Prenetics Global Ltd 6-K/A, filed Aug 22, 2025
Prenetics Global Ltd (PRE)
6-K/A
2025-08-22
For: 2025-08-22
View Original
Added on
August 22, 2026
About this 6-K/A
Prenetics Global Ltd filed this 6-K/A on August 22, 2025.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Amendment No. 2
to
Form 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE
13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of August 2025
Commission File Number 001-41401
Prenetics Global Limited
11401 Granite St. Charlotte, NC 28273 USA | Unit 703-706, K11 Atelier 728 King’s Road, Quarry Bay Hong Kong | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(Address of principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F. R Form 20-F £ Form 40-F
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Amendment No. 2 to Form 6-K (the “Amendment No. 2”) is to revise and update Exhibit 99.1 (Risk Factors Related to our Bitcoin Treasury Strategy) to the report on Form 6-K/A furnished by Prenetics Global Limited (the “Company”) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 7, 2025 (the “Form 6-K/A No. 1”), which replaced and superseded Exhibit 99.1 of the Company’s report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC on July 17, 2025 (the “Original 6-K”). Exhibit 99.1 of the Form 6-K/A No. 1 is hereby replaced and superseded in its entirety by Exhibit 99.1 to this Amendment No. 2. All disclosure in the Original 6-K and Form 6-K/A No. 1 otherwise remains unchanged.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Form 6-K/A includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believe,” “hope,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include the Company’s expectations with respect to future performance and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include but are not limited to risks and uncertainties incorporated by reference under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 20-F (SEC File No. 001-41401) filed with the SEC on April 30, 2025, as amended by amendment no. 1 to the Form 20-F filed with the SEC on July 18, 2025, and in the Company’s other filings with the SEC. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit no. | Description | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 99.1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| Prenetics Global Limited | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Lo Hoi Chun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Name: | Lo Hoi Chun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: August 22, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Exhibit. 99.1
RISK FACTORS RELATED TO OUR BITCOIN TREASURY STRATEGY
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references to “Prenetics,” “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company” in risk factors refer to Prenetics Global Limited and its subsidiaries.
The Company recently adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy, enabling the Company to allocate capital into Bitcoin as part of its broader treasury and corporate strategy. Pursuant to this strategy, the Company may acquire any Bitcoin, using excess cash, proceeds from future equity or debt financings, or other capital sources, subject to the Company’s investment policy. The Company recently completed a $20 million Bitcoin purchase of 187.42 BTC at an average price of US$105,720 per Bitcoin. The timing and magnitude of any future Bitcoin purchases will depend on market conditions, capital market receptivity, business performance and other strategic considerations. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects may be materially adversely affected by the implementation of our Bitcoin treasury strategy, including as a result of the risk factors described below. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones that we face or may face.
For more information on the risks to our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, please see our risk factors described in “Item 3. Key Information - D. Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as amended by amendment no. 1 to the Form 20-F filed with the SEC on July 18, 2025.
Summary of Risk Factors
Risk Factors Relating to Our Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
•Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to various risks, including risks associated with Bitcoin.
•Bitcoin is a highly volatile asset, and fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin have in the past influenced and are likely to continue to influence our financial results and the market price of our listed securities.
•Our operating results will be dependent on the price of digital assets and Bitcoin. If such price declines, our business, operating results, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
•Our operating results are dependent on the prices of digital assets and volume of digital asset transactions, which have historically been volatile and are subject to social media and publicity risks.
•Bitcoin and other digital assets are novel assets, and are subject to significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty.
•Our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future relating to our Bitcoin holdings.
•The availability of spot ETPs for Bitcoin and other digital assets may adversely affect the market price of our listed securities.
•Our Bitcoin treasury strategy subjects us to enhanced regulatory oversight.
•Due to the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of many Bitcoin trading venues, Bitcoin trading venues may experience greater fraud, security failures or regulatory or operational
problems than trading venues for more established asset classes, which may result in a loss of confidence in Bitcoin trading venues and adversely affect the value of our Bitcoin.
•The concentration of our Bitcoin holdings could enhance the risks inherent in our Bitcoin treasury strategy.
•The emergence or growth of other digital assets, including those with significant private or public sector backing, could have a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin and adversely affect our business.
•Our Bitcoin holdings will be less liquid than our existing cash and cash equivalents and may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for us to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents.
•If we or our third-party service providers experience a security breach or cyberattack and unauthorized parties obtain access to our Bitcoin, or if our private keys are lost or destroyed, or other similar circumstances or events occur, we may lose some or all of our Bitcoin and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
•We face risks relating to the custody of our Bitcoin, including the loss or destruction of private keys required to access our Bitcoin and cyberattacks or other data loss relating to our Bitcoin.
•Regulatory change reclassifying that Bitcoin is offered and sold as a security could lead to our classification as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and could adversely affect the market price of Bitcoin and the market price of our listed securities.
•We are not subject to legal and regulatory obligations that apply to investment companies such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, or to obligations applicable to investment advisers.
•Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to risk of non-performance by counterparties.
•Our use of leverage to acquire Bitcoin could increase the risk of our Bitcoin treasury strategy.
•The inability to increase the authorized capital stock could impede our ability to pursue our strategic objectives, provide equity incentives to engage key talent and negatively impact shareholder value.
Risks Relating to Our Bitcoin Treasury Strategy
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to various risks, including risks associated with Bitcoin.
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to various risks, including the following:
Bitcoin is a highly volatile asset. Bitcoin is a highly volatile asset that has traded below $50,000 per Bitcoin and above $111,000 per Bitcoin in the past 12 months. The trading price of Bitcoin significantly decreased during prior periods, and such declines may occur again in the future.
Bitcoin does not inherently pay interest or dividends. Bitcoin does not inherently pay interest or other returns and we can only generate cash from our Bitcoin holdings if we sell our Bitcoin or implement strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate cash by using our Bitcoin holdings. Even if we pursue any such strategies, we may be unable to create income streams or otherwise generate cash from our Bitcoin holdings, and any such strategies may subject us to additional risks.
Our Bitcoin holdings may significantly impact our financial results and the market price of our listed securities. Our Bitcoin holdings are expected to impact our financial results and the market price of our listed securities. See “Risks Related to Our Bitcoin Treasury Strategy-Our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future relating to our Bitcoin holdings.”
Our assets will be concentrated in Bitcoin. We expect that a large portion of our assets will be concentrated in our Bitcoin holdings. The concentration of our assets in Bitcoin limits our ability to mitigate risk that could otherwise be achieved by holding a more diversified portfolio of treasury assets.
