ownership of our existing stockholders or provide rights to such preferred stock holders in priority over our common stock holders. Additional funds may not be available on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. If the price of our common stock is low or volatile, we may not be able to acquire other companies or fund a joint venture project using stock as consideration.
We may evaluate and consider strategic investments, combinations, acquisitions or alliances in both the bitcoin mining business. These transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations if consummated. If we are able to identify an appropriate business opportunity, we may not be able to successfully consummate the transaction and, even if we do consummate such a transaction, we may be unable to obtain the benefits or avoid the difficulties and risks of such transaction.
Strategic investments or acquisitions will involve risks commonly encountered in business relationships, including:
difficulties in assimilating and integrating the operations, personnel, systems, data, technologies, products and services of the acquired business;
inability of the acquired technologies, products or businesses to achieve expected levels of revenue, profitability, productivity or other benefits;
difficulties in retaining, training, motivating and integrating key personnel;
diversion of management's time and resources from our normal daily operations;
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difficulties in successfully incorporating licensed or acquired technology and rights into our businesses;
difficulties in maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies within the combined organizations;
difficulties in retaining relationships with customers, employees and suppliers of the acquired business;
risks of entering markets, including the U.S., in which we have limited or no prior experience;
We may not make any investments or acquisitions, or any future investments or acquisitions may not be successful, may not benefit our business strategy, may not generate sufficient revenues to offset the associated acquisition costs or may not otherwise result in the intended benefits. In addition, we cannot assure you that any future investment in or acquisition of new businesses or technology will lead to the successful development of new or enhanced loan products and services or that any new or enhanced loan products and services, if developed, will achieve market acceptance or prove to be profitable.
Our success and future growth will depend to a significant degree on the skills and services of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. We will need to continue to grow our management in order to alleviate pressure on our existing team and in order to continue to develop our business. If our management, including any new hires that we may make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed. Furthermore, if we fail to execute an effective contingency or succession plan with the loss of any member of management, the loss of such management personnel may significantly disrupt our business.
The loss of key members of management could inhibit our growth prospects. Our future success also depends in large part on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key management and operating personnel. As we continue to develop and expand our operations, we may require personnel with different skills and experiences, and who have a sound understanding of our business and the bitcoin industry. The market for highly qualified personnel in this industry is very competitive and we may be unable to attract such personnel. If we are unable to attract such personnel, our business could be harmed.
As a public reporting company, we are required to, among other things, maintain a system of effective internal control over financial reporting. Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. Substantial work will continue to be required to further implement, document, assess, test and remediate our system of internal controls.
If our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, we may be unable to issue our financial statements in a timely manner, we may be unable to obtain the required audit or review of our financial statements by our independent registered public accounting firm in a timely manner or we may be otherwise unable to comply with the periodic reporting requirements of the SEC, our common stock listing on Nasdaq could be suspended or terminated and our stock price could materially suffer. In addition, we or members of our management could be subject to investigation and sanction by the SEC and other regulatory authorities and to stockholder lawsuits, which could impose significant additional costs on us and divert management attention.
We are engaged in the mining of bitcoins which the SEC said is currency and not securities. We therefore believe that we are not engaged in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities, and we do not hold ourselves out as being engaged in those activities. However, under the Investment Company Act a company may be deemed an investment company under section 3(a)(1)(C) thereof if the value of its investment securities is more than 40% of its total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.
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If, as a result of our investments and our mining activities, including investments in which we do not have a controlling interest, the investment securities we hold could exceed 40% of our total assets, exclusive of cash items and, accordingly, we could determine that we have become an inadvertent investment company. The bitcoins we own, acquire or mine may be deemed an investment security by the SEC, although we do not believe any of the cryptocurrencies we own, acquire or mine are securities. An inadvertent investment company can avoid being classified as an investment company if it can rely on one of the exclusions under the Investment Company Act. One such exclusion, Rule 3a-2 under the Investment Company Act, allows an inadvertent investment company a grace period of one year from the earlier of (a) the date on which an issuer owns securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the issuer's total assets on either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis and (b) the date on which an issuer owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer's total assets (exclusive of government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We may take actions to cause the investment securities held by us to be less than 40% of our total assets, which may include acquiring assets with our cash and bitcoin on hand or liquidating our investment securities or bitcoin or seeking a no-action letter from the SEC if we are unable to acquire sufficient assets or liquidate sufficient investment securities in a timely manner.
As the Rule 3a-2 exception is available to a company no more than once every three years, and assuming no other exclusion were available to us, we would have to keep within the 40% limit for at least three years after we cease being an inadvertent investment company. This may limit our ability to make certain investments or enter into joint ventures that could otherwise have a positive impact on our earnings. In any event, we do not intend to become an investment company engaged in the business of investing and trading securities.
Classification as an investment company under the Investment Company Act requires registration with the SEC. If an investment company fails to register, it would have to stop doing almost all business, and its contracts would become voidable. Registration is time consuming and restrictive and would require a restructuring of our operations, and we would be very constrained in the kind of business we could do as a registered investment company. Further, we would become subject to substantial regulation concerning management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons and portfolio composition, and would need to file reports under the Investment Company Act regime. The cost of such compliance would result in the Company incurring substantial additional expenses, and the failure to register if required would have a materially adverse impact to conduct our operations.
Although the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) appears to be over, we believe that our results of operations, business and financial condition could be adversely impacted by the effects of any outbreak of any severe virus affecting public health.
The continued spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) or the occurrence of other epidemics and the imposition of public health measures and travel and business restrictions will adversely affect impact our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. In addition, we have experienced and will experience disruptions to our business operations resulting from quarantines, self-isolations, or other movement and restrictions on the ability of our employees to perform their jobs. If we are unable to effectively service our miners, our ability to mine bitcoin will be adversely affected as miners go offline, which would have an adverse effect on our business and the results of our operations.
We believe that a critical component of our success is our corporate culture, which we believe fosters innovation, encourages teamwork and cultivates creativity. As we develop the infrastructure of a public company and continue to grow, we may find it difficult to maintain these valuable aspects of our corporate culture. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively impact our future success, including our ability to attract and retain employees, encourage innovation and teamwork and effectively focus on and pursue our corporate objectives.
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Risks related to Bitcoin Mining
The price of Bitcoin has experienced significant fluctuations over its relatively short existence and may continue to fluctuate significantly in the
future.
We expect our results of operations to continue to be affected by the Bitcoin price as most of the revenue is from bitcoin mining production as of the filing date. Any future significant reductions in the price of Bitcoin will likely have a material and adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. We cannot assure you that the Bitcoin price will remain high enough to sustain our operation or that the Bitcoin price will not decline significantly in the future.
Various factors, mostly beyond our control, could impact the Bitcoin price. For example, the usage of Bitcoins in the retail and commercial marketplace is relatively low in comparison with the usage for speculation, which contributes to Bitcoin price volatility. Additionally, the reward for Bitcoin mining will decline over time, with the most recent halving event occurred in May 2020 and next one four years later, which may further contribute to Bitcoin price volatility.
Our mining operations are costly and our expenses may increase in the future. We intend to use funds on hand from our private placement to continue to purchase bitcoin mining machines. This expense increase may not be offset by a corresponding increase in revenue. Our expenses may be greater than we anticipate, and our investments to make our business more efficient may not succeed and may outpace monetization efforts. Increases in our costs without a corresponding increase in our revenue would increase our losses and could seriously harm our business and financial perform
As bitcoin assets may become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve. In order to stay current with the industry, our business model may need to evolve as well. From time to time, we may modify aspects of our business model relating to our strategy. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to our business. We may not be able to manage growth effectively, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth and negatively affect our operating results. Further, we cannot provide any assurance that we will successfully identify all emerging trends and growth opportunities in this business sector and we may lose out on those opportunities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
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As cryptocurrencies have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted differently to cryptocurrencies; certain governments have deemed them illegal, and others have allowed their use and trade without restriction, while in some jurisdictions, such as in the U.S., subject to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, unclear and evolving regulatory requirements. Ongoing and future regulatory actions may impact our ability to continue to operate, and such actions could affect our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.
