Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)
Registration No. 333-259786

Cipher Mining Inc.

42,035,500 Shares of Common Stock

This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time by the selling securityholders named in this prospectus (the “Selling Securityholders”) of up to 42,035,500 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share (“common stock”), consisting of (i) up to 32,235,000 shares of common stock (the “PIPE Shares”) issued in a private placement in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination pursuant to subscription agreements entered into on March 4, 2021 (the “PIPE Financing”); (ii) up to 1,575,000 shares of common stock (the “Initial Stockholder Shares”) issued in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, in exchange for shares of GWAC common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “GWAC common stock”) originally issued in a private placement to certain Initial Stockholders (as defined below); (iii) up to 757,500 shares of common stock issued in connection with the Business Combination, in exchange for GWAC common stock issued in a private placement to I-B Good Works, LLC (the “Sponsor”); (iv) up to 562,500 shares of common stock issued in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, in exchange for GWAC common stock issued in a private placement to GW Sponsor 2, LLC; (v) up to 677,500 shares of common stock issued in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, in exchange for GWAC common stock issued in a private placement to the Anchor Investors (as defined below); (vi) 6,000,000 shares of common stock issued to Bitfury Holding B.V. as an affiliate of Bitfury Top HoldCo pursuant to the Bitfury Private Placement (as defined below); and (vii) up to 228,000 shares of common stock issued in connection with the consummation of the Business Combination, in exchange for GWAC common stock originally issued upon separation of the GWAC Private Placement Units issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of GWAC’s public offering (the “Private Placement Shares”).

On August 27, 2021, we consummated the transactions contemplated by that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of March 4, 2021 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among Good Works Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“GWAC” or “Good Works” and, upon consummation of the Business Combination described below, “New Cipher”), Currency Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of GWAC (“Merger Sub”), and Cipher Mining Technologies Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Cipher”). On August 27, 2021, as contemplated by the Merger Agreement, New Cipher consummated the merger contemplated by the Merger Agreement, whereby Merger Sub merged with and into Cipher, the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub ceasing and Cipher being the surviving corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of New Cipher (the “Merger” and, together with the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Business Combination”).

The Selling Securityholders may offer, sell or distribute all or a portion of the securities hereby registered publicly or through private transactions at prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. We will not receive any of the proceeds from such sales of the shares of our common stock. We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of these securities, including with regard to compliance with state securities or “blue sky” laws. The Selling Securityholders will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to their sale of shares of our common stock or warrants. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus.

Our common stock and public warrants are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Nasdaq”) under the symbols “CIFR” and “CIFRW,” respectively. On October 7, 2021, the last reported sales price of our common stock was $8.91 per share and the last reported sales price of our public warrants was $1.82 per warrant.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced disclosure and regulatory requirements.

Investing in our securities involves risks. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 5 of this prospectus to read about factors you should consider before buying our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is October 8, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-1 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) using the “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, the Selling Securityholders may, from time to time, sell or otherwise distribute the securities offered by them as described in the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale by such Selling Securityholders of the securities offered by them described in this prospectus.

Neither we nor the Selling Securityholders have authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. Neither we nor the Selling Securityholders take responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. Neither we nor the Selling Securityholders will make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

We may also provide a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement to add information to, or update or change information contained in, this prospectus. You should read both this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to the registration statement together with the additional information to which we refer you in the sections of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “Cipher,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Cipher Mining Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, prior to the consummation of the Business Combination (the “Closing,” and, such date of the consummation of the Business Combination, the “Closing Date”) and to New Cipher and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination. References to “GWAC” or “Good Works” refer to our predecessor company prior to the consummation of the Business Combination.

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SELECTED DEFINITIONS

Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus or the context otherwise requires, references to:

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MARKET AND INDUSTRY DATA

This prospectus includes estimates regarding market and industry data and forecasts, which are based on publicly available information, industry publications and surveys, reports from government agencies, reports by market research firms or other independent sources and our own estimates based on our management’s knowledge of and experience in the market sectors in which we compete.

Certain monetary amounts, percentages and other figures included in this prospectus have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables or charts may not be the arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them, and figures expressed as percentages in the text may not total 100% or, as applicable, when aggregated may not be the arithmetic aggregation of the percentages that precede them.

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus includes statements that express New Cipher’s opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “seeks,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will” or “should” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed with the SEC as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves risks. You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this prospectus, including the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before deciding whether to purchase any of our securities. Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties that are not presently known to us or that we currently believe are not material. If any of these risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “Cipher,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Cipher Mining Technologies, Inc., prior to the consummation of the Business Combination and to New Cipher and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination.

Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History and Early Stage of Growth

We are in an early stage of development. If we are not able to develop our business as anticipated, we may not be able to generate revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

Having been incorporated only in January 7, 2021, we have no operating history and have not earned any revenues to date. Our primary business activities are focused on the development and operation of our cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Although we believe that our business model has significant profit potential, we may not attain profitable operations and our management may not succeed in realizing our business objectives. If we are not able to develop our business as anticipated, we may not be able to generate revenues or achieve profitability and you may lose your investment.

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

We are a recently formed entity, which currently has no operations and therefore has no meaningful operating history upon which an investor may evaluate our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results. It is difficult to predict our future revenues and appropriately budget for our expenses, and we have limited insight into trends that may emerge and affect our business. Furthermore, we plan to focus our business on cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining, a new and developing field, which could further exacerbate the risks involved in our business, see “—Risks Related to Cryptocurrency—Acceptance and widespread use of cryptocurrency, in general, and Bitcoin, specifically, is uncertain.” In the event that actual results differ from our estimates or we adjust our estimates in future periods, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our business and the markets in which we plan to operate are new and rapidly evolving, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risks and challenges we may encounter.

We have not earned any revenues to date and expect to incur losses until we are able to commence our operations. These losses could increase as we continue to work to develop our business. We plan to focus on cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Specifically, we plan to begin our initial buildout phase with a set-up of cryptocurrency mining facilities in four sites in the United States (three in Texas and one in Ohio), see “Business—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline”. Our business and the markets in which we plan to operate are new and rapidly evolving, which makes it difficult to evaluate and assess our future prospects and the risks and challenges that we may encounter. These risks and challenges include, among others, our ability to:

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Our strategy may not be successful, and we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods. If the risks and uncertainties that we plan for when establishing and operating our business are incorrect or change, or if we fail to manage these risks successfully, our results of operations could differ materially from our expectations and our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

In the future, we may need to raise additional capital, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

From time to time, we may require additional capital to respond to technological advancements, competitive dynamics or technologies, customer demands, business opportunities, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances. Accordingly, we may determine to engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for the above-mentioned or other reasons.

We may not be able to timely secure additional debt or equity financing on favorable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds through equity financing, our existing stockholders could experience significant dilution.

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

Risks Related to Our Business, Industry and Operations

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

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

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As a result of these factors, it may be difficult for us to forecast growth trends accurately and our business and future prospects are difficult to evaluate, particularly in the short term. In view of the rapidly evolving nature of our business and the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful, and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future performance. Quarterly and annual expenses reflected in our financial statements may be significantly different from historical or projected rates, and our operating results in one or more future quarters may fall below the expectations of securities analysts and investors.

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

As part of our initial buildout phase, we plan to set up cryptocurrency mining facilities (or sites) in at least four cities in the United States, with three in Texas and one in Ohio. We currently anticipate to begin deployment of capacity across some of our planned cryptocurrency mining sites in the first quarter of 2022. We could set up multiple cryptocurrency mining sites per city. For further details on our planned initial buildout phase, see “Business—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline”. We entered into definitive power and hosting arrangements with Standard Power, WindHQ and Luminant, which intend to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities referenced above. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements”. Furthermore, although these definitive agreements include provisions allowing us to secure the sites for our data centers, actually securing these sites on terms acceptable to our management team may not occur within our timing expectations or at all. Securing the sites for our data centers may also be subject to various governmental approvals and require entry into ancillary agreements. Our inability to secure the sites for our data centers could adversely impact the anticipated timing of our initial buildout phase and therefore the time by which we are able to commence our operations.

If we are forced to locate alternative sites, we may not be successful in identifying adequate replacement sites to house our miners. Even if we identify such sites, we may not be successful in leasing the necessary facilities at rates that are economically viable to support our mining activities.

Even if we successfully secure the sites for our data centers, in the future, we may not be able to renew those on acceptable terms, in which case we would need to relocate our established mining operations. Relocating any mining operation may force us to incur the costs to transition to a new facility including, but not limited to, transportation expenses and insurance, downtime while we are unable to mine, legal fees to negotiate the new lease, de-installation at our current facility and, ultimately, installation at any new facility we identify. These costs may be substantial, and we cannot guarantee that we will be successful in transitioning our miners to a new facility. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We may depend on third parties to provide us with certain critical equipment and may rely on components and raw materials that may be subject to price fluctuations or shortages, including ASIC chips that have been subject

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to an ongoing significant shortage. Equipment orders for our initial buildout phase would typically require payments in advance.

In order to build and sustain our operations we will depend on third parties to provide us with ASIC chips and other critical components for our mining equipment, which may be subject to price fluctuations or shortages. For example, the ASIC chip is the key component of a mining machine as it determines the efficiency of the device. The production of ASIC chips typically requires highly sophisticated silicon wafers, which currently only a small number of fabrication facilities, or wafer foundries, in the world are capable of producing. We believe that the current microchip shortage that the entire industry is experiencing leads to price fluctuations and disruption in the supply of key miner components. Specifically, the ASIC chips have recently been subject to a significant price increases and shortages.