We will purchase Bitcoin using primarily proceeds from equity and debt financings. Our ability to achieve the objectives of our Bitcoin treasury strategy depends in significant part on our ability to obtain equity and debt financing. If we are unable to obtain equity or debt financing on favorable terms or at all, we may not be able to successfully execute on our Bitcoin treasury strategy.
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy has not been tested over an extended period of time or under different market conditions. We are continually examining the risks and rewards of our strategy to acquire and hold Bitcoin. This strategy has not been tested over an extended period of time or under different market conditions. For example, although we believe Bitcoin, due to its limited supply, has the potential to serve as a hedge against inflation in the long term, the short-term price of Bitcoin declined in recent periods during which the inflation rate increased. If Bitcoin prices were to decline or our Bitcoin treasury strategy otherwise proves unsuccessful, our financial condition, results of operations, and the market price of our listed securities would be materially adversely impacted.
We will be subject to counterparty risks, including in particular risks relating to our custodians. Although we expect to implement various measures that are designed to mitigate our counterparty risks, such as storing substantially all of the Bitcoin we own in custody accounts at U.S.-based, institutional-grade custodians and negotiating contractual arrangements intended to establish that our property interest in custodian-held Bitcoin is not subject to claims of our custodians’ creditors, applicable insolvency law is not fully developed with respect to the holding of digital assets in custodial accounts. If our custodian-held Bitcoin were nevertheless considered to be the property of our custodians’ estates in the event that any such custodians were to enter bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceedings, we could be treated as a general unsecured creditor of such custodians, inhibiting our ability to exercise ownership rights with respect to such Bitcoin, or delaying or hindering our access to our Bitcoin holdings, and this may ultimately result in the loss of the value related to some or all of such Bitcoin, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition as well as the market price of our listed securities.
The broader digital assets industry is subject to counterparty risks, which could adversely impact the adoption rate, price, and use of Bitcoin. A series of high-profile bankruptcies, closures, liquidations, regulatory enforcement actions and other events relating to companies operating in the digital asset industry in recent years have highlighted the counterparty risks applicable to owning and transacting in digital assets. Although these bankruptcies, closures, liquidations and other events have not resulted in any loss or misappropriation of our Bitcoin, nor have such events adversely impacted our access to our Bitcoin, they have, in the short-term, likely negatively impacted the adoption rate and use of Bitcoin. Additional bankruptcies, closures, liquidations, regulatory enforcement actions or other events involving participants in the digital assets industry in the future may further negatively impact the adoption rate, price, and use of Bitcoin, limit the availability to us of financing collateralized by Bitcoin, or create or expose additional counterparty risks.
Changes in the accounting treatment of our Bitcoin holdings could have significant accounting impacts, including increasing the volatility of our results. Under IFRS, we account for our Bitcoin holdings as intangible assets in accordance with IAS 38 "Intangible Assets" using the revaluation model. Under the revaluation model, increases in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income and accumulate in equity as a revaluation surplus, except to the extent they reverse a previous downward revaluation of the same asset (which is recognized in profit or loss). Decreases in fair value are recognized in profit or loss, except to the extent they reduce an existing revaluation surplus for that asset (which is recognized in other comprehensive income). We are required to provide annual and other disclosures with respect to our Bitcoin holdings. Due to the significant volatility in Bitcoin prices,
the application of the revaluation model could have a material impact on our financial results, increase the volatility of our comprehensive income and profit or loss, and affect the carrying value of our Bitcoin on our balance sheet. These accounting impacts could in turn have a material adverse effect on our financial results and the market price of our listed securities.
The broader digital assets industry, including the technology associated with digital assets, the rate of adoption and development of, and use cases for, digital assets, market perception of digital assets, and the legal, regulatory, and accounting treatment of digital assets are constantly developing and changing, and there may be additional risks in the future that are not possible to predict.
Bitcoin is a highly volatile asset, and fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin have in the past influenced and are likely to continue to influence our financial results and the market price of our listed securities.
Bitcoin is a highly volatile asset, and fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin are likely to influence our financial results and the market price of our listed securities. Our financial results and the market price of our listed securities would be adversely affected, and our business and financial condition would be negatively impacted, if the price of Bitcoin decreased substantially (as it has in the past, including during 2022), including as a result of:
•decreased user and investor confidence in Bitcoin, including due to the various factors described herein;
•investment and trading activities, such as (i) trading activities of highly active retail and institutional users, speculators, miners and investors; (ii) actual or expected significant dispositions of Bitcoin by large holders, including the expected liquidation of digital assets seized by governments or associated with entities that have filed for bankruptcy protection, such as the (a) transfers of Bitcoin to creditors of the hacked cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox which began in July 2024, (b) transfers of Bitcoin to claimants following proceedings related to a 2016 hack of Bitfinex, which claims are currently being adjudicated, (c) sales of Bitcoin by the German government following the seizure of about 50,000 Bitcoin in January 2024 from the operator of Movie2k.to, or (d) potential sales of 69,370 Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road marketplace by the U.S. Department of Justice; and (iii) actual or perceived manipulation of the spot or derivative markets for Bitcoin or spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (“ETPs”);
•negative publicity, media or social media coverage, or sentiment due to events in or relating to, or perception of, Bitcoin or the broader digital assets industry, for example, (i) public perception that Bitcoin can be used as a vehicle to circumvent sanctions, including sanctions imposed on Russia or certain regions related to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, or to fund criminal or terrorist activities, such as the purported use of digital assets by Hamas to fund its terrorist attack against Israel in October 2023; (ii) expected or pending civil, criminal, regulatory enforcement or other high profile actions against major participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem; (iii) additional filings for bankruptcy protection or bankruptcy proceedings of major digital asset industry participants, such as the bankruptcy proceeding of FTX Trading and its affiliates; and (iv) the actual or perceived environmental impact of Bitcoin and related activities, including environmental concerns raised by private individuals, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other actors related to the energy resources consumed in the Bitcoin mining process;
•changes in consumer preferences and the perceived value or prospects of Bitcoin;
•competition from other digital assets that exhibit better speed, security, scalability, or energy efficiency, that feature other more favored characteristics, that are backed by governments, including the U.S.