The use of cryptocurrencies to, among other things, buy and sell goods and services and complete transactions, is part of a new and rapidly evolving industry that employs bitcoin assets based upon a computer-generated mathematical and/or cryptographic protocol. Large-scale acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment has not, and may never, occur. The growth of this industry in general, and the use of bitcoin, in particular, is subject to a high degree of uncertainty, and the slowing or stopping of the development or acceptance of developing protocols may occur unpredictably. The factors include, but are not limited to:
continued worldwide growth in the adoption and use of cryptocurrencies as a medium to exchange;
governmental and quasi-governmental regulation of cryptocurrencies and their use, or restrictions on or regulation of access to and operation of the network or similar bitcoin systems;
changes in consumer demographics and public tastes and preferences;
the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the network;
the increased consolidation of contributors to the bitcoin blockchain through mining pools;
the availability and popularity of other forms or methods of buying and selling goods and services, including new means of using fiat currencies;
the use of the networks supporting cryptocurrencies for developing smart contracts and distributed applications;
general economic conditions and the regulatory environment relating to cryptocurrencies; and
negative consumer sentiment and perception of bitcoin specifically and cryptocurrencies generally.
The outcome of these factors could have negative effects on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations as well as potentially negative effect on the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, which would harm investors in our securities.
A number of companies that engage in bitcoin and/or other bitcoin-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 in response to government action, particularly in China, where regulatory response to cryptocurrencies has been to exclude their use for ordinary consumer transactions within China. We also may be unable to obtain or maintain these services for our business. The difficulty that many businesses that provide bitcoin and/or derivatives on other bitcoin-related activities have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may be decreasing the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and harming public perception of cryptocurrencies, and could decrease their usefulness and harm their public perception in the future.
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The usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and the public perception of cryptocurrencies could be damaged if banks or financial institutions were to close the accounts of businesses engaging in bitcoin and/or other bitcoin-related activities. This could occur as a result of compliance risk, cost, government regulation or public pressure. The risk applies to securities firms, clearance and settlement firms, national stock and derivatives on commodities exchanges, the over-the-counter market, and the Depository Trust Company, which, if any of such entities adopts or implements similar policies, rules or regulations, could negatively affect our relationships with financial institutions and impede our ability to convert cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies. Such factors could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and harm investors.
A disruption of the Internet may affect the use of cryptocurrencies and subsequently the value of our securities. Generally, cryptocurrencies and our business of mining cryptocurrencies is dependent upon the Internet. A significant disruption in Internet connectivity could disrupt a currency's network operations until the disruption is resolved and have an adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies and our ability to mine cryptocurrencies.
Geopolitical crises may motivate large-scale purchases of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which could increase the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rapidly. This may increase the likelihood of a subsequent price decrease as crisis-driven purchasing behavior dissipates, adversely affecting the value of our inventory following such downward adjustment. Such risks are similar to the risks of purchasing commodities in general uncertain times, such as the risk of purchasing, holding or selling gold. Alternatively, as an emerging asset class with limited acceptance as a payment system or commodity, global crises and general economic downturn may discourage investment in cryptocurrencies as investors focus their investment on less volatile asset classes as a means of hedging their investment risk.
As an alternative to fiat currencies that are backed by central governments, cryptocurrencies, which are relatively new, are subject to supply and demand forces. How such supply and demand will be impacted by geopolitical events is largely uncertain but could be harmful to us and investors in our common stock. Political or economic crises may motivate large-scale acquisitions or sales of cryptocurrencies either globally or locally. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Currently, there is a relatively limited use of any bitcoin in the retail and commercial marketplace, thus contributing to price volatility that could adversely affect an investment in our securities. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for bitcoin transactions, process wire transfers to or from bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in bitcoin. Conversely, a significant portion of bitcoin demand is generated by investors seeking a long-term store of value or speculators seeking to profit from the short- or long-term holding of the asset. Price volatility undermines any bitcoin's role as a medium of exchange, as retailers are much less likely to accept it as a form of payment. Market capitalization for a bitcoin as a medium of exchange and payment method may always be low.
The relative lack of acceptance of bitcoins in the retail and commercial marketplace, or a reduction of such use, limits the ability of end users to use them to pay for goods and services. Such lack of acceptance or decline in acceptances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of bitcoins we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
As the number of bitcoins currency rewards awarded for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, the incentive for miners to continue to contribute to the bitcoin network may transition from a set reward to transaction fees. In order to incentivize miners to continue to contribute to the bitcoin network, the bitcoin network may either formally or informally transition from a set reward to transaction fees earned upon solving a block. This transition could be accomplished by miners independently electing to record in the blocks they solve only those transactions that include payment of a transaction fee. If transaction fees paid for bitcoin transactions become too high, the marketplace may be reluctant to accept bitcoin as a means of payment and existing users may be motivated to switch from bitcoin to another bitcoin or to fiat currency. Either the requirement from miners of higher transaction fees in exchange for recording transactions in a blockchain or a software upgrade that automatically charges fees for all transactions may decrease demand for bitcoin and prevent the expansion of the bitcoin network to retail merchants and commercial businesses, resulting in a reduction in the price of bitcoin that could adversely impact an investment in our securities. Decreased use and demand for bitcoin may adversely affect its value and result in a reduction in the price of bitcoin and the value of our common stock.
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The decentralized nature of the governance of bitcoin systems may lead to ineffective decision making that slows development or prevents a network from overcoming emergent obstacles. Governance of many bitcoin systems is by voluntary consensus and open competition with no clear leadership structure or authority. To the extent lack of clarity in corporate governance of bitcoin systems leads to ineffective decision making that slows development and growth of such cryptocurrencies, the value of our common stock may be adversely affected.
Although currently cryptocurrencies generally are not regulated or are lightly regulated in most countries, one or more countries such as China and Russia, which have taken harsh regulatory action, may take regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use these bitcoin assets or to exchange for fiat currency. In many nations, particularly in China and Russia, it is illegal to accept payment in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for consumer transactions and banking institutions are barred from accepting deposits of cryptocurrencies. Such restrictions may adversely affect us as the large-scale use of cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange is presently confined to certain regions globally. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
Cryptocurrencies that are represented and trade on a ledger-based platform may not necessarily benefit from viable trading markets. Stock exchanges have listing requirements and vet issuers; requiring them to be subjected to rigorous listing standards and rules, and monitor investors transacting on such platform for fraud and other improprieties. These conditions may not necessarily be replicated on a distributed ledger platform, depending on the platform's controls and other policies. The laxer a distributed ledger platform is about vetting issuers of bitcoin assets or users that transact on the platform, the higher the potential risk for fraud or the manipulation of the ledger due to a control event. These factors may decrease liquidity or volume or may otherwise increase volatility of investment securities or other assets trading on a ledger-based system, which may adversely affect us. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
We compete with other users and/or companies that are mining cryptocurrencies and other potential financial vehicles, including securities backed by or linked to cryptocurrencies through entities similar to us. Market and financial conditions, and other conditions beyond our control, may make it more attractive to invest in other financial vehicles, or to invest in cryptocurrencies directly, which could limit the market for our shares and reduce their liquidity. The emergence of other financial vehicles and exchange-traded funds have been scrutinized by regulators and such scrutiny and the negative impressions or conclusions resulting from such scrutiny could be applicable to us and impact our ability to successfully pursue our new strategy or operate at all, or to establish or maintain a public market for our securities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or an alternative to distributed ledgers altogether. Our business utilizes presently existent digital ledgers and blockchains and we could face difficulty adapting to emergent digital ledgers, blockchains, or alternatives thereto. This may adversely affect us and our exposure to various blockchain technologies and prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
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There is a risk that some or all of our bitcoins could be lost or stolen. Cryptocurrencies are stored in bitcoin sites commonly referred to as "wallets" by holders of bitcoins which may be accessed to exchange a holder's bitcoin assets. Access to our bitcoin assets could also be restricted by cybercrime (such as a denial of service attack) against a service at which we maintain a hosted hot wallet. A hot wallet refers to any bitcoin 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 bitcoin 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 and we may experience lag time in our ability to respond to market fluctuations in the price of our bitcoin assets. We hold all of our cryptocurrencies in cold storage to reduce the risk of malfeasance, but the risk of loss of our bitcoin assets cannot be wholly eliminated.
Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal, compromise or secure cryptocurrencies, such as by attacking the bitcoin network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms, cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. We may be in control and possession of one of the more substantial holdings of bitcoins. As we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Any of these events may adversely affect our operations and, consequently, our investments and profitability. The loss or destruction of a private key required to access our digital wallets may be irreversible and we may be denied access for all time to our bitcoin holdings or the holdings of others held in those compromised wallets. Our loss of access to our private keys or our experience of a data loss relating to our digital wallets could adversely affect our investments and assets.