We have no operating history and have not earned any revenues to date. We cannot order ASIC chips or other equipment or services without advance payments as ASIC chip manufacturers and suppliers typically do not guarantee reserve foundry capacity or supplies without substantial order deposits. We would generally expect to fund our initial buildout phase, including our purchases of ASIC chips and other equipment and services, with the funds received in connection with the Business Combination. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to timely place our purchase orders to ensure sufficient supply of the required equipment at prices acceptable to us or at all. Thus, there is a risk that we will not be able to initiate or progress our initial buildout phase as planned.

Our ability to source ASIC chips and other critical components in a timely matter and at an acceptable price and quality level is critical to our operational buildout timeline and the development under our current business model. See “Business—Bitcoin Mining Technology—ASIC chips”. We will be exposed to the risk of disruptions or other failures in the overall global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware. This is particularly relevant to the ASIC chip production since there is only a small number of fabrication facilities capable of such production, which increases our risk exposure to manufacturing disruptions or other supply chain failures. For further details see “—We are exposed to risks related to disruptions or other failures in the supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware and difficulties in obtaining new hardware.”

There is also a risk that a manufacturer or seller of ASIC chips or other necessary mining equipment may adjust the prices according to Bitcoin, other cryptocurrency prices or otherwise, so the cost of new machines could become unpredictable and extremely high. As a result, at times, we may be forced to obtain miners and other hardware at premium prices, to the extent they are even available. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

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

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

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In connection with the Business Combination, we entered into separate definitive power and hosting arrangements with each of Standard Power, WindHQ and Luminant, which intend to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities where we expect to begin our initial buildout phase. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements”. If our counterparties fail to perform their obligations under these agreements, we may be forced to look for alternative power providers. There is no assurance that we will be able to find such alternative suppliers on acceptable terms in a timely manner or at all. See also “—We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.”

Furthermore, there may be significant competition for suitable cryptocurrency mining sites, and government regulators, including local permitting officials, may potentially restrict our ability to set up cryptocurrency mining operations in certain locations. They can also restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage, or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision of electricity to mining operations. For example, in 2018, the board of commissioners of Chelan County Public Utility District in Washington voted to stop reviewing applications for mining facilities following a review of the impact of existing operations. While we are not aware of the existence of any such restrictions in our planned mining locations in Texas and Ohio, new ordinances and other regulations at the federal, state and local levels can be introduced at any time. Specifically, those can be triggered by certain adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, see “—We will be vulnerable to severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, which could severely disrupt the normal operation of our business and adversely affect our results of operations.”

Furthermore, if cryptocurrency mining becomes more widespread, government scrutiny related to restrictions on cryptocurrency mining facilities and their energy consumption may significantly increase. The considerable consumption of electricity by mining operators may also have a negative environmental impact, including contribution to climate change, which could set the public opinion against allowing the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities or create a negative consumer sentiment and perception of Bitcoin, specifically, or cryptocurrencies, generally. This, in turn, could lead to governmental measures restricting or prohibiting cryptocurrency mining or the use of electricity for Bitcoin mining activities. Any such development in the jurisdictions where we plan to operate could increase our compliance burdens and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. Government regulators in other countries may also ban or substantially limit their local cryptocurrency mining activities, which could have a material effect on our supply chains for mining equipment or services and the price of Bitcoin. It could also increase our domestic competition as some of those cryptocurrency miners or new entrants in this market may consider moving their cryptocurrency mining operations or establishing new operations in the United States. For further details on our competition, see “—We will operate in a highly competitive industry and we compete against unregulated or less regulated companies and companies with greater financial and other resources, and our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected if we are unable to respond to our competitors effectively.”

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

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

While the majority our power and hosting arrangements contain fixed power prices, some also contain certain price adjustment mechanisms in case of certain events. Furthermore, a portion of our power and hosting arrangements includes merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting market movements.

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

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

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

Our business will be subject to the risks of severe weather conditions and natural disasters, including severe heat, earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, as well as power outages and other industrial incidents, any of which could result in system failures, power supply disruptions and other interruptions that could harm our business. As a substantial portion of our business and operations will be located in Texas and Ohio, we will be particularly vulnerable to disruptions affecting those states.

For example, in February 2021, Texas was hit with a major winter storm, which triggered power outages across the state for several days and left millions of homes, offices and factories without power. Although the power outages did not have a material impact on our power suppliers, future power outages may disrupt our business operations and adversely affect our results of operations. Furthermore, the grid damages that occurred in Texas could potentially lead to delays and increased prices in our procurement of certain equipment essential to our operations, such as switchgears, cables and transformers. This could adversely impact the anticipated timing of our initial buildout phase and therefore the time by which we are able to commence our operations.

While we the majority of our power and hosting arrangements contain fixed power prices, some portion of our power arrangements have merchant power prices, or power prices reflecting the market movements. In an event of a major power outage, such as the abovementioned power outage in Texas, the merchant power prices could be too high to make Bitcoin mining profitable. Furthermore, even the fixed-price power arrangements would still depend upon prevailing market prices to some degree. To extent the power prices increase significantly as result of severe weather conditions, natural disasters or any other causes, resulting in contract prices for power being

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significantly lower than current market prices, the counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements may refuse to supply power to us during that period of fluctuating prices, see “—We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.”

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

Furthermore, events such as the aforementioned outage in Texas may lead federal, state or regional government officials to introduce new legislation and requirements on power providers that may result in, among other things, restrictions on cryptocurrency mining operations in general.

We do not plan to carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the losses that may result from interruptions in our operations as a result of system failures. A system outage or data loss, caused by it, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, including our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements.

We are exposed to risk of nonperformance by counterparties, whether contractual or otherwise. Risk of nonperformance includes inability or refusal of a counterparty to perform because of a counterparty’s financial condition and liquidity or for any other reason. For example, our counterparties under our power and hosting arrangements may be unable to deliver the required amount of power for a variety of technical or economic reasons. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements”. Furthermore, there is a risk that during a period of power price fluctuations or prolonged or sharp power price increases on the market, our counterparties may find it economically preferable to refuse to supply power to us, despite the contractual arrangements. Any significant nonperformance by counterparties, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

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

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

Our business will be subject to limitations inherent within the supply chain of certain of our components, including competitive, governmental, and legal limitations, and other events. For example, we expect that we will significantly rely on foreign imports to obtain certain equipment and materials. We anticipate that the cryptocurrency miners for our operations will be imported from China and other parts of equipment and materials, including ASIC chips, will be manufactured in and imported from South Korea or Taiwan. Any global trade disruption, introductions of tariffs, trade barriers and bilateral trade frictions, together with any potential

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downturns in the global economy resulting therefrom, could adversely affect our necessary supply chains. Our third-party manufacturers, suppliers and subcontractors may also experience disruptions by worker absenteeism, quarantines, restrictions on employees’ ability to work, office and factory closures, disruptions to ports and other shipping infrastructure, border closures, or other travel or health-related restrictions, such as those that were triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, for example. Depending on the magnitude of such effects on our supply chain, shipments of parts for our miners, or any new miners that we order, may be delayed.

Furthermore, the global supply chain for cryptocurrency miners is presently heavily dependent on China, where a large number of cryptocurrency mining equipment suppliers are located. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry experienced some significant supply disruptions from China. In the recent years, the Chinese government has also been actively advancing a crackdown on bitcoin mining and trading in China. Specifically, in May 2021, China made cryptocurrency transactions illegal for Chinese citizens in mainland China, and, on September 24, 2021, the Chinese government declared that all digital currency-related business activities are illegal, effectively banning digital tokens such as Bitcoin. The majority of bitcoin miners in China were taken offline. While the supply of cryptocurrency hardware from China has not yet been banned, China has in the past limited the shipment of products in and out of its borders and there is a risk that further regulation or government action, on the national or local level in China, could lead to significant disruptions in the supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware. Overall, we cannot anticipate all the ways in which this regulatory action and any additional restrictions could adversely impact our industry and business. If further regulation or government action follows, for example, in the form of prohibition on production or exports of the mining equipment, it is possible that our industry may be severely affected. Should any disruptions to the China-based global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware occur, such as, for example, as result of worsening of the U.S. trade relations with China, including imposition of new tariffs, trade barriers and bilateral trade frictions, we may not be able to obtain adequate equipment from the manufacturer on a timely basis. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

Our planned mining operations in Ohio and Texas, and any other future cryptocurrency mining sites we establish, will be subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including:

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

Additionally, our mines could be materially adversely affected by a power outage or loss of access to the electrical grid or loss by the grid of cost-effective sources of electrical power generating capacity. For further details on our reliance on the power generating capacity, see “—Bitcoin mining activities are energy intensive, which may restrict the geographic locations of miners and have a negative environmental impact. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours.” Our insurance is anticipated to cover the replacement costs of any lost or damaged miners, but will not cover any interruption of our mining activities. Our insurance therefore may not be adequate to cover the losses we suffer as a result of any of these events. In the event of an uninsured loss, including a loss in excess of insured limits, at any of the mines in our network, such mines may not be adequately repaired in a timely manner or at all and we may lose some or all of the future revenues anticipated to be derived from such mines.

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We are recently formed and our success and future growth will, to a significant degree, depend on the skills and services of our management. Our loss of any of our management team, our inability to execute an effective succession plan, or our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business.