government, or reserves of fiat currencies, or that represent ownership or security interests in physical assets;
•a decrease in the price of other digital assets, including stablecoins, or the crash or unavailability of stablecoins that are used as a medium of exchange for Bitcoin purchase and sale transactions, such as the crash of the stablecoin Terra USD in 2022, to the extent the decrease in the price of such other digital assets or the unavailability of such stablecoins may cause a decrease in the price of Bitcoin or adversely affect investor confidence in digital assets generally;
•the identification of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous person or persons who developed Bitcoin, or the transfer of substantial amounts of Bitcoin from Bitcoin wallets attributed to Mr. Nakamoto;
•developments relating to the Bitcoin protocol, including (i) changes to the Bitcoin protocol that impact its security, speed, scalability, usability, or value, such as changes to the cryptographic security protocol underpinning the Bitcoin blockchain, changes to the maximum number of Bitcoin outstanding, changes to the mutability of transactions, changes relating to the size of blockchain blocks, and similar changes, (ii) failures to make upgrades to the Bitcoin protocol to adapt to security, technological, legal or other challenges, and (iii) changes to the Bitcoin protocol that introduce software bugs, security risks or other elements that adversely affect Bitcoin;
•disruptions, failures, unavailability, or interruptions in services of trading venues for Bitcoin, such as, for example, the announcement by the digital asset exchange FTX Trading that it would freeze withdrawals and transfers from its accounts and subsequent filing for bankruptcy protection and the SEC enforcement action brought against Binance Holdings Ltd., which was subsequently dismissed on May 29, 2025, which initially sought to freeze all of its assets during the pendency of the enforcement action and resulted in Binance discontinuing all fiat deposits and withdrawals in the U.S.;
•the filing for bankruptcy protection by, liquidation of, or market concerns about the financial viability of digital asset custodians, trading venues, lending platforms, investment funds, or other digital asset industry participants, such as the filing for bankruptcy protection by digital asset trading venues FTX Trading and BlockFi and digital asset lending platforms Celsius Network and Voyager Digital Holdings in 2022, the ordered liquidation of the digital asset investment fund Three Arrows Capital in 2022, the announced liquidation of Silvergate Bank in 2023, the government-mandated closure and sale of Signature Bank in 2023, the placement of Prime Trust, LLC into receivership following a cease-and-desist order issued by the Nevada Department of Business and Industry in 2023, and the exit of Binance from the U.S. market as part of its settlement with the Department of Justice and other federal regulatory agencies;
•regulatory, legislative, enforcement and judicial actions that adversely affect the price, ownership, transferability, trading volumes, legality or public perception of Bitcoin, or that adversely affect the operations of or otherwise prevent digital asset custodians, trading venues, lending platforms or other digital assets industry participants from operating in a manner that allows them to continue to deliver services to the digital assets industry;
•further reductions in mining rewards of Bitcoin, including due to block reward halving events, which are events that occur after a specific period of time (the most recent of which occurred in April 2024) that
reduce the block reward earned by “miners” who validate Bitcoin transactions, or increases in the costs associated with Bitcoin mining, including increases in electricity costs and hardware and software used in mining, or new or enhanced regulation or taxation of Bitcoin mining, which could further increase the costs associated with Bitcoin mining, any of which may cause a decline in support for the Bitcoin network;
•transaction congestion and fees associated with processing transactions on the Bitcoin network;
•macroeconomic changes, such as changes in the level of interest rates and inflation, fiscal and monetary policies of governments, trade restrictions, and fiat currency devaluations;
•developments in mathematics or technology, including in digital computing, algebraic geometry and quantum computing, that could result in the cryptography used by the Bitcoin blockchain becoming insecure or ineffective; and
•changes in national and international economic and political conditions, including, without limitation, federal government policies, trade tariffs and trade disputes, and the adverse impacts attributable to global conflicts, including those between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East.
Our operating results will be dependent on the price of digital assets and Bitcoin. If such price declines, our business, operating results, and financial condition would be adversely affected.
Any declines in the volume of digital asset transactions, the price of digital assets, or market liquidity for digital assets generally may adversely affect our operating results. As part of our Bitcoin treasury strategy, we will have significant investments in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related assets. Our operating results will be impacted by the revenues and profits we generate from the purchase, sale, and trading of Bitcoin and financial contracts linked to Bitcoin. The price of digital assets and associated demand for buying, selling, and trading of digital assets have historically been subject to significant volatility. For instance, in 2017 and 2021, the value of certain digital assets, including Bitcoin, experienced steep increases in value, followed by steep declines in 2018 and 2022. After recovering from the 2018 decline and reaching record highs in December 2021, the value of the total crypto market cap declined by approximately 64% in the twelve months ended December 31, 2022. The collapse of several companies in the digital asset industry such as Celsius, Voyager and FTX impacted digital assets prices in 2022 and the majority of 2023. We believe that the approval and launch of spot-based Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2024 and the election of President Donald Trump in the fourth quarter of 2024 drove up the crypto market capitalization again in 2024, but the crypto market generally declined in the first quarter of 2025. The price and trading volume of any digital asset is subject to significant uncertainty and volatility, and may significantly decline in the future, without recovery. Such uncertainty and volatility depend on a number of factors, including:
•market conditions across the cryptoeconomy;
•changes in liquidity, volume, and trading activities;
•trading activities on digital asset trading platforms worldwide, many of which may be unregulated, and may include manipulative activities;
•investment and trading activities of highly active retail and institutional users, speculators, miners, and investors;
•the speed and rate at which cryptocurrency is able to gain adoption as a medium of exchange, utility, store of value, consumptive asset, security instrument, or other financial assets worldwide, if at all;
•decreased user and investor confidence in digital assets and digital asset trading platforms;
•negative publicity and events relating to the cryptoeconomy;
•unpredictable social media coverage or “trending” of digital assets;
•the ability for digital assets to meet user and investor demands;
•the functionality and utility of digital assets and their associated ecosystems and networks, including digital assets designed for use in various applications;
•consumer preferences and perceived value of digital assets and digital asset markets;
•increased competition from other payment services or other digital assets that exhibit better speed, security, scalability, or other characteristics;
•regulatory (including enforcement) or legislative changes and updates affecting the cryptoeconomy;
•the characterization of digital assets under the laws of various jurisdictions around the world;
•the maintenance, troubleshooting, and development of the blockchain networks underlying digital assets, including by miners, validators, and developers worldwide;
•the ability for cryptocurrency networks to attract and retain miners or validators to secure and confirm transactions accurately and efficiently;
•ongoing technological viability and security of digital assets and their associated smart contracts, applications and networks, including vulnerabilities against hacks and scalability;
•fees and speed associated with processing digital asset transactions, including on the underlying blockchain networks and on digital asset trading platforms;
•financial strength of market participants;
•the availability and cost of funding and capital;
•the liquidity of digital asset trading platforms;
•interruptions in service from or failures of major digital asset trading platforms;
•availability of an active derivatives market for various digital assets;
•availability of banking and payment services to support cryptocurrency-related projects;
•level of interest rates and inflation;
•monetary policies of governments, trade restrictions, and fiat currency devaluations; and
•national and international economic and political conditions.