Cryptocurrencies are controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public and private keys relating to the local or online digital wallet in which they are held, which wallet's public key or address is reflected in the network's public blockchain. We will publish the public key relating to digital wallets in use when we verify the receipt of transfers and disseminate such information into the network, but we will need to safeguard the private keys relating to such digital wallets. To the extent such private keys are lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised, we will be unable to access our bitcoin rewards 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 cryptocurrencies could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
In order to minimize risk, we have established processes to manage wallets that are associated with our bitcoin holdings. There can be no assurances that any processes we have adopted or will adopt in the future are or will be secure or effective, and we would suffer significant and immediate adverse effects if we suffered a loss of our bitcoin due to an adverse software or cybersecurity event. We utilize several layers of threat reduction techniques, including: (i) the use of hardware wallets to store sensitive private key information; (ii) performance of transactions offline; and (iii) offline generation storage and use of private keys.
At present, the Company is evaluating several third-party custodial wallet alternatives, but there can be no assurance that such services will be more secure than those the Company presently employs. Human error and the constantly evolving state of cybercrime and hacking techniques may render present security protocols and procedures ineffective in ways which we cannot predict. If our security procedures and protocols are ineffectual and our bitcoin assets are compromised by cybercriminals, we may not have adequate recourse to recover our losses stemming from such compromise and we may lose much of the accumulated value of our bitcoin mining activities. This would have a negative impact on our business and operations.
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Bitcoin transactions are irrevocable and stolen or incorrectly transferred cryptocurrencies may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent bitcoin transactions could adversely affect our investments and assets.
Bitcoin transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the cryptocurrencies from the transaction. In theory, bitcoin transactions may be reversible with the control or consent of a majority of processing power on the network, however, we do not now, nor is it feasible that we could in the future, possess sufficient processing power to effect this reversal. Once a transaction has been verified and recorded in a block that is added to a blockchain, an incorrect transfer of a bitcoin or a theft thereof generally will not be reversible and we may not have sufficient recourse to recover our losses from any such transfer or theft. It is possible that, through computer or human error, or through theft or criminal action, our bitcoin rewards could be transferred in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties, or to uncontrolled accounts. Further, according to the SEC, 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 bitcoin. We are, therefore, presently reliant on existing private investigative entities, such as Chain analysis and Kroll to investigate any potential loss of our bitcoin assets. These third-party service providers rely on data analysis and compliance of ISPs with traditional court orders to reveal information such as the IP addresses of any attackers who may have target us. 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 ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations of and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
The Office of Financial Assets Control of the US Department of Treasury requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its specially designated nationals ("SDN") list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions we may inadvertently and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC's SDN list. Our Company's policy prohibits any transactions with such SDN individuals, but we may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the individual with whom we transact with respect to selling bitcoin assets. Moreover, federal law prohibits any US person from knowingly or unknowingly possessing any visual depiction commonly known as child pornography. Recent media reports have suggested that persons have imbedded such depictions on one or more blockchains. Because our business requires us to download and retain one or more blockchains to effectuate our ongoing business, it is possible that such digital ledgers contain prohibited depictions without our knowledge or consent. To the extent government enforcement authorities literally enforce these and other laws and regulations that are impacted by decentralized distributed ledger technology, we may be subject to investigation, administrative or court proceedings, and civil or criminal monetary fines and penalties, all of which could harm our reputation and affect the value of our common stock.
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, which widespread acceptance is necessary to the continued growth and development of our business. Many bitcoin networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, cryptocurrencies are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. Participants in the bitcoin 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 bitcoin transactions will be effective, or how long they will take to become effective, which could adversely affect an investment in our securities.
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The global market for bitcoin is characterized by supply constraints that differ from those present in the markets for commodities or other assets such as gold and silver. The mathematical protocols under which certain cryptocurrencies are mined permit the creation of a limited, predetermined amount of currency, while others have no limit established on total supply. To the extent that other vehicles investing in cryptocurrencies or tracking bitcoin markets form and come to represent a significant proportion of the demand for cryptocurrencies, large redemptions of the securities of those vehicles and the subsequent sale of cryptocurrencies by such vehicles could negatively affect bitcoin prices and therefore affect the value of the bitcoin inventory we hold. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Because there has been limited precedent set for the financial accounting of cryptocurrencies and related revenue recognition and no official guidance has yet been provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the SEC, it is unclear how companies may in the future be required to account for bitcoin transactions and assets and related revenue recognition. A change in regulatory or financial accounting standards could result in the necessity to change our accounting methods and restate our financial statements. Such a restatement could adversely affect the accounting for our newly mined bitcoin rewards and more generally negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operation. Such circumstances would have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations as well as and potentially the value of any cryptocurrencies we hold or expects to acquire for our own account and harm investors.
Our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including hardware and electricity costs, associated with mining cryptocurrencies are lower than the price of a bitcoin. As our mining facility operates, our miners experience ordinary wear and tear, and may also face more significant malfunctions caused by a number of extraneous factors beyond our control. The degradation of our miners will require us to, over time, replace those miners which are no longer functional. Additionally, as the technology evolves, we may be required to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. Reports have been released which indicate that miner manufacturer or seller adjusts the prices of its miners according to bitcoin prices, so the cost of new machines is unpredictable but could be extremely high. As a result, at times, we may obtain miners and other hardware from third parties at premium prices, to the extent they are available. This upgrading process requires substantial capital investment, and we may face challenges. Further, the global supply chain for bitcoin miners is presently heavily dependent on China, which has been severely affected by the emergence of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic. The global reliance on China as a main supplier of bitcoin miners has been called into question in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Should similar outbreaks or other disruptions to the China-based global supply chain for bitcoin hardware occur, we may not be able to obtain adequate replacement parts for our existing miners or to obtain additional miners from the manufacturer on a timely basis. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to pursue our new strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and the value of our ordinary shares.
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The performance and reliability of our miners and our technology is critical to our reputation and our operations. Because we currently only use MicroBT miners, if there are issues with those machines, our entire system could be affected. Any system error or failure may significantly delay response times or even cause our system to fail. Any disruption in our ability to continue mining could result in lower yields and harm our reputation and business. Any exploitable weakness, flaw, or error common to MicroBT miners affects all our miners, if a defect other flaw is exploited, our entire mine could go offline simultaneously. 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 use third-party mining pools to receive our mining rewards from the network. Mining pools allow miners to combine their processing power, increasing their chances of solving a block and getting paid by the network. The rewards are distributed by the pool operator, proportionally to our contribution to the pool's overall mining power, used to generate each block. Should the pool operator's system 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, we are dependent on the accuracy of the mining pool operator's record keeping to accurately record the total processing power provided to the pool for a given bitcoin mining application in order to assess the proportion of that total processing power we provided. While we have internal methods of tracking both our power provided and the total used by the pool, the mining pool operator uses its own record-keeping to determine our proportion of a given reward. We have little means of recourse against the mining pool operator if we determine the proportion of the reward paid out to us by the mining pool operator is incorrect, other than leaving the pool. If we are unable to consistently obtain accurate proportionate rewards from our mining pool operators, we may experience reduced reward for our efforts, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operations.
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. At a predetermined block, the mining reward is cut in half, hence the term "halving." For bitcoin, the reward was initially set at 50 bitcoin currency rewards per block and this was cut in half to 25 in November 28, 2012 at block 210,000 and again to 12.5 on July 9, 2016 at block 420,000 and in May 2020 at block 630,000 when the reward reduced to 6.25. This was further halved to 3.125 in April 2024. The process will reoccur until the total amount of bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21 million, which is expected around 2140. While bitcoin prices have had a history of price fluctuations around the halving of its bitcoin rewards, 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 trading price of bitcoin does not follow these anticipated halving events, the revenue we earn from our mining operations would see a corresponding decrease, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.
