Overview
The Company currently has two lines of business: our Bitcoin mining business and our specialty finance business.
The Bitcoin mining business operation deploys our computing power to mine Bitcoin and validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. We believe that developments in Bitcoin mining have created an opportunity for us to deploy capital and conduct large-scale mining operations in the United States. We conduct this business through a wholly owned subsidiary, US Digital to develop and operate our Bitcoin mining business.
Specialty Finance Business
With respect to our specialty finance business, the Company has historically engaged in the business of providing funding to nonprofit community associations primarily located in the state of Florida. We offer incorporated nonprofit community associations, which we refer to as “Associations,” a variety of financial products customized to each Association’s financial needs. Our original product offering consists of providing funding to Associations by purchasing their rights under delinquent accounts that are selected by the Associations arising from unpaid Association assessments. Historically, we provided funding against such delinquent accounts, which we refer to as “Accounts,” in exchange for a portion of the proceeds collected by the Associations from the account debtors on the Accounts. In addition to our original product offering, we also purchase Accounts on varying terms tailored to suit each Association’s financial needs, including under our New Neighbor Guaranty™ program.
Bitcoin Mining Business
We obtain Bitcoin as a result of our mining operations, and we sell Bitcoin from time to time to support our operations and strategic growth. We do not currently plan to engage in regular trading of Bitcoin (other than as necessary to convert our Bitcoin into U.S. dollars) or to engage in hedging activities related to our holding of Bitcoin; however, our decision to hold or sell Bitcoin at any given time may be impacted by the Bitcoin market, which has been historically characterized by significant volatility. Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell Bitcoin that we hold, or the number of Bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell Bitcoins are currently determined by management by monitoring the market in real time.
Factors Affecting Profitability
Market Price of Bitcoin
Our business is heavily dependent on the price of Bitcoin. The prices of digital assets, including Bitcoin, have historically experienced substantial volatility, and digital asset prices have in the past and may in the future be driven by speculation and incomplete information, subject to rapidly changing investor sentiment, and influenced by factors such as technology, macroeconomic conditions, regulatory void or changes, fraudulent actors, manipulation, and media reporting. Further, the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets may be significantly impacted by factors beyond our control, including consumer trust in the market acceptance of Bitcoin as a means of exchange by consumers and producers.
Bitcoin “Halving” Events
Bitcoin halving is a phenomenon that has historically occurred approximately every four years on the Bitcoin network. Halving is a key part of the Bitcoin protocol and serves to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in digital assets using a Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. At a predetermined block, the mining reward is cut in half, hence the term “halving”. For example, the reward for adding a single block to the blockchain was initially set at 50 Bitcoin currency rewards. The Bitcoin blockchain has undergone halving four times since its inception as follows: (1) on November 28, 2012 at block height 210,000; (2) on July 9, 2016 at block height 420,000; (3) on May 11, 2020 at block height 630,000 (4) on April 20, 2024 at block height 840,000 when the reward was reduced to its current level of 3.125 per block. The next halving for the Bitcoin blockchain is anticipated to occur around April 2028 at block height 1,050,000. This process will recur until the total amount of Bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21.0 million, and the theoretical supply of new Bitcoin is exhausted, which is expected to occur around 2140. Many factors influence the price of Bitcoin, and potential increase or decrease in prices in advance of or following the future halving is unknown.
Halving is an important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem, and it is closely watched by miners, investors, and other participants in the digital asset market. Each halving event has historically been associated with significant price movements in the value of Bitcoin.
Network Hash Rate and Difficulty
Generally, a Bitcoin mining rig’s chance of solving a block on the Bitcoin blockchain and earning a Bitcoin reward is a function of the mining rig’s hash rate, relative to the global network hash rate (i.e., the aggregate amount of computing power devoted to supporting the Bitcoin blockchain at a given time). As demand for Bitcoin increases, the global network hash rate rapidly increases, and as more adoption of Bitcoin occurs, we expect the demand for new Bitcoin will likewise increase as more mining companies are drawn into the industry by this increase in demand. Further, as more and increasingly powerful mining rigs are deployed, the network difficulty for Bitcoin increases. Network difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to solve a block on the Bitcoin blockchain, which is adjusted every 2,016 blocks, or approximately every two weeks, so that the average time between each block is approximately ten minutes. A high difficulty means that it will take more computing power to solve a block and earn a new Bitcoin reward which, in turn, makes the