There is no assurance that any digital asset will maintain its value or that there will be meaningful levels of trading activities. For example, in 2022 we witnessed dampened demand for trading digital assets in the wake of industry turmoil, impacting our operating results. In the event that the price of digital assets or the demand for trading digital assets decline, our business, operating results, and financial condition could be adversely affected.
Our operating results are dependent on the prices of digital assets and volume of digital asset transactions, which have historically been volatile and are subject to social media and publicity risks.
Activities in Bitcoin and other digital assets also receive a high degree of public scrutiny, both from traditional media sources and through social media and other forums. Unfavorable publicity regarding Bitcoin has adversely affected the price of Bitcoin, as has unfavorable publicity involving other digital assets or digital asset-focused firms. Bitcoin has in the past, and may in the future, be the target of media criticism, including regarding the market value, utility and environmental effects of Bitcoin. Such unfavorable media coverage could continue to materially impact decisions to buy, hold, or trade Bitcoin and, as a result, impact the price of Bitcoin.
In addition, social media posts and other statements and actions by prominent individuals, including Elon Musk and Michael Saylor, have resulted in outsized movements in the market price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It is possible that future statements by Mr. Musk, Mr. Saylor and other individuals concerning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will have disproportionate impacts on the market price of Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Bitcoin and other digital assets are novel assets, and are subject to significant legal, commercial, regulatory and technical uncertainty.
Bitcoin and other digital assets are relatively novel and are subject to significant uncertainty, which could adversely impact their price. The application of state and federal securities laws and other laws and regulations to digital assets is unclear in certain respects, and it is possible that regulators in the United States or foreign countries may interpret or apply existing laws and regulations in a manner that adversely affects the price of Bitcoin or the ability of individuals or institutions such as us to own or transfer Bitcoin.
The U.S. federal government, states, regulatory agencies, and foreign countries may also enact new laws and regulations, or pursue regulatory, legislative, enforcement or judicial actions, that could materially impact the price of Bitcoin or the ability of individuals or institutions such as us to own or transfer Bitcoin. For example, within the past several years:
•President Trump signed an executive order instructing a working group comprised of representatives from key federal agencies to evaluate measures that can be taken to provide regulatory clarity and certainty built on technology-neutral regulations for individuals and firms involved in digital assets, including through well-defined jurisdictional regulatory boundaries, and this working group is required to submit a report with regulatory and legislative proposals on or before July 22, 2025;
•in January 2025, the SEC announced the formation of a “Crypto Task Force,” which was created to provide clarity on the application of the federal securities laws to the crypto asset market and to recommend policy
measures with respect to digital asset security status, registration and listing of digital asset-based investment vehicles, and digital asset custody, lending and staking;
•in June 2023, the SEC filed complaints against Binance Holdings Ltd. and Coinbase, Inc., and their respective affiliated entities, relating to, among other claims, that each party was operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency;
•in November 2023, the SEC filed a complaint against Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc., together known as Kraken, alleging, among other claims, that Kraken’s crypto trading platform was operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency;
•the European Union adopted Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (“MiCA”), a comprehensive digital asset regulatory framework for the issuance and use of digital assets, like Bitcoin;
•in June 2023, the United Kingdom adopted and implemented the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (“FSMA 2023”), which regulates market activities in “cryptoassets”; and
•in November 2023, Binance Holdings Ltd. and its then chief executive officer reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, CFTC, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to resolve a multi-year investigation by the agencies and a civil suit brought by the CFTC, pursuant to which Binance Holdings Ltd. agreed to, among other things, pay $4.3 billion in penalties across the four agencies and to discontinue its operations in the United States.
While the complaint against Coinbase, Inc. was dismissed in February 2025, the complaint against Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc. was dismissed with prejudice in March 2025, and the complaint against Binance Holdings Ltd. was dismissed on May 29, 2025, the SEC or other regulatory agencies may initiate similar actions in the future, which could materially impact the price of Bitcoin and our ability to own or transfer Bitcoin.
It is not possible to predict whether or when new laws will be enacted that change the legal framework governing digital assets or provide additional authorities to the SEC or other regulators, or whether or when any other federal, state or foreign legislative bodies will take any similar actions. It is also not possible to predict the nature of any such additional laws or authorities, how additional legislation or regulatory oversight might impact the ability of digital asset markets to function, the willingness of financial and other institutions to continue to provide services to the digital assets industry, or how any new laws or regulations, or changes to existing laws or regulations, might impact the value of digital assets generally and Bitcoin specifically. The consequences of any new law or regulation relating to digital assets and digital asset activities could adversely affect the market price of Bitcoin, as well as our ability to hold or transact in Bitcoin, and in turn adversely affect the market price of our listed securities.
Moreover, the risks of engaging in a Bitcoin treasury strategy are relatively novel and have created, and could continue to create, complications due to the lack of experience that third parties have with companies engaging in such a strategy, such as increased costs of director and officer liability insurance or the potential inability to obtain such coverage on acceptable terms in the future.
The growth of the digital assets industry in general, and the use and acceptance of Bitcoin in particular, may also impact the price of Bitcoin and is subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The pace of worldwide growth in the adoption and use of Bitcoin may depend, for instance, on public familiarity with digital assets, ease of buying, accessing or gaining exposure to Bitcoin, institutional demand for Bitcoin as an investment asset, the participation of traditional financial institutions in the digital assets industry, consumer demand for Bitcoin as a store of value or means of payment, and the availability and popularity of alternatives to Bitcoin. Even if growth in Bitcoin adoption
occurs in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that Bitcoin usage will continue to grow over the long-term.
Because Bitcoin has no physical existence beyond the record of transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, a variety of technical factors related to the Bitcoin blockchain could also impact the price of Bitcoin. For example, malicious attacks by miners, inadequate mining fees to incentivize validating of Bitcoin transactions, hard “forks” of the Bitcoin blockchain into multiple blockchains, and advances in digital computing, algebraic geometry, and quantum computing could undercut the integrity of the Bitcoin blockchain and negatively affect the price of Bitcoin. The liquidity of Bitcoin may also be reduced and damage to the public perception of Bitcoin may occur, if financial institutions were to deny or limit banking services to businesses that hold Bitcoin, provide Bitcoin-related services or accept Bitcoin as payment, which could also decrease the price of Bitcoin. Actions by U.S. banking regulators, such as the issuance in February 2023 by Federal banking agencies of the “Interagency Liquidity Risk Statement,” which cautioned banks on contagion risks posed by providing services to digital assets customers, and similar actions, have in the past resulted in or contributed to reductions in access to banking services for Bitcoin-related customers and service providers, or the willingness of traditional financial institution to participate in markets for digital assets. The liquidity of Bitcoin may also be impacted to the extent that changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements negatively impact the ability of exchanges and trading venues to provide services for Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future relating to our Bitcoin holdings.