We have no operating history, and our success and future growth will to a significant degree depend on the skills and services of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer. We will need to continue to grow our management in order to alleviate pressure on our existing team and in order to set up and 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 significantly 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.

Furthermore, the loss of key members of our management could inhibit our growth prospects. Our future success 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, who have a sound understanding of our business and the cryptocurrency industry, for example, specialists in power contract negotiations and management, as well as data center specialists. As cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining, is a new and developing field, the market for highly qualified personnel in this industry is particularly competitive and we may be unable to attract such personnel. If we are unable to attract such personnel, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We have an evolving business model.

As digital assets and blockchain technologies become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve, including as part of evolution in their regulatory treatment on the international and the U.S. federal, state and local levels. For more detail about the potential regulatory risks, see “Risks Related to Regulatory Framework—There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations”. As a result, our business model may need to evolve in order for us to stay current with the industry and to fully comply with the federal, as well as the applicable, state securities laws.

Furthermore, from time to time we may modify aspects of our business model or engage in various strategic initiatives, which may be complimentary to our mining operations in the United States. For further information on our strategy, see “Business—Our Strategy—Retain flexibility in considering strategically adjacent opportunities complimentary to our business model”. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to the business, damage our reputation and limit our growth. Additionally, any such changes to our business model or strategy could cause us to become subject to additional regulatory scrutiny and a number of additional requirements, including licensing and permit requirements. All of the abovementioned factors may impose additional compliance costs on our business and higher expectations from regulators regarding risk management, planning, governance and other aspects of our operations.

Further, we cannot provide any assurance that we will successfully identify all emerging trends and growth opportunities in this business sector and we may fail to capitalize on certain important business and market opportunities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We may experience difficulties in effectively managing our initial buildout phase and, subsequently, managing our growth and expanding our operations.

We expect to experience significant growth in the scope of our operations. Our ability to manage our initial buildout phase and the planned second phase will require us to build upon and to continue to improve our

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operational, financial and management controls, compliance programs and reporting systems. We may not be able to implement improvements in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing controls, programs, systems and procedures, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Additionally, rapid growth in our business may place a strain on our managerial, operational and financial resources and systems. We may not grow as we expect, if we fail to manage our growth effectively or to develop and expand our managerial, operational and financial resources and systems, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Unfavorable global economic, business or political conditions, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption caused by various countermeasures to reduce its spread, could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets, including conditions that are outside of our control, such as the impact of the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (“COVID-19”). The COVID-19 pandemic that was declared on March 11, 2020 has caused significant economic dislocation in the United States and globally as governments of more than 80 countries across the world, including the United States, introduced measures aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, including, amongst others, travel restrictions, closed international borders, enhanced health screenings at ports of entry and elsewhere, quarantines and the imposition of both local and more widespread “work from home” measures. The spread of COVID-19 and the imposition of related public health measures have resulted in, and are expected to continue to result in, increased volatility and uncertainty in the cryptocurrency space. Any severe or prolonged economic downturn, as result of the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, could result in a variety of risks to our business and we cannot anticipate all the ways in which the current economic climate and financial market conditions could adversely impact our business.

We may experience disruptions to our business operations resulting from supply interruptions, quarantines, self- isolations, or other movement and restrictions on the ability of our employees to perform their jobs. For example, we may experience delays in construction and delays in obtaining necessary equipment in a timely fashion. If we are unable to effectively set up and service our miners, our ability to mine Bitcoin will be adversely affected. The future impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still highly uncertain and there is no assurance that the COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic, or other unfavorable global economic, business or political conditions, will not materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We will operate in a highly competitive industry and we compete against unregulated or less regulated companies and companies with greater financial and other resources, and our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected if we are unable to respond to our competitors effectively.

The cryptocurrency ecosystem is highly innovative, rapidly evolving, and characterized by competition, experimentation, changing customer needs, frequent introductions of new products and services, and subject to uncertain and evolving industry and regulatory requirements. In the future, we expect competition to further intensify with existing and new competitors, some of which may have substantially greater liquidity and financial resources than we do. We compete against a number of companies operating both within the United States and abroad. Furthermore, increased regulatory focus and governmental scrutiny of cryptomining operations could lead to partial or full prohibitions on cryptocurrency mining activities in certain jurisdictions. For example, in May and June 2021, in their efforts to curb cryptocurrency trading and mining, regulators in several Chinese provinces, including Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Sichuan, announced policies to curb or ban local cryptomining operations. Following the ban announcement, the price of Bitcoin experienced a drop of over 30% in May 2021.

Furthermore, such regulatory actions may lead to increase our domestic competition as some of those cryptocurrency miners or new entrants in this market may consider moving their cryptocurrency mining operations or establishing new operations in the United States. We may not be able to compete successfully against present or future competitors. We may not have the resources to compete with larger providers of similar

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services and, consequently, may experience great difficulties in expanding and improving our operations to remain competitive. For details on our current competitive landscape, see “Business—Competition.”

Competition from existing and future competitors could result in our inability to secure acquisitions and partnerships that we may need to build-up or expand our business in the future. This competition from other entities with greater resources, experience and reputations may result in our failure to maintain or expand our business, as we may never be able to successfully execute our business model. Furthermore, we anticipate encountering new competition if we expand our operations to new locations geographically and into wider applications of blockchain, cryptocurrency mining and mining farm operations. If we are unable to expand and remain competitive, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Facebook’s development of a cryptocurrency may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

In May 2019, Facebook announced its plans for a cryptocurrency called Libra, which faced significant government scrutiny. In July 2019, Facebook announced that Libra will not launch until all regulatory concerns have been met. Facebook rebranded the cryptocurrency to Diem in 2020. The massive social network and 27 other partners are estimating that the Diem digital coin and Facebook’s corresponding digital wallet, would be a way to make sending payments around the world as easy as it is to send a photo. Facebook’s significant resources and ability to engage the world via social media may enable it to bring Diem to market rapidly and to deploy it across industries more rapidly and successfully than previous cryptocurrencies. Facebook’s size and market share may cause its cryptocurrency to succeed to the detriment and potential exclusion of existing cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.

We may acquire other businesses, form joint ventures or make other investments that could negatively affect our operating results, dilute our stockholders’ ownership, increase our debt or cause us to incur significant expenses.

From time to time, we may consider potential acquisitions, joint venture or other investment opportunities. 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 the existing business and 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 shares of common stock, 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.

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If we fail to develop, maintain, and enhance our brand and reputation, our business, operating results, and financial condition may be adversely affected.

We anticipate that our brand and reputation, particularly in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, will be an important factor in success and development of our business. As part of our strategy, we will seek to structure our relationships with equipment and service providers, our power suppliers and other potential partners as long-term partnerships, see “Business—Our Strategy—Position ourselves as a leader on the global cost curve and maintain strong relationships with our industry partners.” Thus, maintaining, protecting, and enhancing our reputation is also important to our development plans and relationships with our power suppliers, service providers and other counterparties.

Furthermore, we believe that the importance of our brand and reputation may increase as competition further intensifies. Our brand and reputation could be harmed if we fail to perform under our agreements or if our public image were to be tarnished by negative publicity, unexpected events or actions by third parties. Unfavorable publicity about us, including our technology, personnel, and Bitcoin and cryptoassets generally could have an adverse effect on the engagement of our partners and suppliers and may result in our failure to maintain or expand our business and successfully execute our business model.

Our compliance and risk management methods might not be effective and may result in outcomes that could adversely affect our reputation, operating results, and financial condition.

Our ability to comply with applicable complex and evolving laws, regulations, and rules is largely dependent on the establishment and maintenance of our compliance, audit, and reporting systems, as well as our ability to attract and retain qualified compliance and other risk management personnel. While we plan to devote significant resources to develop policies and procedures to identify, monitor and manage our risks, we cannot assure you that our policies and procedures will always be effective against all types of risks, including unidentified or unanticipated risks, or that we will always be successful in monitoring or evaluating the risks to which we are or may be exposed in all market environments.

We may infringe the intellectual property rights of others.

Our success depends significantly on our ability to operate without infringing the patents and other intellectual property rights of third parties. In recent years, there has been considerable patent, copyright, trademark, domain name, trade secret and other intellectual property development activity in the cryptocurrency space, as well as litigation, based on allegations of infringement or other violations of intellectual property, including by large financial institutions. Furthermore, individuals and groups can purchase patents and other intellectual property assets solely for the purpose of making claims of infringement to extract settlements from companies like ours.

Our use of third-party intellectual property rights may be subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation. From time to time, third parties may claim that we are infringing upon or misappropriating their intellectual property rights, and we may be found to be infringing upon such rights. Any claims or litigation could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial damages or ongoing royalty payments.

Furthermore, the occurrence of infringement claims may be likely to grow as the cryptocurrency ecosystem grows and matures. Accordingly, our exposure to damages resulting from infringement claims could increase and this could further exhaust our financial and management resources. Even if intellectual property claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and require significant expenditures. Any of the foregoing could prevent us from competing effectively and could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position could be harmed.

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To protect all of our confidential and proprietary information, we plan to rely upon trademarks, copyright and trade secret protection, as well as potentially patents, non-disclosure agreements and invention assignment agreements with employees, consultants and third parties. Some elements of our business model are based on unpatented trade secrets and know-how that are not publicly disclosed. In addition to contractual measures, we plan to protect the confidential nature of our proprietary information using physical and technological security measures. Such measures may not, for example, in the case of misappropriation of a trade secret by an employee or third party with authorized access, provide adequate protection for our proprietary information.