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Our operating results will depend in large part upon the value of bitcoin because it's the primary bitcoin we currently mine. Specifically, our revenues from our bitcoin mining operations are based upon two factors: (1) the number of bitcoin rewards we successfully mine and (2) the value of bitcoin. In addition, our operating results are directly impacted by changes in the value of bitcoin, because under the value measurement model, both realized and unrealized changes will be reflected in our statement of operations (i.e., we will be marking bitcoin to fair value each quarter). This means that our operating results will be subject to swings based upon increases or decreases in the value of bitcoin. Furthermore, our strategy focuses almost entirely on bitcoin (as opposed to other cryptocurrencies). Further, our current application-specific integrated circuit ("ASIC") machines (which we refer to as "miners") are principally utilized for mining bitcoin and bitcoin cash and cannot mine other cryptocurrencies, such as ether, that are not mined utilizing the "SHA-256 algorithm." If other cryptocurrencies were to achieve acceptance at the expense of bitcoin or bitcoin cash causing the value of bitcoin or bitcoin cash to decline, or if bitcoin were to switch its proof of work algorithm from SHA-256 to another algorithm for which our miners are not specialized, or the value of bitcoin or bitcoin cash were to decline for other reasons, particularly if such decline were significant or over an extended period of time, our operating results would be adversely affected, and there could be a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations, and harm investors.
Bitcoin and other bitcoin market prices, which have historically been volatile and are impacted by a variety of factors (including those discussed below), are determined primarily using data from various exchanges, over-the-counter markets and derivative platforms. Furthermore, such prices may be subject to factors such as those that impact commodities, more so than business activities, which could be subjected to additional influence from fraudulent or illegitimate actors, real or perceived scarcity, and political, economic, regulatory or other conditions. Pricing may be the result of, and may continue to result in, speculation regarding future appreciation in the value of cryptocurrencies, or our share price, inflating and making their market prices more volatile or creating "bubble" type risks for both bitcoin and shares of our ordinary shares.
To the extent that a significant majority of users and miners on a bitcoin network install software that changes the bitcoin network or properties of a bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new bitcoin, the bitcoin network would be subject to new protocols and software. However, if less than a significant majority of users and miners on the bitcoin network consent to the proposed modification, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification, the consequence would be what is known as a "fork" of the network, with one prong running the pre-modified software and the other running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of the bitcoin running in parallel, yet lacking interchangeability and necessitating exchange-type transaction to convert currencies between the two forks. Additionally, it may be unclear following a fork which fork represents the original asset and which is the new asset. Different metrics adopted by industry participants to determine which is the original asset include: referring to the wishes of the core developers of a bitcoin, blockchains with the greatest amount of hashing power contributed by miners or validators; or blockchains with the longest chain. A fork in the network of a particular bitcoin could adversely affect an investment in our Company or our ability to operate.
We may not be able to realize the economic benefit of a fork, either immediately or ever, which could adversely affect an investment in our securities. If we hold a bitcoin at the time of a hard fork into two cryptocurrencies, industry standards would dictate that we would be expected to hold an equivalent amount of the old and new assets following the fork. However, we may not be able, or it may not be practical, to secure or realize the economic benefit of the new asset for various reasons. For instance, we may determine that there is no safe or practical way to custody the new asset, that trying to do so may pose an unacceptable risk to our holdings in the old asset, or that the costs of taking possession and/or maintaining ownership of the new bitcoin exceed the benefits of owning the new bitcoin. Additionally, laws, regulation or other factors may prevent us from benefitting from the new asset even if there is a safe and practical way to custody and secure the new asset.
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Proof of stake is an alternative method in validating bitcoin transactions. Should the algorithm shift from a proof of work validation method to a proof of stake method, mining would require less energy and may render any company that maintains advantages in the current climate (for example, from lower priced electricity, processing, real estate, or hosting) less competitive. We, as a result of our efforts to optimize and improve the efficiency of our bitcoin mining operations, may be exposed to the risk in the future of losing the benefit of our capital investments and the competitive advantage we hope to gain form this as a result, and may be negatively impacted if a switch to proof of stake validation were to occur. This may additionally have an impact on other various investments of ours. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Over the past two years, bitcoin mining operations have evolved from individual users mining with computer processors, graphics processing units and first-generation ASIC servers. Currently, new processing power is predominantly added by incorporated and unincorporated "professionalized" mining operations. Professionalized mining operations may use proprietary hardware or sophisticated ASIC machines acquired from ASIC manufacturers. They require the investment of significant capital for the acquisition of this hardware, the leasing of operating space (often in data centers or warehousing facilities), incurring of electricity costs and the employment of technicians to operate the mining farms. As a result, professionalized mining operations are of a greater scale than prior miners and have more defined and regular expenses and liabilities. These regular expenses and liabilities require professionalized mining operations to maintain profit margins on the sale of bitcoin. To the extent the price of bitcoin declines and such profit margin is constrained, professionalized miners are incentivized to more immediately sell bitcoin earned from mining operations, whereas it is believed that individual miners in past years were more likely to hold newly mined bitcoin for more extended periods. The immediate selling of newly mined bitcoin greatly increases the trading volume of bitcoin, creating downward pressure on the market price of bitcoin rewards.
The extent to which the value of bitcoin mined by a professionalized mining operation exceeds the allocable capital and operating costs determines the profit margin of such operation. A professionalized mining operation may be more likely to sell a higher percentage of its newly mined bitcoin rapidly if it is operating at a low profit margin and it may partially or completely cease operations if its profit margin is negative. In a low profit margin environment, a higher percentage could be sold more rapidly, thereby potentially depressing bitcoin prices. Lower bitcoin prices could result in further tightening of profit margins for professionalized mining operations creating a network effect that may further reduce the price of bitcoin until mining operations with higher operating costs become unprofitable forcing them to reduce mining power or cease mining operations temporarily.
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If a malicious actor or botnet (a volunteer or hacked collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers) obtains a majority of the processing power dedicated to mining a bitcoin, it may be able to alter blockchains on which transactions of bitcoin reside and rely by constructing fraudulent blocks or preventing certain transactions from completing in a timely manner, or at all. The malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude or modify the ordering of transactions, though it could not generate new units or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could "double-spend" its own bitcoin (i.e., spend the same bitcoin in more than one transaction) and prevent the confirmation of other users' transactions for as long as it maintained control. To the extent that such malicious actor or botnet does not yield its control of the processing power on the network or the bitcoin community does not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to blockchains may not be possible. The foregoing description is not the only means by which the entirety of blockchains or cryptocurrencies may be compromised but is only an example.
Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of blockchains achieved through controlling over 50% of the processing power on the network, it is believed that certain mining pools may have exceeded the 50% threshold in bitcoin. The possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicates a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the bitcoin ecosystem, and the administrators of mining pools, do not act to ensure greater decentralization of bitcoin mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power will increase because the botnet or malicious actor could compromise more than 50% mining pool and thereby gain control of blockchain, whereas if the blockchain remains decentralized it is inherently more difficult for the botnet of malicious actor to aggregate enough processing power to gain control of the blockchain, may adversely affect an investment in our common stock. Such lack of controls and responses to such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
As with any computer code generally, flaws in bitcoin codes may be exposed by malicious actors. Several errors and defects have been found previously, including those that disabled some functionality for users and exposed users' information. Exploitations of flaws in the source code that allow malicious actors to take or create money have previously occurred. Despite our efforts and processes to prevent breaches, our devices, as well as our miners, computer systems and those of third parties that we use in our operations, are vulnerable to cyber security risks, including cyber-attacks such as viruses and worms, phishing attacks, denial-of-service attacks, physical or electronic break-ins, employee theft or misuse, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our miners and computer systems or those of third parties that we use in our operations. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
The operation of a bitcoin or other bitcoin mine can require massive amounts of electrical power. Further, our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including electrical power costs, associated with mining a bitcoin are lower than the price of a bitcoin. As a result, any mine we establish can only be successful if we can obtain sufficient electrical power for that mine on a cost-effective basis, and our establishment of new mines requires us to find locations where that is the case. There may be significant competition for suitable mine locations, and government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage, or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision or electricity to mining operations. Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage. Given the power requirement, it would not be feasible to run miners on back-up power generators in the event of a government restriction on electricity or a power outage. If we are unable to receive adequate power supply and are forced to reduce our operations due to the availability or cost of electrical power, our business would experience materially negative impacts.
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As the number of bitcoin rewards awarded for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, our ability to achieve profitability worsens. Decreased use and demand for bitcoin rewards may adversely affect our incentive to expend processing power to solve blocks. If the award of bitcoin rewards for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease our mining operations. For instance, the current fixed reward for solving a new block on the bitcoin blockchain is twelve and a half bitcoin currency rewards per block, which decreased from 25 bitcoin in July 2016. It is estimated that it will halve again in about one year. This reduction may result in a reduction in the aggregate hash rate of the bitcoin network as the incentive for miners decreases. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions (i.e., temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to a blockchain until the next scheduled adjustment in difficulty for block solutions) and make bitcoin networks more vulnerable to a malicious actor or botnet obtaining control in excess of 50 percent of the processing power active on a blockchain, potentially permitting such actor or botnet to manipulate a blockchain in a manner that adversely affects our activities. A reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or processing power of the network could result and be irreversible. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue to pursue our new strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.