Because we have only recently enacted our Bitcoin treasury strategy, our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future from holding or selling significant amounts of Bitcoin. The price of Bitcoin has historically been subject to dramatic price fluctuations and is highly volatile. Under IFRS, we account for our Bitcoin holdings as intangible assets in accordance with IAS 38 "Intangible Assets" using the revaluation model.
Under the revaluation model, increases in fair value are recognized in other comprehensive income and accumulate in equity as a revaluation surplus, except to the extent they reverse a previous downward revaluation of the same asset (which is recognized in profit or loss). Decreases in fair value are recognized in profit or loss, except to the extent they reduce an existing revaluation surplus for that asset. Additionally, any gains or losses on disposal of Bitcoin are recognized in profit or loss in the period of disposal. As a result, volatility in our comprehensive income and earnings may be significantly more than what we experienced in prior periods, particularly during periods of significant Bitcoin price movements or when we dispose of Bitcoin holdings.
The availability of spot ETPs for Bitcoin and other digital assets may adversely affect the market price of our listed securities.
Although Bitcoin and other digital assets have experienced a surge of investor attention since Bitcoin was invented in 2008, until recently investors in the United States had limited means to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin through traditional investment channels, and instead generally were only able to hold Bitcoin through “hosted” wallets provided by digital asset service providers or through “unhosted” wallets that expose the investor to risks associated with loss or hacking of their private keys. Given the relative novelty of digital assets, general lack of familiarity with the processes needed to hold Bitcoin directly, as well as the potential reluctance of financial planners and advisers to recommend direct Bitcoin holdings to their retail customers because of the manner in which such holdings are custodied, some investors have sought exposure to Bitcoin through investment vehicles that hold Bitcoin and issue shares representing fractional undivided interests in their underlying Bitcoin holdings. These vehicles, which were previously offered only to “accredited investors” on a private placement basis, have in the past traded at substantial premiums to net asset value, possibly due to the relative scarcity of traditional investment vehicles providing investment exposure to Bitcoin.
On January 10, 2024, the SEC approved the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETPs, the shares of which can be sold in public offerings and are traded on U.S. national securities exchanges. The approved ETPs commenced trading directly to the public on January 11, 2024, with a trading volume of $4.6 billion on the first trading day. To the extent investors view our Class A Ordinary Shares as providing exposure to Bitcoin, it is possible that the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares may be influenced by the trading activity and performance of these spot Bitcoin ETPs. Additionally, on May 23, 2024, the SEC approved rule changes permitting the listing and trading of spot ETPs that invest in ether, the main crypto asset supporting the Ethereum blockchain. The approved spot ETPs commenced trading directly to the public on July 23, 2024. The listing and trading of spot ETPs for ether offers investors another alternative to gain exposure to digital assets, which could result in a decline in the trading price of Bitcoin as well as a decline in the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares relative to the value of our Bitcoin.
Although we are an operating health sciences company, and we believe we offer a differentiated value proposition that combines our core health sciences operations with Bitcoin treasury exposure, investors may nevertheless view our securities primarily as a Bitcoin investment vehicle. They may choose to invest in alternative Bitcoin products for various reasons, including: (i) preference for "pure play" Bitcoin exposure without operational business risks; (ii) different tax treatment or regulatory structure; (iii) enhanced liquidity or trading characteristics; (iv) lower fees or expense ratios; or (v) different levels of transparency regarding Bitcoin holdings and net asset value calculations.
Unlike dedicated Bitcoin investment vehicles, we: (i) do not seek to track the value of Bitcoin or provide daily transparency regarding our Bitcoin holdings; (ii) are subject to the operational risks and capital allocation decisions of a diversified healthcare business; (iii) may use Bitcoin holdings for strategic purposes beyond pure investment returns; (iv) are subject to different regulatory requirements as a Cayman Islands incorporated health sciences company rather than an investment vehicle; and (v) may face conflicts between optimizing Bitcoin returns and pursuing our core business objectives. If our combined business model is viewed favorably relative to pure Bitcoin exposure, our securities may trade at a premium. These valuation dynamics may increase the volatility of our share price and could result in our securities underperforming both our underlying Bitcoin holdings and our operational business performance.
Furthermore, recommendations by broker-dealers to buy, hold, or sell complex products and non-traditional ETPs, or an investment strategy involving such products, may be subject to additional or heightened scrutiny that would not be applicable to broker-dealers making recommendations with respect to our securities. Based on how we are viewed in the market relative to ETPs, and other vehicles which offer economic exposure to Bitcoin, such as Bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), leveraged Bitcoin futures ETFs, and similar vehicles offered on international exchanges, any premium or discount in our Class A Ordinary Shares relative to the value of our Bitcoin holdings may increase or decrease in different market conditions.
As a result of the foregoing factors, availability of spot ETPs for Bitcoin and other digital assets could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our listed securities.
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy subjects us to enhanced regulatory oversight.
As noted above, several spot Bitcoin ETPs have received approval from the SEC to list their shares on a U.S. national securities exchange with continuous share creation and redemption at net asset value. Even though we are not, and do not function in the manner of, a spot Bitcoin ETP, it is possible that we nevertheless could face regulatory scrutiny from the SEC or other federal agencies due to our Bitcoin holdings.
In addition, there has been increasing focus on the extent to which digital assets can be used to launder the proceeds of illegal activities, fund criminal or terrorist activities, or circumvent sanctions regimes, including those sanctions imposed in response to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. While we have implemented and maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance with applicable anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and regulations and take care to only acquire our Bitcoin through entities subject to anti-money
laundering regulation and related compliance rules in the United States, if we are found to have purchased any of our Bitcoin from bad actors that have used Bitcoin to launder money or persons subject to sanctions, we may be subject to regulatory proceedings and any further transactions or dealings in Bitcoin by us may be restricted or prohibited.
A portion of our Bitcoin holdings may serve as collateral securing our future indebtedness, and we may incur additional indebtedness or enter into other financial instruments in the future that may be collateralized by our Bitcoin holdings. We may also consider pursuing strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our Bitcoin holdings. These types of Bitcoin-related transactions are the subject of enhanced regulatory oversight. These and any other Bitcoin-related transactions we may enter into, beyond simply acquiring and holding Bitcoin, may subject us to additional regulatory compliance requirements and scrutiny, money transmitter licensing requirements and various commodity and securities laws and regulations.