The security measures may not prevent an employee or consultant from misappropriating our trade secrets and providing them to a competitor, and the recourse we take against such misconduct may not provide an adequate remedy to protect our interests fully. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret can be difficult, expensive and time consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. If any of our confidential or proprietary information, such as our trade secrets, were to be disclosed or misappropriated, or if any such information was independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position could be harmed, which could have an adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition

Risks Related to Regulatory Framework

If we were deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), applicable restrictions could make it impractical for us to continue our business as contemplated and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

An issuer will generally be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the 1940 Act if:

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

While certain cryptocurrencies may be deemed to be securities, we do not believe that certain other cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, are securities. Our cryptocurrency mining activities will focus on Bitcoin; therefore, we believe that less than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis will comprise cryptocurrencies or assets that could be considered investment securities. Accordingly, we do not believe that we are an inadvertent investment company by virtue of the 40% inadvertent investment company test as described in the second bullet point above. Although we do not believe any of the cryptocurrencies we may own, acquire or mine are securities, there is still some regulatory uncertainty on the subject, see “—There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.” If certain cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, were to be deemed securities, and consequently, investment securities by the SEC, we could be deemed an inadvertent investment company.

If we were to be deemed an inadvertent investment company, we may seek to rely on Rule 3a-2 under the 1940 Act, which allows an inadvertent investment company a grace period of one year from the earlier of (a) the date on which the issuer owns securities and/or cash having a value exceeding 50% of the issuer’s total assets on

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either a consolidated or unconsolidated basis or (b) the date on which the issuer owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. We are putting in place policies that we expect will work to keep the investment securities held by us at less than 40% of our total assets, which may include acquiring assets with our cash, liquidating our investment securities or seeking no-action relief or exemptive relief from the SEC if we are unable to acquire sufficient assets or liquidate sufficient investment securities in a timely manner. As Rule 3a-2 is available to an issuer no more than once every three years, and assuming no other exclusion were available to 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.

Finally, we believe we are not an investment company under Section 3(b)(1) of the 1940 Act because we are primarily engaged in a non-investment company business.

The 1940 Act and the rules thereunder contain detailed parameters for the organization and operations of investment companies. Among other things, the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder limit or prohibit transactions with affiliates, impose limitations on the issuance of debt and equity securities, prohibit the issuance of stock options, and impose certain governance requirements. We intend to continue to conduct our operations so that we will not be deemed to be an investment company under the 1940 Act. However, if anything were to happen that would cause us to be deemed to be an investment company under the 1940 Act, requirements imposed by the 1940 Act, including limitations on our capital structure, ability to transact business with affiliates and ability to compensate key employees, could make it impractical for us to continue our business as currently conducted, impair the agreements and arrangements between and among us and our senior management team and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Any change in the interpretive positions of the SEC or its staff with respect to cryptocurrencies or digital asset mining firms could have a material adverse effect on us.

We intend to conduct our operations so that we are not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Specifically, we do not believe that cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, are securities. The SEC Staff has not provided guidance with respect to the treatment of these assets under the 1940 Act. To the extent the SEC Staff publishes new guidance with respect to these matters, we may be required to adjust our strategy or assets accordingly. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain our exclusion from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act. In addition, as a consequence of our seeking to avoid the need to register under the 1940 Act on an ongoing basis, we may be limited in our ability to engage in cryptocurrency mining operations or otherwise make certain investments, and these limitations could result in our holding assets we may wish to sell or selling assets we may wish to hold, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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

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

To the extent that our activities would cause us to be deemed a “money transmitter” (“MT”) or equivalent designation, under state law in any state in which we may operate, we may be required to seek a license or

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otherwise register with a state regulator and comply with state regulations that may include the implementation of anti-money laundering programs, maintenance of certain records and other operational requirements. For example, in August 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services enacted the first U.S. regulatory framework for licensing participants in “virtual currency business activity”. The regulations, known as the “BitLicense”, are intended to focus on consumer protection and regulate the conduct of businesses that are involved in “virtual currencies” in New York or with New York customers and prohibit any person or entity involved in such activity to conduct activities without a license.

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

There is no one unifying principle governing the regulatory status of cryptocurrency nor whether cryptocurrency is a security in each context in which it is viewed. Regulatory changes or actions in one or more countries may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects or operations.

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

Bitcoin is the oldest and most well-known form of cryptocurrency. Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrencies have been the source of much regulatory consternation, resulting in differing definitional outcomes without a single unifying statement. Bitcoin and other digital assets are viewed differently by different regulatory and standards setting organizations globally as well as in the United States on the federal and state levels. For example, the Financial Action Task Force (“FATF”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) consider a cryptocurrency as currency or an asset or property. Further, the IRS applies general tax principles that apply to property transactions to transactions involving virtual currency.

Furthermore, in the several applications to establish an Exchange Traded Fund (“ETF”) of cryptocurrency, and in the questions raised by the Staff under the 1940 Act, no clear principles emerge from the regulators as to how they view these issues and how to regulate cryptocurrency under the applicable securities acts. It has been widely reported that the SEC has recently issued letters and requested various ETF applications be withdrawn because of concerns over liquidity and valuation and unanswered questions about absence of reporting and compliance procedures capable of being implemented under the current state of the markets for exchange traded funds. On April 20, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill titled “Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021” (H.R. 1602). If passed by the Senate and enacted into law, the bipartisan bill would create a digital assets working group to evaluate the current legal and regulatory framework around digital assets in the United States and define when the SEC may have jurisdiction over a particular token or cryptocurrency (i.e., when it is a security) and when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) may have jurisdiction (i.e., when it is a commodity).

If regulatory changes or interpretations require the regulation of Bitcoin or other digital assets under the securities laws of the United States or elsewhere, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Exchange Act and the 1940 Act or similar laws of other jurisdictions and interpretations by the SEC, the CFTC, the IRS, Department of Treasury or other agencies or authorities, we may be required to register and comply with such regulations, including at a state or local level. To the extent that we decide to continue operations, the required registrations and regulatory compliance steps may result in extraordinary expense or burdens to us. We may also decide to cease certain operations and change our business model. Any disruption of our operations in response to the changed regulatory circumstances may be at a time that is disadvantageous to us.

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Current and future legislation and SEC-rulemaking and other regulatory developments, including interpretations released by a regulatory authority, may impact the manner in which Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies are viewed or treated for classification and clearing purposes. In particular, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may not be excluded from the definition of “security” by SEC rulemaking or interpretation requiring registration of all transactions unless another exemption is available, including transacting in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency among owners and require registration of trading platforms as “exchanges”.

Furthermore, when the interests of investor protection are paramount, for example in the offer or sale of Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”) tokens, the SEC has no difficulty determining that the token offerings are securities under the “Howey” test as stated by the United States Supreme Court. As such, ICO offerings would require registration under the Securities Act or an available exemption therefrom for offers or sales in the United States to be lawful. Section 5(a) of the Securities Act provides that, unless a registration statement is in effect as to a security, it is unlawful for any person, directly or indirectly, to engage in the offer or sale of securities in interstate commerce. Section 5(c) of the Securities Act provides a similar prohibition against offers to sell, or offers to buy, unless a registration statement has been filed. Although, since we do not intend to be engaged in the offer or sale of securities in the form of ICO offerings, and we do not believe our planned mining activities would require registration for us to conduct such activities and accumulate digital assets the SEC, CFTC, Nasdaq or other governmental or quasi-governmental agency or organization may conclude that our activities involve the offer or sale of “securities”, or ownership of “investment securities”, and we may face regulation under the Securities Act or the 1940 Act. Such regulation or the inability to meet the requirements to continue operations, would have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. We may also face similar issues with various state securities regulators who may interpret our actions as requiring registration under state securities laws, banking laws, or money transmitter and similar laws, which are also an unsettled area or regulation that exposes us to risks.

We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies under the law. If we fail to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain of our operations or be subjected to fines, penalties and other governmental action. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business model at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any cryptocurrencies we plan to hold or expect to acquire for our own account.

Regulatory actions in one or more countries could severely affect the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use certain cryptocurrencies or to exchange them for fiat currency.

One or more countries, such as China, India or Russia, may take regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use cryptocurrencies or to exchange them for fiat currency. In some nations, 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.

Furthermore, in the future, foreign governments may decide to subsidize or in some other way support certain large-scale cryptocurrency mining projects, thus adding hashrate to the overall network. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on the amount of Bitcoin we may be able to mine, the value of Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future and, consequently, our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Competition from central bank digital currencies (“CBDCs”) could adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and other digital assets.

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Central banks in some countries have started to introduce digital forms of legal tender. For example, China’s CBDC project, known as Digital Currency Electronic Payment, has reportedly been tested in a live pilot program conducted in multiple cities in China. A 2021 survey of central banks by the Bank for International Settlements found that 86% are actively researching the potential for CBDCs, 60% were experimenting with the technology and 14% were deploying pilot projects. Whether or not they incorporate blockchain or similar technology, CBDCs, as legal tender in the issuing jurisdiction, could have an advantage in competing with, or replacing, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as a medium of exchange or store of value. As a result, the value of Bitcoin could decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Unanticipated changes in effective tax rates or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income or other tax returns could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to income taxes in the United States, and our tax liabilities will be subject to the allocation of expenses in differing jurisdictions. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

In addition, we may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Cryptocurrency

We may lose our private key to our digital wallet, causing a loss of all of our digital assets.

Digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, are stored in a so-called “digital wallet”, which may be accessed to exchange a holder’s digital assets, and is controllable by the processor of both the public key and the private key relating to this digital wallet in which the digital assets are held, both of which are unique. 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. If the private key is lost, destroyed, or otherwise compromised, we may be unable to access our cryptocurrencies held in the related digital wallet which will essentially be lost. If the private key is acquired by a third party, then this third party may be able to gain access to our cryptocurrencies. 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 could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The storage and custody of our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies that we may potentially acquire or hold in the future are subject to cybersecurity breaches and adverse software events.

In addition to the risk of a private key loss to our digital wallet, see “—We may lose our private key to our digital wallet, destroying all of our digital assets”, the storage and custody of our digital assets could also be subject to cybersecurity breaches and adverse software events. In order to minimize risk, we plan to establish processes to manage wallets, or software programs where assets are held, that are associated with our cryptocurrency holdings.

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A “hot wallet” refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up and access than wallets in “cold” storage, but they are also more susceptible to hackers and other technical vulnerabilities. “Cold storage” refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold storage is generally more secure than hot storage, but is not ideal for quick or regular transactions and we may experience lag time in our ability to respond to market fluctuations in the price of our digital assets.

We generally plan to hold the majority of our cryptocurrencies in cold storage to reduce the risk of malfeasance; however we may also use third-party custodial wallets and, from time to time, we may use hot wallets or rely on other options that may develop in the future. If we use a custodial wallet, there can be no assurance that such services will be more secure than cold storage or other alternatives. 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.

Regardless of the storage method, the risk of damage to or loss of our digital assets cannot be wholly eliminated. If our security procedures and protocols are ineffective and our cryptocurrency assets are compromised by cybercriminals, we may not have adequate recourse to recover our losses stemming from such compromise. A security breach could also harm our reputation. A resulting perception that our measures do not adequately protect our digital assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future may be subject to loss, theft, hacking, fraud risks and restriction on access.

There is a risk that some or all of our Bitcoin assets and any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future could be lost or stolen. Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal or compromise cryptocurrencies, such as by attacking the cryptocurrency network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms, cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. Cryptocurrency transactions and accounts are not insured by any type of government program and cryptocurrency transactions generally are permanent by design of the networks. Certain features of cryptocurrency networks, such as decentralization, the open source protocols, and the reliance on peer-to-peer connectivity, may increase the risk of fraud or cyber-attack by potentially reducing the likelihood of a coordinated response.

Cryptocurrencies have suffered from a number of recent hacking incidents and several cryptocurrency exchanges and miners have reported large cryptocurrency losses, which highlight concerns over the security of cryptocurrencies and in turn affect the demand and the market price of cryptocurrencies. For example, in August 2016, it was reported that almost 120,000 Bitcoin worth around $78 million were stolen from Bitfinex, a large Bitcoin exchange. The value of Bitcoin immediately decreased by more than 10% following reports of the theft at Bitfinex. In addition, in December 2017, Yapian, the operator of Seoul-based digital asset exchange Youbit, suspended digital asset trading and filed for bankruptcy following a hack that resulted in a loss of 17% of Yapian’s assets. Following the hack, Youbit users were allowed to withdraw approximately 75% of the digital assets in their exchange accounts, with any potential further distributions to be made following Yapian’s pending bankruptcy proceedings. In January 2018, Japan-based exchange Coincheck reported that over $500 million worth of the digital asset NEM had been lost due to hacking attacks, resulting in significant decreases in the prices of Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets as the market grew increasingly concerned about the security of digital assets. Following South Korean-based exchange Coinrail’s announcement in early June 2018 about a hacking incident, the price of Bitcoin and Ether dropped more than 10%. In September 2018, Japan-based exchange Zaif also announced that approximately $60 million worth of digital assets, including Bitcoin, was stolen due to hacking activities.

We may be in control and possession of one of the more substantial holdings of cryptocurrency. As we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Cyber-attacks may also target our miners or third-parties and other services on which we depend. Any potential

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security breaches, cyber-attacks on our operations and any other loss or theft of our cryptocurrency assets, which could expose us to liability and reputational harm and could seriously curtail the utilization of our services.

Incorrect or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions may be irreversible.

Cryptocurrency transactions are irrevocable and stolen or incorrectly transferred cryptocurrencies may be irretrievable. As a result, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions could adversely affect our investments and assets.

Cryptocurrency transactions are not, from an administrative perspective, reversible without the consent and active participation of the recipient of the cryptocurrencies from the transaction. While theoretically cryptocurrency transactions may be reversible with the control or consent of a majority of processing power on the network, 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 cryptocurrency 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 cryptocurrency 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 cryptocurrency. The market participants, therefore, are presently reliant on existing private investigative entities to investigate any potential loss of our digital 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. To the extent that we are unable to recover our losses from such action, error or theft, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results, including our ability to continue as a going concern.

Acceptance and widespread use of cryptocurrency, in general, and Bitcoin, specifically, is uncertain.

Currently, there is a relatively limited use of any cryptocurrency in the retail and commercial marketplace, contributing to price volatility of cryptocurrencies. Price volatility undermines any cryptocurrency’s role as a medium of exchange, as retailers are much less likely to accept it as a form of payment. Banks and other established financial institutions may refuse to process funds for cryptocurrency transactions, process wire transfers to or from cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency-related companies or service providers, or maintain accounts for persons or entities transacting in cryptocurrency. Furthermore, a significant portion of cryptocurrency demand, including demand for Bitcoin, 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.

The relative lack of acceptance of cryptocurrencies 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 the value of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies, and consequently our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results.

Ownership of Bitcoin is pseudonymous, and the supply of accessible Bitcoin is unknown. Individuals or entities with substantial holdings in Bitcoin may engage in large-scale sales or distributions, either on non- market terms or in the ordinary course, which could disproportionately and negatively affect the cryptocurrency market, result in a reduction in the price of Bitcoin and materially and adversely affect the price of our common stock.

There is no registry showing which individuals or entities own Bitcoin or the quantity of Bitcoin that is owned by any particular person or entity. It is possible, and in fact, reasonably likely, that a small group of early Bitcoin

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adopters hold a significant proportion of the Bitcoin that has been created to date. There are no regulations in place that would prevent a large holder of Bitcoin from selling Bitcoin it holds. To the extent such large holders of Bitcoin engage in large-scale sales or distributions, either on non-market terms or in the ordinary course, it could negatively affect the cryptocurrency market and result in a reduction in the price of Bitcoin. This, in turn, could materially and adversely affect the price of our stock, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The open-source structure of the Bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol.

The Bitcoin network operates based on an open-source protocol, not represented by an official organization or authority. Instead it is maintained by a group of core contributors, largely on the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub.com. This group of contributors is currently headed by Wladimir J. van der Laan, the current lead maintainer. As the Bitcoin network protocol is not sold and its use does not generate revenues for contributors, contributors are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the Bitcoin network protocol. Although the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative funds the current maintainer Wladimir J. van der Laan, among others, this type of financial incentive is not typical. The lack of guaranteed financial incentive for contributors to maintain or develop the Bitcoin network and the lack of guaranteed resources to adequately address emerging issues with the Bitcoin network may reduce incentives to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner.

There can be no guarantee that developer support will continue or be sufficient in the future. Additionally, some development and developers are funded by companies whose interests may be at odds with other participants in the network or with investors’ interests. To the extent that material issues arise with the Bitcoin network protocol and the core developers and open-source contributors are unable or unwilling to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner, the Bitcoin network and consequently our business, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Significant contributors to all or a network for any particular digital asset, such as Bitcoin, could propose amendments to the respective network’s protocols and software that, if accepted and authorized by such network, could adversely affect our business.

The Bitcoin network is maintained by a group of contributors, largely on the Bitcoin Core project on GitHub.com, currently headed by Wladimir J. van der Laan, see “—The open-source structure of the Bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol.” These individuals can propose refinements or improvements to the Bitcoin network’s source code through one or more software upgrades that alter the protocols and software that govern the Bitcoin network and the properties of Bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new Bitcoin. Proposals for upgrades and discussions relating thereto take place on online forums.

If a developer or group of developers proposes a modification to the Bitcoin network that is not accepted by a majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial plurality of miners and users, two or more competing and incompatible blockchain implementations could result, with one running the pre-modification software program and the other running the modified version (i.e., a second “Bitcoin network”).

This is known as a “hard fork”. Such a hard fork in the blockchain typically would be addressed by community-led efforts to reunite the forked blockchains, and several prior forks have been resolved successfully. However, a “hard fork” in the blockchain could materially and adversely affect the perceived value of Bitcoin as reflected on one or both incompatible blockchains. Additionally, a “hard fork” will decrease the number of users and miners available to each fork of the blockchain as the users and miners on each fork blockchain will not be accessible to the other blockchain and, consequently, there will be fewer block rewards and transaction fees may decline in value. Any of the above could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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A temporary or permanent blockchain “fork” could have a negative effect on digital assets’ value.

In August 2017, Bitcoin “forked” into Bitcoin and a new digital asset, Bitcoin Cash, as a result of a several-year dispute over how to increase the rate of transactions that the Bitcoin network can process. Since then, Bitcoin has been forked numerous times to launch new digital assets, such as Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Silver and Bitcoin Diamond. These forks effectively result in a new blockchain being created with a shared history, and new path forward, and they have a different “proof of work” algorithm and other technical changes.

The value of the newly created Bitcoin Cash and the other similar digital assets may or may not have value in the long run and may affect the price of Bitcoin if interest is shifted away from Bitcoin to these newly created digital assets. The value of Bitcoin after the creation of a fork is subject to many factors including the value of the fork product, market reaction to the creation of the fork product, and the occurrence of forks in the future.