Competitive conditions within the bitcoin industry require that we use sophisticated technology in the operation of our business. The industry for blockchain technology is characterized by rapid technological changes, new product introductions, enhancements and evolving industry standards. New technologies, techniques or products could emerge that might offer better performance than the software and other technologies we currently utilize, and we may have to manage transitions to these new technologies to remain competitive. We may not be successful, generally or relative to our competitors in the bitcoin industry, in timely implementing new technology into our systems, or doing so in a cost-effective manner. During the course of implementing any such new technology into our operations, we may experience system interruptions and failures during such implementation. Furthermore, there can be no assurances that we will recognize, in a timely manner or at all, the benefits that we may expect as a result of our implementing new technology into our operations. As a result, our business and operations may suffer, and there may be adverse effects on the price of our common stock.
Risks Involving Intellectual Property
We actively use specific hardware and software for our bitcoin mining operation. In certain cases, source code and other software assets may be subject to an open source license, as much technology development underway in this sector is open source. For these works, the company intends to adhere to the terms of any license agreements that may be in place.
We do not currently own, and do not have any current plans to seek, any patents in connection with our existing and planned blockchain and cryptocurrency related operations. We do expect to rely upon trade secrets, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual property rights and expect to license the use of intellectual property rights owned and controlled by others. In addition, we have developed and may further develop certain proprietary software applications for purposes of our cryptocurrency mining operation.
In the event of a platform outage and physical data loss, our ability to perform our bitcoin mining operations would be materially and adversely affected. The satisfactory performance, reliability and availability of our platform are critical to our operations. Our operations depend on our ability to protect our systems against damage or interruption from natural disasters, power or telecommunications failures, air quality issues, environmental conditions, computer viruses or attempts to harm our systems, criminal acts and similar events.
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Any interruptions or delays in our service, whether as a result of third-party errors, our errors, natural disasters or security breaches, whether accidental or willful, could harm our operations and/or reputation. Additionally, in the event of damage or interruption, our insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for any losses that we may incur. Our disaster recovery plan has not been tested under actual disaster conditions, and we may not have sufficient capacity to recover all data and services in the event of an outage. These factors could prevent us from mining bitcoins, damage our brand and reputation, divert our employees' attention, subject us to liability, any of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our platform and internal systems rely on software that is highly technical and complex. In addition, our platform and internal systems depend on the ability of such software to store, retrieve, process and manage immense amounts of data. The software on which we rely has contained, and may now or in the future contain, undetected errors or bugs. Some errors may only be discovered after the code has been released for external or internal use. Any errors, bugs or defects discovered in the software on which we rely could result in harm to our reputation, or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial conditions.
We regard our trademarks, domain names, know-how, proprietary technologies and similar intellectual property as critical to our success, and we rely on a combination of intellectual property laws and contractual arrangements, including confidentiality and non-compete agreements with our employees and others to protect our proprietary rights. See "Item 4. Information of the Company -Intellectual Property" and "Regulation-Regulation on Intellectual Property Rights." Thus, we cannot assure you that any of our intellectual property rights would not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or misappropriated, or such intellectual property will be sufficient to provide us with competitive advantages. In addition, because of the rapid pace of technological change in our industry, parts of our business rely on technologies developed or licensed by third parties, and we may not be able to obtain or continue to obtain licenses and technologies from these third parties on reasonable terms, or at all.
Our trade secrets may be leaked or otherwise become available to, or be independently discovered by, our competitors. To the extent that our employees or consultants use intellectual property owned by others in their work for us, disputes may arise as to the rights in related know-how and inventions. Any failure in protecting or enforcing our intellectual property rights could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We cannot be certain that our operations or any aspects of our business do not or will not infringe upon or otherwise violate trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. We may be from time to time in the future subject to legal proceedings and claims relating to the intellectual property rights of others. In addition, there may be third-party trademarks, patents, copyrights, know-how or other intellectual property rights that are infringed by our products, services or other aspects of our business without our awareness. Holders of such intellectual property rights may seek to enforce such intellectual property rights against us in China, the United States or other jurisdictions. If any third-party infringement claims are brought against us, we may be forced to divert management's time and other resources from our business and operations to defend against these claims, regardless of their merits. As a result, our business and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
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Risks Related to Our Corporate Structure and Being Based in or Having Some Portion of Operations in China
Independent registered public accounting firms issue audit opinions on the financial statements included in the annual reports filed by U.S. public companies with the SEC. Auditors of companies that are traded publicly in the United States are required by the laws of the United States to undergo regular inspections by the PCAOB.
In recent years, U.S. regulatory authorities have expressed their concerns about challenges in their oversight of financial statement audits of U.S.-listed companies with significant operations in China. As part of a continued regulatory focus in the U.S. on access to audit and other information protected by national law, in particular China's, in June 2019, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced bills in the U.S. Congress that would require the SEC to maintain a list of issuers for which the PCAOB is not able to inspect or investigate an auditor report issued by a foreign public accounting firm. On May 20, 2020, the U.S. Senate passed the HFCAA. The HFCAA was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 2, 2020. On December 18, 2020, the HFCAA was signed into law by the U.S. President. The HFCAA requires the SEC to prohibit foreign companies from listing securities on U.S. securities exchanges if a company retains a foreign accounting firm that cannot be inspected by the PCAOB for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. On March 24, 2021, the SEC adopted interim final rules relating to the implementation of certain disclosure and documentation requirements of the HFCAA.
On June 22, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed the AHFCAA and on December 29, 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law by the U.S. President, which contained a provision identical to the AHFCAA and amended the HFCAA by requiring the SEC to prohibit an issuer's securities from trading on any U.S. stock exchanges if its auditor is not subject to PCAOB inspections for two consecutive years instead of three, thus reducing the time before an issuer's securities may be prohibited from trading or delisted.
On September 22, 2021, the PCAOB adopted a final rule implementing the HFCAA, which provides a framework for the PCAOB to use when determining, as contemplated under the HFCAA, whether the PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely registered public accounting firms located in a foreign jurisdiction because of a position taken by one or more authorities in that jurisdiction. On December 2, 2021, the SEC issued amendments to finalize rules implementing the submission and disclosure requirements in the HFCAA. The rules apply to registrants that the SEC identifies as having filed an annual report with an audit report issued by a registered public accounting firm that is located in a foreign jurisdiction and that PCAOB is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in foreign jurisdictions.
Pursuant to the HFCAA, on December 16, 2021, the PCAOB issued a report on its determinations that it was unable to inspect or investigate completely PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and in Hong Kong because of positions taken by mainland China and Hong Kong authorities in those jurisdictions, and identified the registered public accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong that were subject to such determinations. The PCAOB has made such designations as mandated under the HFCAA. Pursuant to each annual determination by the PCAOB, the SEC, on an annual basis, identifies issuers that have used non-inspected audit firms and thus are at risk of such suspensions in the future.
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On June 14, 2022, the SEC conclusively identified us as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the HFCAA following the filing of our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, because the report contained the audit report issued by Centurion, a registered public accounting firm headquartered in Hong Kong that the PCAOB had determined it was unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in such jurisdiction. Effective June 30, 2022, we appointed Audit Alliance as our independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and accepted the resignation of Centurion, effective on the same date. Audit Alliance is not among the auditor firms listed on the 2021 determination report that the PCAOB was not able to inspect.
On August 26, 2022, the PCAOB signed a Statement of Protocol (SOP) Agreement with the CSRC and the MOF of the PRC regarding cooperation in the oversight of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong establishing a method for the PCAOB to conduct inspections of PCAOB-registered public accounting firms in the PRC and Hong Kong. Pursuant to the fact sheet with respect to the Protocol disclosed by the SEC, the PCAOB has independent discretion to select any issuer audits for inspection or investigation and has the unfettered ability to transfer information to the SEC. On December 15, 2022, the PCAOB determined that the PCAOB was able to secure complete access to inspect and investigate registered public accounting firms headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong and vacated its previous 2021 adverse determinations. However, should the PCAOB fails to have complete access in the future, the PCAOB will consider the need to issue a new determination.