Additional laws, guidance and policies may be issued by domestic and foreign regulators following the filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by FTX, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, in November 2022. The FTX collapse may have increased regulatory focus on the digital assets industry. Increased enforcement activity and changes in the regulatory environment, including changing interpretations and the implementation of new or varying regulatory requirements by the government or any new legislation affecting Bitcoin, as well as enforcement actions involving or impacting our trading venues, counterparties and custodians, may impose significant costs or significantly limit our ability to hold and transact in Bitcoin.
In addition, private actors that are wary of Bitcoin or the regulatory concerns associated with Bitcoin have in the past taken and may in the future take further actions that may have an adverse effect on our business or the market price of our listed securities. For example, it is possible that a financial institution could restrict customers from buying our Class A Ordinary Shares if it were to determine that the value of our Class A Ordinary Shares is closely tied to the performance of Bitcoin, signaling a reluctance to facilitate exposure to virtual currencies.
Due to the unregulated nature and lack of transparency surrounding the operations of many Bitcoin trading venues, Bitcoin trading venues may experience greater fraud, security failures or regulatory or operational problems than trading venues for more established asset classes, which may result in a loss of confidence in Bitcoin trading venues and adversely affect the value of our Bitcoin.
Bitcoin trading venues are relatively new and, in many cases, unregulated. Furthermore, there are many Bitcoin trading venues which do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in Bitcoin trading venues, including prominent exchanges that handle a significant volume of Bitcoin trading and/or are subject to regulatory oversight, in the event one or more Bitcoin trading venues cease or pause for a prolonged period the trading of Bitcoin or other digital assets, or experience fraud, significant volumes of withdrawal, security failures or operational problems.
In 2019 there were reports claiming that 80-95% of Bitcoin trading volume on trading venues was false or non-economic in nature, with specific focus on unregulated exchanges located outside of the United States. The SEC also alleged as part of its June 5, 2023, complaint against Binance Holdings Ltd. that Binance committed strategic and targeted “wash trading” through its affiliates to artificially inflate the volume of certain digital assets traded on its exchange. The SEC has also brought recent actions against individuals and digital asset market participants alleging that such persons artificially increased trading volumes in certain digital assets through wash trades, or repeated buying and selling of the same assets in fictitious transactions to manipulate their underlying trading price. Such reports and allegations may indicate that the Bitcoin market is significantly smaller than expected and that the United States makes up a significantly larger percentage of the Bitcoin market than is commonly understood. Any actual or perceived wash trading in the Bitcoin market, and any other fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, could adversely affect the value of our Bitcoin.
Negative perception, a lack of stability in the broader Bitcoin markets and the closure, temporary shutdown or operational disruption of Bitcoin trading venues, lending institutions, institutional investors, institutional miners, custodians, or other major participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem, due to fraud, business failure, cybersecurity events, government-mandated regulation, bankruptcy, or for any other reason, may result in a decline in confidence in Bitcoin and the broader Bitcoin ecosystem and greater volatility in the price of Bitcoin. For example, in 2022, each of Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital, FTX, and BlockFi filed for bankruptcy, following which the market prices of Bitcoin and other digital assets significantly declined. In addition, in June 2023, the SEC announced enforcement actions against Coinbase, Inc., and Binance Holdings Ltd., two providers of large trading venues for digital assets, which similarly was followed by a decrease in the market price of Bitcoin and other digital assets. These were followed in November 2023, by an SEC enforcement action against Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc., together known as Kraken, another large trading venue for digital assets. While the complaint against Coinbase, Inc. was dismissed in February 2025, the complaint against Payward Inc. and Payward Ventures Inc. was dismissed with prejudice in March 2025, and the complaint against Binance Holdings Ltd. was dismissed on May 29, 2025, the SEC or other regulatory agencies may initiate similar actions in the future. As the price of our listed securities is affected by the value of our Bitcoin holdings, the failure of a major participant in the Bitcoin ecosystem could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our listed securities.
The concentration of our Bitcoin holdings could enhance the risks inherent in our Bitcoin treasury strategy.
The concentration of our Bitcoin holdings limits the risk mitigation that we could achieve if we were to purchase a more diversified portfolio of treasury assets, and the absence of diversification enhances the risks inherent in our Bitcoin treasury strategy. Any future significant declines in the price of Bitcoin would have, a more pronounced impact on our financial condition than if we used our cash to purchase a more diverse portfolio of assets.
The emergence or growth of other digital assets, including those with significant private or public sector backing, could have a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin and adversely affect our business.
As a result of our Bitcoin treasury strategy, our assets are concentrated in our Bitcoin holdings. Accordingly, the emergence or growth of digital assets other than Bitcoin may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. As of the date of this prospectus, Bitcoin is the largest digital asset by market capitalization. However, there are numerous alternative digital assets and many entities, including consortiums and financial institutions, are researching and investing resources into private or permissioned blockchain platforms or digital assets that do not use proof-of-work mining like the Bitcoin network. For example, in late 2022, the Ethereum network transitioned to a “proof-of-stake” mechanism for validating transactions that requires significantly less computing power than proof-of-work mining. The Ethereum network has completed another major upgrade since then and may undertake additional upgrades in the future. If the mechanisms for validating transactions in Ethereum and other alternative digital assets are perceived as superior to proof-of-work mining, those digital assets could gain market share relative to Bitcoin.
Other alternative digital assets that compete with Bitcoin in certain ways include “stablecoins,” which are designed to maintain a constant price because of, for instance, their issuers’ promise to hold high-quality liquid assets (such as U.S. dollar deposits and short-term U.S. treasury securities) equal to the total value of stablecoins in circulation. Stablecoins have grown rapidly as an alternative to Bitcoin and other digital assets as a medium of exchange and store of value, particularly on digital asset trading platforms. As of March 31, 2025, two of the seven largest digital assets by market capitalization were U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.
Additionally, central banks in some countries have started to introduce digital forms of legal tender. For example, China’s CBDC project was made available to consumers in January 2022, and governments including the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Israel have been discussing the potential creation of new CBDCs. Whether or not they incorporate blockchain or similar technology, CBDCs, as legal tender in the issuing jurisdiction, could also compete with, or replace, Bitcoin and other digital assets as a medium of exchange or store of value. As a result, the emergence or growth of these or other digital assets could cause the market price of
Bitcoin to decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Our Bitcoin holdings will be less liquid than our existing cash and cash equivalents and may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for us to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents.