Furthermore, a hard fork can introduce new security risks. For example, when Ethereum and Ethereum Classic split in July 2016, replay attacks, in which transactions from one network were rebroadcast to nefarious effect on the other network, plagued trading venues through at least October 2016. An exchange announced in July 2016 that it had lost 40,000 Ether from the Ethereum Classic network, which was worth about $100,000 at that time, as a result of replay attacks. Another possible result of a hard fork is an inherent decrease in the level of security.

After a hard fork, it may become easier for an individual miner or mining pool’s hashing power to exceed 50% of the processing power of the Bitcoin network, thereby making the network more susceptible to attack.

A fork could also be introduced by an unintentional, unanticipated software flaw in the multiple versions of otherwise compatible software that users run. It is possible, however, that a substantial number of users and miners could adopt an incompatible version of Bitcoin while resisting community-led efforts to merge the two chains. This would result in a permanent fork, as in the case of Ethereum and Ethereum Classic, as detailed above.

If a fork occurs on a digital asset network which we are mining, such as Bitcoin, or hold digital assets in, it may have a negative effect on the value of the digital asset and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

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

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.

Digital assets, such as Bitcoin, that may be used, among other things, to buy and sell goods and services are a new and rapidly evolving industry of which the digital asset networks are prominent, but not unique, parts. The growth of the digital asset industry, in general, and the digital asset networks, in particular, are subject to a high

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degree of uncertainty. The factors affecting the further development of the digital asset industry, as well as the digital asset networks, include:

The outcome of these factors could have negative effects on our ability to pursue our business strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results as well as potentially negative effect on the value of Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future.

Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that provide cryptocurrency-related services or that accept cryptocurrencies as payment.

A number of companies that provide Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services 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. We also may be unable to maintain these services for our business.

The difficulty that many businesses that provide Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services have and may continue to have in finding banks and financial institutions willing to provide them services may decrease the usefulness of cryptocurrencies as a payment system and harm public perception of cryptocurrencies. Similarly, 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 providing Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency-related services. 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 commodities exchanges, the over the counter market and the Depository Trust Company. Such factors would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

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, and particularly Bitcoin, is essential to the widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, which is necessary to the growth and development of our business.

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Many cryptocurrency networks face significant scaling challenges. For example, cryptocurrencies are limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. In this respect, Bitcoin may be particularly affected as it relies on the “proof of work” validation, which due to its inherent characteristics may be particularly hard to scale to allow simultaneous processing of multiple daily transactions by users. Participants in the cryptocurrency ecosystem debate potential approaches to increasing the average number of transactions per second that the network can handle and have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as “sharding”, which is a term for a horizontal partition of data in a database or search engine, which would not require every single transaction to be included in every single miner’s or validator’s block. For example, the Ethereum network is in the process of implementing software upgrades and other changes to its protocol, the so- called Ethereum 2.0, which are intended to be a new iteration of the Ethereum network that changes its consensus mechanism from “proof-of-work” to “proof-of-stake” and incorporate the use of “sharding”. This version aims to address: a clogged network that can only handle limited number of transactions per second and the large consumption of energy that comes with the “proof-of-work” mechanism. This new upgrade is envisioned to be more scalable, secure, and sustainable, although it remains unclear whether and how it may ultimately be implemented.

There is no guarantee that any of the mechanisms in place or being explored for increasing the scale of settlement of cryptocurrency transactions will be effective, how long they will take to become effective or whether such mechanisms will be effective for all cryptocurrencies. There is also a risk that any mechanisms of increasing the scale of cryptocurrency settlement, such as the ongoing upgrades as part of Ethereum 2.0, may significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the cryptocurrency market and may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and the price of our common stock. Any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to use alternative distributed ledgers or an alternative to distributed ledgers altogether. Our business intends to rely on 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 business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results and potentially the value of any Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we may potentially acquire or hold in the future.

If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control in excess of 50% of the processing power active on any digital asset network, including the Bitcoin network, it is possible that such actor or botnet could manipulate the blockchain in a manner that may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

If a malicious actor or botnet (a volunteer or hacked collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers) obtains a majority of the processing power dedicated to mining on any digital asset network (the so-called “double-spend” or “51%” attacks), including the Bitcoin network, it may be able to alter the blockchain by constructing alternate blocks if it is able to solve for such blocks faster than the remainder of the miners on the blockchain can add valid blocks. In such alternate blocks, the malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude or modify the ordering of transactions, though it could not generate new digital assets or transactions using such control.

Using alternate blocks, the malicious actor could “double-spend” its own digital assets (i.e., spend the same digital assets in more than one transaction) and prevent the confirmation of other users’ transactions for so long as it maintains control. To the extent that such malicious actor or botnet does not yield its majority control of the processing power or the digital asset community does not reject the fraudulent blocks as malicious, reversing any changes made to the blockchain may not be possible.

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For example, in late May and early June 2014, a mining pool known as GHash.io approached and, during a 24- to 48-hour period in early June may have exceeded, the threshold of 50% of the processing power on the Bitcoin network. To the extent that GHash.io did exceed 50% of the processing power on the network, reports indicate that such threshold was surpassed for only a short period, and there are no reports of any malicious activity or control of the blockchain performed by GHash.io. Furthermore, the processing power in the mining pool appears to have been redirected to other pools on a voluntary basis by participants in the GHash.io pool, as had been done in prior instances when a mining pool exceeded 40% of the processing power on the Bitcoin network. In the recent years, there have been also a series of 51% attacks on a number of other cryptocurrencies, including Verge and Ethereum Classic, which suffered three consecutive attacks in August 2020.

The approach towards and possible crossing of the 50% threshold indicate a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of digital asset transactions. To the extent that the cryptocurrency ecosystem does not act to ensure greater decentralization of cryptocurrency mining processing power, the feasibility of a malicious actor obtaining in excess of 50% of the processing power on any digital asset network (e.g., through control of a large mining pool or through hacking such a mining pool) will increase, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

The price of cryptocurrencies may be affected by the sale of such cryptocurrencies by other vehicles investing in cryptocurrencies or tracking cryptocurrency markets.

The global market for cryptocurrency 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 cryptocurrency 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 cryptocurrency prices and therefore affect the value of the cryptocurrency inventory we plan to hold. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have a material adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies.

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 a material adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrencies and, consequently, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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

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 and fluctuations 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 our investors.

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Our interactions with a blockchain may expose us to SDN or blocked persons or cause us to violate provisions of law that did not contemplate distribute ledger technology.

The Office of Financial Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Treasury (“OFAC”) requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its specially designated nationals (“SDN”) list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, we may inadvertently and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC’s SDN list. Our internal policies prohibit any transactions with such SDN individuals, but we may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the individual with whom we transact with respect to selling digital assets. In addition, in the future, OFAC or another regulator, may require us to screen transactions for OFAC addresses or other bad actors before including such transactions in a block, which may increase our compliance costs, decrease our anticipated transaction fees and lead to decreased traffic on our network. Any of these factors, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Moreover, federal law prohibits any U.S. person from knowingly or unknowingly possessing any visual depiction commonly known as child pornography. Recent media reports have suggested that persons have imbedded such depictions on one or more blockchains. 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 could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Risks Related to Cryptocurrency Mining

Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that we currently plan to mine and, thus, our future success will depend in large part upon the value of Bitcoin; the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings.

Our operating results will depend in large part upon the value of Bitcoin because it is the only cryptocurrency that we currently plan to mine. Specifically, our revenues from our cryptocurrency mining operations are expected to be based upon two factors: (1) the number of block rewards that we successfully mine and (2) the value of Bitcoin. For further details on how our operating results may be directly impacted by changes in the value of Bitcoin, see “—Our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future relating to bitcoin holdings.”

Furthermore, in our operations we intend to use application-specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) chips and machines (which we refer to as “miners”), which are principally utilized for mining Bitcoin. Such miners 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, causing the value of Bitcoin to decline, or if Bitcoin were to switch its “proof of work” algorithm from SHA-256 to another algorithm for which the miners we plan to use are not specialized (see “—There is a possibility of cryptocurrency mining algorithms transitioning to “proof of stake” validation and other mining related risks, which could make us less competitive and ultimately adversely affect our business”), or the value of Bitcoin were to decline for other reasons, particularly if such decline were significant or over an extended period of time, our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results would be adversely affected.

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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency market prices have historically been volatile. Our business may be adversely affected if the markets for Bitcoin deteriorate or if its prices decline, including as a result of the following factors:

Furthermore, Bitcoin pricing may be the result of, and may continue to result in, speculation regarding future appreciation in the value of cryptocurrencies, inflating and making their market prices more volatile or creating “bubble” type risks for Bitcoin. Some market observers have asserted that the Bitcoin market is experiencing a “bubble” and have predicted that, in time, the value of Bitcoin will fall to a fraction of its current value, or even to zero. Bitcoin has not been in existence long enough for market participants to assess these predictions with any precision, but if these observers are even partially correct, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our historical financial statements do not reflect the potential variability in earnings that we may experience in the future relating to Bitcoin holdings.