Our current auditor, Audit Alliance, is based in the Republic of Singapore and gives complete access to the PCAOB on a regular basis. Our auditor is not among the PCAOB-registered public accounting firms headquartered in the PRC or Hong Kong that are subject to PCAOB's determination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the future, if the PCAOB determines that it is unable to inspect or investigate our auditor completely, or if there is any regulatory change or step taken by any regulators that does not permit our auditor to provide audit documentations to the PCAOB for inspection or investigation, our investors would be deprived of the benefits of such inspection. Any audit reports not issued by auditors that are completely inspected or investigated by the PCAOB, or a lack of PCAOB inspections of audit work undertaken in mainland China or Hong Kong that prevents the PCAOB from regularly evaluating our auditors' audits and their quality control procedures, could result in a lack of assurance that our financial statements and disclosures are adequate and accurate, which could result in restriction to our access to the U.S. capital markets, and trading of our securities, including trading on the national exchange or "over-the-counter" markets, may be prohibited under the HFCAA.
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We are not an operating company but a holding company incorporated in the BVI. We conduct operations through our subsidiaries in the U.S., with limited intracompany support operations being conducted by our mainland subsidiary. We own equity interests in our operating subsidiaries indirectly through our Hong Kong subsidiary. This corporate structure involves certain unique risks to investors. Investors in our securities are not acquiring equity interests in any operating companies but instead are acquiring interests in a BVI holding company. Investor may never hold equity interests in the Chinese operating companies. Our U.S. operating subsidiaries may provide dividend or other distributions to us through our Hong Kong subsidiary. As a holding company, we may rely on dividends or payments by our subsidiaries to fund our cash and financing requirements. The ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us may be restricted by laws and regulations applicable to them. PRC regulatory authorities could limit or hinder our ability to receive dividends or distributions from, or transfer funds to, the operating companies. Our corporate structure contains no variable interest entities and our mainland PRC subsidiary is not in an industry that is subject to foreign ownership limitations in mainland China. However, there are uncertainties with respect to the Chinese legal system and there may be changes in laws, regulations and policies, including how those laws, regulations and policies will be interpreted or implemented. If in the future the Chinese government determines that our corporate structure does not comply with Chinese laws and regulations, or if Chinese laws and regulations change or are interpreted differently, our financial position could be materially and adversely affected. Further, Chinese regulatory authorities could disallow our corporate structure, which would likely result in a material change in our operations and/or a material change in the value of the securities we are registering for sale, including that it could cause the value of such securities to significantly decline or become worthless.
Our PRC subsidiary's operations are governed by PRC laws and regulations. Our mainland China subsidiary is generally subject to laws and regulations applicable to foreign investments in China and, in particular, laws and regulations applicable to wholly foreign-owned enterprises. The PRC legal system is based on statutes. Prior court decisions may be cited for reference but have limited precedential value. Since 1979, PRC legislation and regulations have significantly enhanced the protections afforded to various forms of foreign investments in China. However, China has not developed a fully integrated legal system and recently enacted laws and regulations may not sufficiently cover all aspects of economic activities in China. In particular, because certain laws and regulations are relatively new, and because of the limited volume of published decisions and their nonbinding nature, the interpretation and enforcement of these laws and regulations involve uncertainties. In addition, the PRC legal system is based in part on government policies and internal rules (some of which may not be publicly available on a timely basis or at all) that may have a retroactive effect. Historically, the principal regulation governing foreign ownership of businesses in the PRC was the Guidance Catalogue for Industrial Structure Adjustments (the "Catalogue"). The Catalogue classified various industries into three categories: encouraged, restricted and prohibited. The Catalogue has been replaced by the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2018), effective July 28, 2018, and amended and restated by the 2024 version, effective November 1, 2024 (the "Negative List"). The Negative List specifies the prohibited and non-prohibited (similar to the restricted in the Guidance Catalogue) industries for foreign investment. For the industries not covered by the Negative List, the foreign investment and the domestic investment have equal access. Foreign investors may not invest in the prohibited industries specified by the Negative List. For the non-prohibited industries on the Negative List, a foreign investor may not make investment unless certain requirements on the equity ownership and the executive officers of the foreign invested enterprises, as set forth in the Negative List, are met. If PRC has certain equity requirements in certain investment fields, no foreign-invested partnership may be established. According to the Negative List, Bitmatrix's administrative support services are not prohibited and we can hold equity in Bitmatrix. However, there can be no assurance that the Negative List will not change in the future and our ownership of Bitmatrix may be limited or prohibited. We and our PRC subsidiary may face uncertainty in the interpretation and application of PRC laws and regulations. PRC laws, rules or regulations can evolve quickly and may be revised from time to time. Interpretation and implementation of current and future PRC laws and regulations may change quickly with little advance notice. If PRC laws, rules and regulations are applied in a manner that negatively affect us and our PRC subsidiaries, we cannot assure you that we and our subsidiaries will be able to comply with them in all respects, and we and our PRC subsidiaries may be subject to fines and other government sanctions, which may adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
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The Chinese government has significant oversight and discretion over the conduct of our PRC subsidiary and may intervene or influence its operations as the government deems appropriate to further regulatory, political and societal goals. The Chinese government has published policies that significantly affected certain industries such as the education and internet industries, and we cannot rule out the possibility that it will not in the future release regulations or policies governing the administrative support and services industry that could require our mainland China subsidiary to seek special licenses from Chinese authorities to continue to operate, which could indirectly affect our U.S. subsidiaries' operations and financial condition. Furthermore, the Chinese government has increased the government's oversight and control over offerings of companies with significant operations in mainland China that are to be conducted in foreign markets, as well as foreign investment in China-based issuers. While our Hong Kong holding subsidiary does not conduct substantial business, our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, provides limited in-house administrative support operations in China. If Bitmatrix cannot maintain its business license as a result of governmental actions, or is required to seek permission from Chinese authorities to continue to operate, it could result in a material change in its operations, affect the intra company support received by our U.S. subsidiaries, and adversely impact the value of our ordinary shares.
In the recent years, the Chinese government has exerted more oversight and control over offerings that are conducted overseas and/or foreign investment in China-based issuers, On July 6, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued a document to crack down on illegal activities in the securities market and promote the high-quality development of the capital market, which, among other things, requires the relevant governmental authorities to strengthen cross-border oversight of law-enforcement and judicial cooperation, to enhance supervision over China-based companies listed overseas, and to establish and improve the system of extraterritorial application of the PRC securities laws. On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Measures and the relevant guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either directly or indirectly, are required to complete a filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. Since this regulation is relatively new, uncertainties still exist in relation to what existing or new laws or regulations or detailed implementations and interpretations will be modified or promulgated, if any, and the potential impact such modified or new laws and regulations will have on the operations of our mainland China subsidiary.
Further, Chinese government continues to exert more oversight and control over Chinese companies in certain industries. On July 2, 2021, Chinese cybersecurity regulator announced, that it had begun an investigation of Didi Global Inc. (NYSE: DIDI) and two days later ordered that the company's application be removed from smartphone application stores. On July 5, 2021, the Chinese cybersecurity regulator launched the same investigation on two other Internet platforms, China's Full Truck Alliance of Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YMM) and BOSS Zhipin of Kanzhun Limited (Nasdaq: BZ). On July 24, 2021, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council jointly released the Guidelines for Further Easing the Burden of Excessive Homework and Off-campus Tutoring for Students at the Stage of Compulsory Education, pursuant to which foreign investment in such firms via mergers and acquisitions, franchise development, and variable interest entities are banned from this sector.
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Recently, the PRC government also promulgated new laws and regulations relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. These laws continue to develop, and the PRC government may adopt other rules and restrictions in the future. Non-compliance could result in penalties or other significant legal liabilities. The Cybersecurity Law, which was adopted by the National People's Congress on November 7, 2016 and became effective on June 1, 2017, and the Cybersecurity Review Measures (2020 Version), which were promulgated on April 13, 2020, provide that personal information and important data collected and generated by a critical information infrastructure operator in the course of its operations in China must be stored in China, and if a critical information infrastructure operator purchases internet products and services that affect or may affect national security, it should be subject to cybersecurity review by the CAC. In addition, a cybersecurity review is required where critical information infrastructure operators, or the "CIIOs," purchase network-related products and services, which products and services affect or may affect national security. On December 28, 2021, the Cybersecurity Review Measures (2021 Version) was promulgated and became effective on February 15, 2022 and the Cybersecurity Review Measures (2020 Version) was repealed at the same time. The Cybersecurity Review Measures (2021 Version) iterates that the procurement of any network product or service by CIIOs or the conducting of data processing activities by online platform operators, that affects or may affect national security, shall be subject to a cybersecurity review and any online platform operators controlling personal information of more than one million users which seeks to list in a foreign stock exchange should also be subject to cybersecurity review.