Historically, the Bitcoin market has been characterized by significant volatility in price, limited liquidity and trading volumes compared to sovereign currencies markets, relative anonymity, a developing regulatory landscape, potential susceptibility to market abuse and manipulation, compliance and internal control failures at exchanges, and various other risks inherent in its entirely electronic, virtual form and decentralized network. During times of market instability, we may not be able to sell our Bitcoin at favorable prices or at all. For example, a number of Bitcoin trading venues temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals in 2022. As a result, our Bitcoin holdings may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for us to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents.
Further, Bitcoin we hold with our custodians and transact with our trade execution partners does not enjoy the same protections as are available to cash or securities deposited with or transacted by institutions subject to regulation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
Additionally, we may be unable to enter into term loans or other capital raising transactions collateralized by our unencumbered Bitcoin or otherwise generate funds using our Bitcoin holdings, including in particular during times of market instability or when the price of Bitcoin has declined significantly. If we are unable to sell our Bitcoin, enter into additional capital raising transactions, including capital raising transactions using Bitcoin as collateral, or otherwise generate funds using our Bitcoin holdings, or if we are forced to sell our Bitcoin at a significant loss, in order to meet our working capital requirements, our business and financial condition could be negatively impacted.
If we or our third-party service providers experience a security breach or cyberattack and unauthorized parties obtain access to our Bitcoin, or if our private keys are lost or destroyed, or other similar circumstances or events occur, we may lose some or all of our Bitcoin and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
Substantially all of the Bitcoin we own will be held in custody accounts at institutional-grade digital asset custodians. Security breaches and cyberattacks are of particular concern with respect to our Bitcoin. Bitcoin and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and the entities that provide services to participants in the Bitcoin ecosystem have been, and may in the future be, subject to security breaches, cyberattacks, or other malicious activities. For example, in October 2021 it was reported that hackers exploited a flaw in the account recovery process and stole from the accounts of at least 6,000 customers of the Coinbase exchange, although the flaw was subsequently fixed and Coinbase reimbursed affected customers. Similarly, in November 2022, hackers exploited weaknesses in the security architecture of the FTX Trading digital asset exchange and reportedly stole over $400 million in digital assets from customers. A successful security breach or cyberattack could result in:
•a partial or total loss of our Bitcoin in a manner that may not be covered by insurance or the liability provisions of the custody agreements with the custodians who hold our Bitcoin;
•harm to our reputation and brand;
•improper disclosure of data and violations of applicable data privacy and other laws; or
•significant regulatory scrutiny, investigations, fines, penalties, and other legal, regulatory, contractual and financial exposure.
Further, any actual or perceived data security breach or cybersecurity attack directed at other companies with digital assets or companies that operate digital asset networks, regardless of whether we are directly impacted, could lead to a general loss of confidence in the broader Bitcoin blockchain ecosystem or in the use of the Bitcoin network to conduct financial transactions, which could negatively impact us.
Attacks upon systems across a variety of industries, including industries related to Bitcoin, are increasing in frequency, persistence, and sophistication, and, in many cases, are being conducted by sophisticated, well-funded and organized groups and individuals, including state actors. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper or illegal access to systems and information (including personal data and digital assets), disable or degrade services, or sabotage systems are constantly evolving, may be difficult to detect quickly, and often are not recognized or detected until after they have been launched against a target. These attacks may occur on our systems or those of our third-party service providers or partners. We may experience breaches of our security measures due to human error, malfeasance, insider threats, system errors or vulnerabilities or other irregularities. In particular, unauthorized parties have attempted, and we expect that they will continue to attempt, to gain access to our systems and facilities, as well as those of our partners and third-party service providers, through various means, such as hacking, social engineering, phishing and fraud. In the past, hackers have successfully employed a social engineering attack against one of our service providers and misappropriated our digital assets, although, to date, such events have not been material to our financial condition or operating results. Threats can come from a variety of sources, including criminal hackers, hacktivists, state-sponsored intrusions, industrial espionage, and insiders. In addition, certain types of attacks could harm us even if our systems are left undisturbed. For example, certain threats are designed to remain dormant or undetectable, sometimes for extended periods of time, or until launched against a target and we may not be able to implement adequate preventative measures. Further, there has been an increase in such activities due to the increase in work-from-home arrangements since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The risk of cyberattacks could also be increased by cyberwarfare in connection with geopolitical conflicts, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, including potential proliferation of malware into systems unrelated to such conflicts. Any future breach of our operations or those of others in the Bitcoin industry, including third-party services on which we rely, could materially and adversely affect our business.
We face risks relating to the custody of our Bitcoin, including the loss or destruction of private keys required to access our Bitcoin and cyberattacks or other data loss relating to our Bitcoin.
We will hold our Bitcoin with regulated custodians that have duties to safeguard our private keys. Our custodial services contracts will not restrict our ability to reallocate our Bitcoin among our custodians, and our Bitcoin holdings may be concentrated with a single custodian from time to time. In light of the significant amount of Bitcoin we will hold, we will continually seek to engage additional custodians to achieve a greater degree of diversification in the custody of our Bitcoin as the extent of potential risk of loss is dependent, in part, on the degree of diversification. If there is a decrease in the availability of digital asset custodians that we believe can safely custody our Bitcoin, for example, due to regulatory developments or enforcement actions that cause custodians to discontinue or limit their services in the United States, we may need to enter into agreements that are less favorable or take other measures to custody our Bitcoin, and our ability to seek a greater degree of diversification in the use of custodial services would be materially adversely affected.
Any insurance that may cover losses of our Bitcoin holdings will cover only a small fraction of the value of the entirety of our Bitcoin holdings, and there can be no guarantee that such insurance will be maintained as part of the custodial services we have or that such coverage will cover losses with respect to our Bitcoin. Moreover, our use of custodians exposes us to the risk that the Bitcoin our custodians hold on our behalf could be subject to insolvency proceedings and we could be treated as a general unsecured creditor of the custodian, inhibiting our ability to exercise ownership rights with respect to such Bitcoin. Any loss associated with such insolvency proceedings is unlikely to be covered by any insurance coverage we may maintain related to our Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is controllable only by the possessor of both the unique public key and private key(s) relating to the local or online digital wallet in which the Bitcoin is held. While the Bitcoin blockchain ledger requires a public key relating to a digital wallet to be published when used in a transaction, private keys must be safeguarded and kept
private in order to prevent a third party from accessing the Bitcoin held in such wallet. To the extent the private key(s) for a digital wallet are lost, destroyed, or otherwise compromised and no backup of the private key(s) is accessible, neither we nor our custodians will be able to access the Bitcoin held in the related digital wallet. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that our digital wallets, nor the digital wallets of our custodians held on our behalf, will not be compromised as a result of a cyberattack. The Bitcoin and blockchain ledger, as well as other digital assets and blockchain technologies, have been, and may in the future be, subject to security breaches, cyberattacks, or other malicious activities.