Our historical financial statements, including those for the period from January 7, 2021 (inception) to July 31, 2021, do not fully 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. We intend to determine the fair value of our Bitcoin based on quoted (unadjusted) prices on the active exchange that we have determined is our principal market for Bitcoin. We intend to perform an analysis each quarter to identify

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whether events or changes in circumstances, principally decreases in the quoted (unadjusted) prices on the active exchange, indicate that it is more likely than not that any of our Bitcoin assets is impaired. In determining if an impairment has occurred, we will consider the lowest price of one Bitcoin quoted on the active exchange at any time since acquiring the specific Bitcoin held. If the carrying value of a Bitcoin exceeds that lowest price at any time during the quarter, an impairment loss is deemed to have occurred with respect to that Bitcoin in the amount equal to the difference between its carrying value and such lowest price, and subsequent increases in the price of Bitcoin will not affect the carrying value of our Bitcoin. Gains (if any) are not recorded until realized upon sale, at which point they would be presented net of any impairment losses. In determining the gain to be recognized upon sale, we intend to calculate the difference between the sale price and carrying value of the specific Bitcoin sold immediately prior to sale.

As a result, any decrease in the fair value of Bitcoin below our carrying value for such assets at any time since their acquisition will require us to incur an impairment charge, and such charge could be material to our financial results for the applicable reporting period, which may create significant volatility in our reported earnings and decrease the carrying value of our digital assets, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.

The supply of Bitcoin is limited, and production of Bitcoin is negatively impacted by the Bitcoin halving protocol expected every four years.

The supply of Bitcoin is limited and, once the 21 million Bitcoin have been “unearthed”, the network will stop producing more. Currently, there are approximately 19 million, or 90% of the total supply of, Bitcoin in circulation. Halving is an event within the Bitcoin protocol where the Bitcoin reward provided upon mining a block is reduced by 50%. Halvings are scheduled to occur once every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every four years, with the latest halving having occurred in May 2020, which revised the block reward to 6.25 Bitcoin.

Halving reduces the number of new Bitcoin being generated by the network. While the effect is to slow the pace of the release of new coins, it has no impact on the quantity of total Bitcoin already outstanding. As a result, the price of Bitcoin could rise or fall based on overall investor and consumer demand. Given a stable network hash rate, should the price of Bitcoin remain unchanged after the next halving, our revenue related to mining new coins would be reduced by 50%, with a significant impact on profit.

Furthermore, as the number of Bitcoin remaining to be mined decreases, the processing power required to record new blocks on the blockchain may increase. Eventually the processing power required to add a block to the blockchain may exceed the value of the reward for adding a block. Additionally, at some point, there will be no new Bitcoin to mine. Once the processing power required to add a block to the blockchain exceeds the value of the reward for adding a block, we may focus on other strategic initiatives, which may be complimentary to our mining operations. For further details, see “Business—Our Strategy—Retain flexibility in considering strategically adjacent opportunities complimentary to our business model.”

Any periodic adjustments to the digital asset networks, such as Bitcoin, regarding the difficulty for block solutions, with reductions in the aggregate hashrate or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results. If the award of new Bitcoin for solving blocks and transaction fees for recording transactions are not sufficiently high to incentivize miners, miners may cease expending processing power, or hashrate, to solve blocks and confirmations of transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain could be slowed.

Bitcoin miners record transactions when they solve for and add blocks of information to the blockchain. They generate revenue from both newly created Bitcoin, known as the “block reward” and from fees taken upon verification of transactions, see “Business—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Expected Revenue Structure”.

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If the aggregate revenue from transaction fees and the block reward is below a miner’s cost, the miner may cease operations. If the award of new units of Bitcoin for solving blocks declines and/or the difficulty of solving blocks increases, and transaction fees voluntarily paid by participants are not sufficiently high, miners may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease their mining operations. For example, the current fixed reward for solving a new block on the Bitcoin network is 6.25 Bitcoins per block; the reward decreased from 12.5 Bitcoin in May 2020, which itself was a decrease from 25 Bitcoin in July 2016. It is estimated that it will “halve” again in about four years after the previous halving.

This reduction may result in a reduction in the aggregate hashrate of the Bitcoin network as the incentive for miners decreases. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the aggregate hashrate on the Bitcoin network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions (i.e., temporarily decreasing the speed at which blocks are added to the blockchain until the next scheduled adjustment in difficulty for block solutions).

Moreover, a reduction in the hashrate expended by miners on any digital asset network could increase the likelihood of a malicious actor or botnet obtaining control in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the aggregate hashrate active on such network or the blockchain, potentially permitting such actor to manipulate the blockchain, see “—If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control in excess of 50% of the processing power active on any digital asset network, including the Bitcoin network, it is possible that such actor or botnet could manipulate the blockchain in a manner that may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.”

Periodically, the Bitcoin network has adjusted the difficulty for block solutions so that solution speeds remain in the vicinity of the expected ten (10) minute confirmation time targeted by the Bitcoin network protocol. We believe that from time to time there may be further considerations and adjustments to the networks, such as Bitcoin and Ether, regarding the difficulty for block solutions. More significant reductions in the aggregate hashrate on digital asset networks could result in material, though temporary, delays in block solution confirmation time. Any reduction in confidence in the confirmation process or aggregate hashrate of any digital asset network may negatively impact the value of digital assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Transactional fees may decrease demand for Bitcoin and prevent expansion.

As the number of Bitcoins awarded in the form of block rewards for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, the relative incentive for miners to continue to contribute to the Bitcoin network may transition to place more importance on transaction fees.

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 cryptocurrency 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, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Our reliance on any particular model of miner may subject our operations to increased risk of failure.

The performance and reliability of our miners and our technology will be critical to our reputation and our operations. If there are any technological issues with our miners, 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 our miners may affects all our miners, and if a defect other flaw is exploited, our entire mine could go offline simultaneously.

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Any interruption, delay or system failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

There is a possibility of cryptocurrency mining algorithms transitioning to “proof of stake” validation and other mining related risks, which could make us less competitive and ultimately adversely affect our business.

“Proof of stake” is an alternative method in validating cryptocurrency transactions. Should the Bitcoin network shift from a “proof of work” validation method to a “proof of stake” validation method, mining would require less energy and may render companies, such as ours, that may be perceived as advantageously positioned in the current climate, for example, due to lower priced electricity, processing, real estate, or hosting, less competitive.

Our business model and our strategic efforts are fundamentally based upon the “proof of work” validation method and the assumption that use of lower priced electricity in our cryptocurrency mining operations will make our business model more resilient to fluctuations in Bitcoin price and will generally provide us with certain competitive advantage. See “Business—Our Key Strengths— Cost leadership with low cost electricity supply and resilient business model with downside protection against drops in Bitcoin prices” and “— Bitcoin mining activities are energy intensive, which may restrict the geographic locations of miners and have a negative environmental impact. Government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations, such as ours.” Consequently, if the cryptocurrency mining algorithms transition to “proof of stake” validation, we may be exposed to the risk of losing the benefit of our perceived competitive advantage that we hope to gain and our business model may need to be reevaluated. Furthermore, ASIC chips that we intend to use in our operations are also designed for “proof of work” mechanism. Many people within the Bitcoin community believe that “proof of work” is a foundation within Bitcoin’s code that would not be changed. However, there have been debates on mechanism change to avoid the “de facto control” by a great majority of the network computing power. With the possibility of a change in rule or protocol of the Bitcoin network, if our Bitcoin mining chips and machines cannot be modified to accommodate any such changes, our results of operations will be significantly affected. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results, including our ability to continue as a going concern.

We may not adequately respond to price fluctuations and rapidly changing technology, which may negatively affect our business.

Competitive conditions within the cryptocurrency 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 plan to 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 cryptocurrency 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, prospects, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

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To the extent that the profit margins of Bitcoin mining operations are not high, operators of Bitcoin mining operations are more likely to immediately sell Bitcoin rewards earned by mining in the market, thereby constraining growth of the price of Bitcoin that could adversely impact us, and similar actions could affect other cryptocurrencies.

Over the past several 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.

The foregoing risks associated with Bitcoin could be equally applicable to other cryptocurrencies, whether existing now or introduced in the future. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

To the extent that any miners cease to record transactions in solved blocks, transactions that do not include the payment of a transaction fee will not be recorded on the blockchain until a block is solved by a miner who does not require the payment of transaction fees. Any widespread delays in the recording of transactions could result in a loss of confidence in that digital asset network, which could adversely impact an investment in us.

To the extent that any miners cease to record transactions in solved blocks, such transactions will not be recorded on the blockchain. Currently, there are no known incentives for miners to elect to exclude the recording of transactions in solved blocks; however, to the extent that any such incentives arise (e.g., a collective movement among miners or one or more mining pools forcing Bitcoin users to pay transaction fees as a substitute for or in addition to the award of new Bitcoins upon the solving of a block), actions of miners solving a significant number of blocks could delay the recording and confirmation of transactions on the blockchain.

Any systemic delays in the recording and confirmation of transactions on the blockchain could result in greater exposure to double-spending transactions and a loss of confidence in certain or all digital asset networks, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

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Demand for Bitcoin is driven, in part, by its status as one of the most prominent and secure digital assets. It is possible that digital assets, other than Bitcoin, could have features that make them more desirable to a material portion of the digital asset user base, resulting in a reduction in demand for Bitcoin, which could have a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results

Bitcoin, as an asset, holds a “first-to-market” advantage over other digital assets. This first-to-market advantage is driven in large part by having the largest user base and, more importantly, the largest mining power in use to secure its blockchain and transaction verification system. Having a large mining network results in greater user confidence regarding the security and long-term stability of a digital asset’s network and its blockchain; as a result, the advantage of more users and miners makes a digital asset more secure, which makes it more attractive to new users and miners, resulting in a network effect that strengthens the first-to-market advantage.