On June 10, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress promulgated the Data Security Law which took effect on September 1, 2021. The Data Security Law requires that data shall not be collected by theft or other illegal means, and it also provides that a data classification and hierarchical protection system. The data classification and hierarchical protection system protects data according to its importance in economic and social development, and the damages it may cause to national security, public interests, or the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations if the data is falsified, damaged, disclosed, illegally obtained or illegally used, which protection system is expected to be built by the state for data security in the near future. On November 14, 2021, the CAC published the Network Data Security Administrative Regulations Draft, which provided that data processing operators engaging in data processing activities that affect or may affect national security or processing personal information of more than one million users must be subject to a cybersecurity review. The official version of the regulation, or the Regulation for the Administration of Network Data Security (the "Network Data Security Regulation"), which was promulgated on September 24, 2024 and came into effect on January 1, 2025, does not contain a requirement for an application of cybersecurity review for data processing operators who possess personal data of at least one million users. Instead, it requires that a network data processor who carries out network data processing activities that affect or may affect national security shall undergo a national security review in accordance with relevant national regulations.
According to the Cybersecurity Review Measures (2021 Version) and the Network Data Security Regulation, a cybersecurity review is conducted by the CAC, to assess potential national security risks that may be brought about by any procurement, data processing, or overseas listing. The state establishes a data classification protection system. According to the impact and importance of data on national security, public interests or the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations, data are divided into general data, important data and core data, and different protection measures are taken for different levels of data. The state focuses on the protection of personal information and important data, and strictly protects core data. Based on the opinion of our counsel as to PRC law, Jincheng Tongda & Neal, while our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is subject to the Network Data Security Regulations, we or our PRC subsidiary are not required to undergo a national security review in order to operate the business or to offer securities to investors under the Cybersecurity Review Measures or the Network Data Security Regulation, because we or our PRC subsidiary have not carried out any data processing activities that affects or may affect national security of the PRC, and we or our PRC subsidiary do not control personal information of more than one million users. However, the PRC regulatory requirements with respect to cybersecurity and data privacy are constantly evolving and can be subject to varying interpretations, and significant changes, resulting in uncertainties in how the relevant legal requirements apply to us and our PRC subsidiary.
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We conduct substantially all of our bitcoin mining operations in the United States through our U.S. subsidiaries. Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix's activity is limited to in-house administrative support to the holding company and other subsidiaries and it does not conduct any revenue generating business. Other than a registration license for Bitmatrix as an entity existing and present in China, we are not aware we, Bitmatrix or any other subsidies are required to obtain any permission or approval from or complete any filing procedures with the PRC authorities under PRC law.
On February 17, 2023, the CSRC promulgated the Trial Administrative Measures of the Overseas Securities Offering and Listing by Domestic Companies, or the Trial Measures, and the relevant five guidelines, which became effective on March 31, 2023. Pursuant to the Trial Measures, PRC domestic companies that seek to offer and list securities in overseas markets, either directly or indirectly, are required to complete a filing procedure with the CSRC and report relevant information. The Trial Measures provides that if the issuer meets both of the following criteria, the overseas securities offering and listing conducted by such issuer will be deemed as indirect overseas offering by PRC domestic companies: (i) 50% or more of any of the issuer's operating revenue, total profit, total assets or net assets as documented in its audited consolidated financial statements for the most recent fiscal year is accounted for by domestic companies; and (ii) the main parts of the issuer's business activities are conducted in mainland China, or its main place(s) of business are located in mainland China, or the majority of senior management staff in charge of its business operations and management are PRC citizens or have their usual place(s) of residence located in mainland China. As advised by our PRC legal counsel, under current PRC laws, regulations and rules, neither we nor our PRC subsidiary is required to submit applications for the approval of the CSRC in connection with our securities offerings because (i) we are a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, and for the fiscal year ended December 31, no operating revenue was generated from mainland China, and 19.08% of our total loss, 3.47% of our total assets and 3.70% of our net assets were attributable to our subsidiary in mainland China; (ii) the main parts of our business activities, bitcoin mining and data center operations, are not conducted in mainland China but in the U.S., and the main places of our business are located outside mainland China; and (iii) less than a majority of our senior management members managing our business operations are PRC citizens or have their usual places of residence located inside mainland China. Our CEO, Mr. Deng, maintains his residences in both Hong Kong and the U.S. and spends a significant amount of time each year in the U.S. overseeing and managing the overall operations of our bitcoin mining and data center business. The senior management member in charge of our bitcoin mining operations, Mr. Phillip Hicks, is a U.S. citizen residing in the U.S.
On July 7, 2022, the Cyberspace Administration of China ("CAC") issued the Measures for Security Assessment of Cross-border Data Transfer, or the Measures, which took effect on September 1, 2022. According to the Measures, in addition to the self-risk assessment requirement for provision of any data outside Mainland China, a data processor shall apply to the relevant cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfer in any of the following events: (i) outbound transfer of important data by a data processor; (ii) outbound transfer of personal information by an operator of critical information infrastructure or a data processor which has processed more than one million users' personal data; (iii) outbound transfer of personal information by a data processor which has made outbound transfers of more than one hundred thousand users' personal information or more than ten thousand users' sensitive personal information cumulatively since January 1 of the previous year; and (iv) such other circumstances where ex-ante security assessment and evaluation of cross-border data transfer is required by the CAC. Our PRC subsidiary's activity related to cross-border data transfer is limited to our corporate and personnel internal uses and does not fall under any of the above specified categories. From January 1, 2023 to the date of this report, Bitmatrix made outbound data transfers of significantly less than one hundred thousand users' personal information or ten thousand users' sensitive personal information cumulatively.
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Based on PRC laws and regulations in effect as of the date of this report, we believe that we or our subsidiaries have not entered into a transaction or offering that would require us or any subsidiary to obtain any permission from or complete any filing procedure with the CSRC, the CAC or any other PRC authority. Given the uncertainties of interpretation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations and the enforcement practice by the PRC government authorities, we cannot rule out the possibility that we could be subject to such approval or filing procedures as a result of PRC subsidiary's operations and its intracompany administrative support activities. If so, we could be subject to fines or other regulatory sanctions.
Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is subject to certain cybersecurity, data protection, and other PRC laws and regulations related to data, including those relating to the collection, use, sharing, retention, security, disclosure, and transfer of confidential and private information, such as personal information and other data. These laws and regulations apply not only to third-party transactions, but also to transfers of information within our organization. These laws and regulations may restrict the administrative support activities of Bitmatrix and require our PRC subsidiary to incur costs and efforts to comply, and any breach or noncompliance may subject our subsidiary to proceedings against such entity, damage our reputation, or result in penalties and other significant legal liabilities, and thus may materially and adversely affect the business of our PRC subsidiary, and our financial condition and results of operations.
The PRC Data Security Law, or the Data Security Law, which was promulgated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on June 10, 2021 and took effect on September 1, 2021, requires data collection to be conducted in a legitimate and proper manner and provides that, for the purpose of data protection, data processing activities must be conducted based on data classification and hierarchical protection system for data security. The term "data" refers to any recording of information by electronic or other means, and "data processing" refers to the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, and disclosure of data. The Data Security Law applies to data processing activities within the territory of mainland China as well as those conducted outside mainland China that would jeopardize the national interest or the public interest of China or the rights and interest of any PRC organization and citizens. Any entity failing to perform the obligations provided in the Data Security Law may be subject to orders to correct, warnings and penalties including ban or suspension of business, revocation of business licenses or other penalties. As of the date of this report, based on the assessment of the management, neither we nor our subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the U.S. have conducted any data processing activities within the territory of mainland China, or that may endanger the national interest or the public interest of China or the rights and interest of any Chinese organization and citizens, and as advised by our PRC counsel, the Data Security Law is not applicable to us and our subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the U.S. Our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, collects and stores, in its information system, financial data of the Company for the purpose of providing in-house administrative service to the Company, and personal information of its employees for employment purpose (including but not limited to names, ID and certain other personal information). As such, Bitmatrix engages in data processing activities as defined under the Data Security Law. As advised by our counsel as to PRC law, the Data Security Law is applicable to our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix. Based on the assessment of the management, Bitmatrix is compliant with the data protection requirements as stipulated in the Data Security Law for its data processing activities.