Regulatory change reclassifying that Bitcoin is offered and sold as a security could lead to our classification as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and could adversely affect the market price of Bitcoin and the market price of our listed securities.
Under Sections 3(a)(1)(A) and (C) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”), a company generally will be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the Investment Company Act if (i) it is, or holds itself out as being, engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities or (ii) it engages, or proposes to engage, in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and it owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis.
A significant portion of our assets are concentrated in our Bitcoin holdings. While senior SEC officials have stated their view that Bitcoin is not offered and sold as a “security” for purposes of the federal securities laws, a contrary determination by the SEC could lead to our classification as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act, which would subject us to significant additional regulatory controls that could have a material adverse effect on our ability to execute on our Bitcoin treasury strategy, and our business and operations and may also require us to substantially change the manner in which we conduct our business.
In addition, if Bitcoin is determined to be offered and sold as a security for purposes of the federal securities laws, the additional regulatory restrictions imposed by such a determination could adversely affect the market price of Bitcoin and in turn adversely affect the market price of our listed securities.
We are not subject to legal and regulatory obligations that apply to investment companies such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, or to obligations applicable to investment advisers.
Mutual funds, ETFs and their directors and management are subject to extensive regulation as “investment companies” and “investment advisers” under U.S. federal and state law; this regulation is intended for the benefit and protection of investors. We are not subject to, and do not otherwise voluntarily comply with, these laws and regulations. This means, among other things, that the execution of or changes to our investment policy or our Bitcoin treasury strategy, our use of leverage, the manner in which our Bitcoin is custodied, our ability to engage in transactions with affiliated parties and our operating and investment activities generally are not subject to the extensive legal and regulatory requirements and prohibitions that apply to investment companies and investment advisers. For example, although a significant change to our investment policy would require the approval of our Board of Directors, no shareholder or regulatory approval would be necessary. Consequently, our Board of Directors will have broad discretion over the investment, leverage and cash management policies it authorizes, whether in respect of our Bitcoin holdings or other activities we may pursue, and has the power to change our current policies, including our strategy of acquiring and holding Bitcoin.
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to risk of non-performance by counterparties.
Our Bitcoin treasury strategy exposes us to the risk of non-performance by counterparties, whether contractual or otherwise. Risk of non-performance includes inability or refusal of a counterparty to perform because of a deterioration in the counterparty’s financial condition and liquidity or for any other reason. For example, our
execution partners, custodians, or other counterparties might fail to perform in accordance with the terms of our agreements with them, which could result in a loss of Bitcoin, a loss of the opportunity to generate funds, or other losses.
Our primary counterparty risk with respect to our Bitcoin is custodian performance obligations under custody arrangement we have entered into. A series of recent high-profile bankruptcies, closures, liquidations, regulatory enforcement actions and other events relating to companies operating in the digital asset industry, including the filings for bankruptcy protection by Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX Trading and Genesis Global Capital, the closure or liquidation of certain financial institutions that provided lending and other services to the digital assets industry, including Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank, SEC enforcement actions against Coinbase, Inc., Binance Holdings Ltd., and Kraken, the placement of Prime Trust, LLC into receivership following a cease-and-desist order issued by Nevada’s Department of Business and Industry, and the filing and subsequent settlement of a civil fraud lawsuit by the New York Attorney General against Genesis Global Capital, its parent company Digital Currency Group, Inc., and former partner Gemini Trust Company have highlighted the perceived and actual counterparty risk applicable to digital asset ownership and trading. Although these bankruptcies, closures and liquidations have not resulted in any loss or misappropriation of our Bitcoin, nor have such events adversely impacted our access to our Bitcoin, legal precedent created in these bankruptcy and other proceedings may increase the risk of future rulings adverse to our interests in the event one or more of our custodians becomes a debtor in a bankruptcy case or is the subject of other liquidation, insolvency or similar proceedings.
While all of our custodians are subject to regulatory regimes intended to protect customers in the event of a custodial bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceeding, no assurance can be provided that our custodially-held Bitcoin will not become part of the custodian’s insolvency estate if one or more of our custodians enters bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceedings. Additionally, if we pursue any strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our Bitcoin holdings, we would become subject to additional counterparty risks. Any significant non-performance by counterparties, including in particular the custodians with which we custody substantially all of our Bitcoin, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.
Our use of leverage to acquire Bitcoin could increase the risk of our Bitcoin treasury strategy.
We may in the future utilize leverage to acquire Bitcoin, which magnifies the potential for loss with our Bitcoin treasury strategy. As we may use leverage to partially finance our acquisition of Bitcoin, you will experience increased risks of investing in our securities. If the value of our Bitcoin assets increase, then leveraging would cause the value attributable to our Class A Ordinary Shares to increase more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our Bitcoin assets decreases, leveraging would cause the value of our Bitcoin assets to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged our business. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to service, repurchase, repay or collateralize our debt. The effects of leverage could cause any decrease in asset value for any losses to be greater than any increase in asset value for any corresponding gains. If we incur additional leverage, you will experience increased risks of investing in our Class A Ordinary Shares.
The inability to increase the authorized capital stock could impede our ability to pursue our strategic objectives, provide equity incentives to engage key talent and negatively impact shareholder value.
We are in the process of obtaining shareholder approval for an increase in the authorized share capital of the Company. We believe a greater number of authorized Ordinary Shares would provide us with flexibility to issue Ordinary Shares for any proper corporate purpose, which could include strategic investments, strategic partnership arrangements, awards or grants under employee equity incentive plans, equity based financing to support the execution of our business strategy (including our Bitcoin treasury strategy), or other general purposes. The availability of additional authorized Ordinary Shares would enhance the business and financial flexibility and allow us to execute any of these transactions in the future without the possible delays and significant expense of obtaining
additional shareholder approval, unless otherwise required by our governing documents, or applicable laws or regulatory requirements.
If we are unsuccessful in securing shareholder approval to increase the authorized shares of capital stock, we may not be able to take timely advantage of market conditions or favorable financing or acquisition opportunities that would help us grow and create value for shareholders. This could impede our ability to pursue our strategic objectives and restrict the equity incentives available to attract, retain and motivate key talent, which could negatively impact the value of our capital stock.