On August 20, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China promulgated the Personal Information Protection Law, or the PIPL, which took effect on November 1, 2021. The PIPL applies not only to personal information processing activities carried out in the territory of mainland China but also to personal information processing activities outside mainland China if such activities are conducted for the purpose of offering products or services to persons in the territory of mainland China, or for behavior analysis and assessment of persons in the territory of mainland China. Pursuant to the PIPL, the processing of personal information includes the collection, storage, use, processing, transmission, provision, disclosure and deletion of personal information. The noncompliant entities could be ordered to correct, to suspend or terminate the provision of services, and face confiscation of illegal income, fines or other penalties. As discussed above, our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, collects and stores personal information of its employees for employment purpose, and thus, as advised by our PRC counsel, our PRC subsidiary is subject to the PIPL. Our management has determined that (i) neither we nor our Hong Kong and U.S. subsidiaries have conducted personal information processing activities within the territory of mainland China. Based on the foregoing, our PRC counsel has advised us that neither we nor our subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the U.S. are subject to the PIPL; (ii) neither we nor any of our subsidiaries have conducted personal information processing activities outside of mainland China, whether for the purpose of offering products or services to persons in the territory of mainland China or for behavior analysis and assessment of persons in the territory of mainland China. Our management has assessed that, while our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, has conducted personal informational processing activities in mainland China, it has been in compliance with the requirements of personal information processing as set forth in the PIPL.
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On September 24, 2024, the CAC released the Regulations for the Administration of Network Data Security, or the Network Data Security Regulations, which took effect on January 1, 2025. The Network Data Security Regulation requires that a network data processor who carries out network data processing activities that affect or may affect national security shall undergo a national security review in accordance with relevant regulations. Based on the assessment of the management, none of our Company, Hong Kong subsidiary and U.S. Subsidiaries conducts any data processing activities within the PRC, or those outside the PRC that may damage the national security, public interests, or legitimate interests of PRC persons. As advised by our PRC counsel, our Company, Hong Kong subsidiary and U.S. Subsidiaries are not subject to the Network Data Security Regulations. Bitmatrix conducts network data processing activities, including the processing of personal information, for its operation in the PRC, which do not affect national security, but it does not process large amount of personal data or any important data. It is not a network platform service provider. None of the Company and our subsidiaries (including Bitmatrix) have been informed by any PRC governmental authority of any requirement for a national review or any reporting and/or security assessment under the Network Data Security Regulations. Based on the opinion of our PRC counsel, our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is subject to the Network Data Security Regulation for its collection and storage of data through network, but our PRC subsidiary is not required to undergo the national security review under the Network Data Security Regulation, because none of the network data processing activities carried out by Bitmatrix affect or may affect national security of the PRC.
As advised by our PRC counsel, Jincheng Tongda & Neal, as of the date of this report, neither we nor any of our subsidiaries have been found to have violated any personal information or data security laws and regulations, have received any notice of violations from any competent PRC authorities, including the CAC, or have been investigated or sanctioned by any competent PRC authorities in relation to data security or personal information protection. However, the PRC regulatory authorities have broad discretion in interpreting and implementing the Data Security Law, the PIPL, and other relevant personal information and data security laws and there are uncertainties with respect to the enforcement of these laws and regulations. Our management has determined that our PRC subsidiary, Bitmatrix, is in compliant with the Data Security Law, the PIPL, and other relevant personal information and data security laws. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that PRC governmental authority may find that all entities like us are subject to such laws regardless of the nexus to China. If we or any of our subsidiaries were deemed to be noncompliant with the Data Security Law, the PIPL, and other relevant personal information and data security laws, we could become subject to fines and other government sanctions. Additionally, according to the Data Outbound Transfer Measures, in addition to the self-risk assessment requirement for provision of any data outside Mainland China, a data processor who transfers outbound important data and personal information collected and generated in its operations in mainland China shall apply to the relevant cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfer in any of the specified events: (i) outbound transfer of important data by a data processor; (ii) outbound transfer of personal information by an operator of critical information infrastructure or a data processor which has processed more than one million users' personal data; (iii) outbound transfer of personal information by a data processor which has made outbound transfers of more than one hundred thousand users' personal information or more than ten thousand users' sensitive personal information cumulatively since January 1 of the previous year; and (iv) such other circumstances where ex-ante security assessment and evaluation of cross-border data transfer is required by the CAC. To promote cross-border data transfer, the CAC issued the Data Flow Regulations, and relaxes the control over the cross-border transfer of non-sensitive personal information. In accordance with the Data Outbound Transfer Measures, the Data Flow Regulations, and the relevant guidelines issued by the CAC in this regard, a data processor shall apply for a data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfers in either of the following circumstances: (a) outbound transfer of personal information or important data by a CIIO; or (b) outbound transfer of important data by a non-CIIO data processor, or personal information by such a non-CIIO data processor who has made outbound transfers of more than one million users' personal information (not including sensitive personal information), or more than 10,000 users' sensitive personal information cumulatively since January 1 of the current year. Our management has assessed, in consultation with our PRC counsel, that our mainland China subsidiary's activity related to cross-border data transfer is limited to corporate records, including financial data and certain non-sensitive personal information of our employees (such as resumes of certain employees). From January 1, 2023 to the date of this report, our PRC subsidiary made outbound data transfers of significantly less than 10,000 users' personal information cumulatively and did not transfer outbound any sensitive personal information prohibited by the Data Outbound Transfer Measures. Based on the above facts, as advised by our PRC counsel, we and our PRC subsidiary are not required to apply from the relevant cyberspace department for data security assessment and clearance of outbound data transfers.
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The above PRC laws and regulations related to cybersecurity and data privacy are relatively new, the interpretation and implementation of these laws and regulations may be subject to revisions, and we cannot rule out the possibility that any PRC governmental authorities may subject us and our subsidiaries to such laws and regulations in the future. If they are deemed to be applicable to us and our subsidiaries, we may be considered noncompliant with such new regulations in material respects and be subject to fines and other government sanctions, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, significantly limit or completely hinder our ability to offer or continue to offer securities to investors, and cause the value of our securities to significantly decline or be worthless.
As a holding company, we may rely on dividends and other distributions on equity paid by our subsidiaries for our cash and liquidity requirements, including payment of any debt we may incur and our expenses. If any of our subsidiaries incurs debt on its own behalf in the future, the instruments governing such debt may restrict their ability to pay dividends to us. We currently conduct all of our business and generate revenues through our U.S. subsidiaries. Although we do not currently intend to pay dividends, we may rely on the dividends received from our U.S. operating subsidiaries through our Hong Kong subsidiary in the future. Abit HK is permitted under Hong Kong law to provide funding and dividend distributions to us, provided that the payments by Abit HK are in compliance with the applicable laws and regulations relating to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism. To the extent cash or assets in the business is in mainland China or Hong Kong, the cash or assets may not be available to fund operations or for other use outside of the PRC or Hong Kong due to potential interventions in or the imposition of restrictions and limitations on our or our subsidiaries' ability by the PRC government to transfer cash or assets. There are currently no restrictions of transferring funds between our British Virgin Islands holding company and our subsidiaries in the U.S. and Hong Kong. Other than our mainland China subsidiary, currently there are no significant restrictions on foreign exchange or our ability to transfer cash between entities within our group, across borders, or to U.S. investors. However, there can be no assurance that the PRC government will not introduce new laws and regulations in the future affecting the ability of our subsidiaries, including Hong Kong subsidiary, to transfer cash. Any such controls or restrictions may adversely affect our ability to finance our cash requirements, service debt or make dividends or other distributions to our shareholders.
Because of the past history of the Former Moxian Subsidiaries in operating in China, the Company could be subject to investigative action by the Chinese authorities in connection with the operations of its disposed subsidiaries. As of the date of this report, the Company has not received any notification or has any knowledge of such action. In the event that we are subject to any investigations or other regulatory actions as a result of our past association with Moxian subsidiaries, we would have to spend time and resources, management would be distracted from our operations, and our operations and financial results could be materially adversely affected.
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Disclaimer
Abits Group Inc. published this content on April 30, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on April 30, 2026 at 04:05 UTC.