Despite the marked first-mover advantage of the Bitcoin network over other digital asset networks, it is possible that another digital asset could become materially popular due to either a perceived or exposed shortcoming of the Bitcoin network protocol that is not immediately addressed by the Bitcoin contributor community or a perceived advantage of an altcoin that includes features not incorporated into Bitcoin. If a digital asset obtains significant market share (either in market capitalization, mining power or use as a payment technology), this could reduce Bitcoin’s market share as well as other digital assets we may become involved in and have a negative impact on the demand for, and price of, such digital assets and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies that could be held by us are not insured and not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.

Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrencies that could be held by us are not insured. Therefore, any loss that we may suffer with respect to our cryptocurrencies is not covered by insurance and no person may be liable in damages for such loss, which could adversely affect our operations. We will not hold our Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies that we may hold with a banking institution or a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) and, therefore, our cryptocurrencies will also not be subject to the protections enjoyed by depositors with FDIC or SIPC member institutions.

Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants

We are an Emerging Growth Company

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2025, the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of GWAC’s IPO; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under applicable SEC rules.

We expect that we will remain an emerging growth company for the foreseeable future but cannot retain our emerging growth company status indefinitely and will no longer qualify as an emerging growth company on or before December 31, 2025. References herein to “emerging growth company” have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.

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For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from specified disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include:

For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we expect that we will take advantage of the reduced disclosure obligations available to us as a result of that classification. We have taken advantage of certain of those reduced reporting burdens in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

An emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will not be required to adopt new or revised accounting standards on the dates on which adoption of such standards is required for other public reporting companies.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and have elected to take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosure available for smaller reporting companies.

The unaudited pro forma financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus may not be indicative of what our actual financial position or results of operations would have been.

The pro forma financial information included in this prospectus is presented for informational purposes only and is not necessarily indicative of the financial position or results of operations that would have actually occurred had the Business Combination been completed at or as of the dates indicated, nor is it indicative of our future operating results or financial position. The pro forma statement of operations does not reflect future nonrecurring charges resulting from the Business Combination. The unaudited pro forma financial information does not reflect future events that may occur after the Business Combination and does not consider potential impacts of future market conditions on revenues or expenses. The pro forma financial information included in the section entitled “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information” has been derived from GWAC’s and Cipher’s historical financial statements and certain adjustments and assumptions have been made regarding our company after giving effect to the Business Combination. There may be differences between preliminary estimates in the pro forma financial information and the final acquisition accounting, which could result in material differences from the pro forma information presented in this prospectus in respect of our estimated financial position and results of operations.

In addition, the assumptions used in preparing the pro forma financial information may not prove to be accurate and other factors may affect our financial condition or results of operations. Any potential decline in our financial condition or results of operations may cause significant variations in our stock price.

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Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder and, as such, may be able to control our strategic direction and exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.

As of the date of this prospectus, Bitfury Top HoldCo (together with Bitfury Holding) holds approximately 83.4% of our common stock. Accordingly, Bitfury is able to control or exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.

Bitfury Top HoldCo may have interests that differ from those of the other stockholders and may vote in a way with which the other stockholders disagree and which may be adverse to their interests. This concentrated control may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of New Cipher, could deprive New Cipher’s stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their capital stock as part of a sale of New Cipher, and might ultimately affect the market price of shares of our common stock.

Furthermore, Bitfury Top HoldCo is our counterparty under the Master Services and Supply Agreement. For further details, see “Business—Material Agreements—Master Services and Supply Agreement” and “—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our counterparty under the Master Services and Supply Agreement and is a holding company with limited assets.” The Master Services and Supply Agreement constitutes a related-party transaction, see “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions—Cipher’s Related Party Transaction— Master Services and Supply Agreement”. Bitfury Top HoldCo is entitled to appoint a majority of the members of the Board, and it has the power to determine the decisions to be taken at our shareholder meetings on matters of our management that require the prior authorization of our shareholders, including in respect of related party transactions, such as the Master Services and Supply Agreement, corporate restructurings and the date of payment of dividends and other capital distributions. Thus, the decisions of Bitfury Top HoldCo as our controlling shareholder on these matters, including its decisions with respect to its or our performance under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, may be contrary to the expectations or preferences of our common stock holders and could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.

Bitfury Top HoldCo is our counterparty under the Master Services and Supply Agreement and is a holding company with limited assets.

Bitfury Top HoldCo is our counterparty under the Master Services and Supply Agreement. For further details on the Master Services and Supply Agreement, see “Business—Material Agreements—Master Services and Supply Agreement”. To extent that we decide to order any equipment and/or services from Bitfury Top HoldCo under this agreement, we may be exposed to risk as Bitfury Top HoldCo’s decisions on various matters, including its decisions with respect to its or our performance under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, may be contrary to the expectations or preferences of our shareholders.

For example, because the Bitfury Group also has its own mining operations outside of the United States, there is a risk that Bitfury Top HoldCo may refuse to deliver the equipment or services that we may seek to order under the Master Services and Supply Agreement if it perceives that it may deliver that equipment or those services on more economically advantageous terms to other third parties or to other companies of the Bitfury Group. If we decide to use the Master Services and Supply Agreement to obtain any equipment and/or services for our operations and Bitfury Top HoldCo is unable, refuses or fails to perform its obligations under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, whether due to certain economic or market conditions, bankruptcy, insolvency, lack of liquidity, operational failure, fraud, or for any other reason, we may have limited recourse to collect damages in the event of its default, given that Bitfury Top HoldCo is a holding company with limited assets. Non-performance or default risk by any of our suppliers could have a material adverse effect on our future results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

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Any offer or sale by Bitfury Top HoldCo, of our common stock or securities in the Bitfury Top HoldCo itself or another entity that may have a direct or indirect control over us, could have a negative effect on the price and trading volume of our common stock.

Bitfury Top HoldCo (together with Bitfury Holding) holds approximately 83.4% of our common stock. The market price and trading volume of our common stock could be adversely affected by, among other factors, sales of substantial amounts of common stock in the public market, investor perception that substantial amounts of common stock could be sold or by the fact or perception of other events that could have a negative effect on the market for our common stock.

In the future, upon expiration of its respective lock-up, Bitfury Top HoldCo may offer or sell our common stock on the market. Furthermore, at any time, Bitfury Top HoldCo may engage in capital markets transactions with respect to securities in Bitfury Top HoldCo itself or another entity that may have direct or indirect control over us.

Any future transactions by Bitfury Top HoldCo with other investors, such as the ones listed above, could decrease the price and trading volume of our common stock. Furthermore, as the cryptocurrency industry is developing and investments in cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency-related securities may still be highly speculative, it can contribute to any potential price volatility of our common stock and exacerbate any effects of the risks discussed above.

The Sponsor, Bitfury Top HoldCo and the PIPE Investors beneficially own a significant equity interest in New Cipher and may take actions that conflict with your interests.

The interests of the Sponsor, Bitfury Top HoldCo and the PIPE Investors may not align with the interests of New Cipher and our other stockholders. The Sponsor, Bitfury Top HoldCo and the PIPE Investors are each in the business of making investments in companies and may acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. The Sponsor, Bitfury Top HoldCo and the PIPE Investors, and their respective affiliates, may also pursue acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business and, as a result, those acquisition opportunities may not be available to us. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that certain parties may engage in competitive businesses and renounces any entitlement to certain corporate opportunities offered to the PIPE Investors or any of their managers, officers, directors, equity holders, members, principals, affiliates and subsidiaries (other than New Cipher and its subsidiaries) that are not expressly offered to them in their capacities as directors or officers of New Cipher. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that certain parties or any of their managers, officers, directors, equity holders, members, principals, affiliates and subsidiaries (other than New Cipher and its subsidiaries) do not have any fiduciary duty to refrain from engaging, directly or indirectly, in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as New Cipher or any of its subsidiaries.

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Warrants will become exercisable for our common stock, which would increase the number of shares eligible for future resale in the public market and result in dilution to our stockholders.

Outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 8,614,000 shares of our common stock will become exercisable in accordance with the terms of the Warrant Agreement governing those securities. The exercise price of these warrants will be $11.50 per share. To the extent such warrants are exercised, additional shares of our common stock will be issued, which will result in dilution to the holders of our common stock and increase the number of shares eligible for resale in the public market. Sales of substantial numbers of such shares in the public market or the fact that such warrants may be exercised could adversely affect the market price of our common stock. However, there is no guarantee that the public warrants will ever be in the money prior to their expiration, and as such, the warrants may expire worthless. See “—There is no guarantee that our public warrants will ever be in the money, and they may expire worthless.”

There is no guarantee that our public warrants will ever be in the money, and they may expire worthless.

The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share of our common stock. There is no guarantee that our public warrants will ever be in the money prior to their expiration, and as such, the warrants may expire worthless.

A market for our securities may not continue, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.

An active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. In addition, the price of our securities can vary due to general economic conditions and forecasts, our general business condition and the release of our financial reports.

In the absence of a liquid public trading market:

Additionally, if our securities become delisted from the Nasdaq for any reason, and are quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board, an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities that is not a national securities exchange, the liquidity and price of our securities may be more limited than if we were quoted or listed on the Nasdaq or another national securities exchange. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established or sustained.

The price of our common stock and warrants may be volatile.

Securities markets worldwide experience significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market, or political conditions, could reduce the market price of our common stock and warrants in spite of our operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from readily selling their common stock or warrants and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common stock or warrants. There can be no assurance that the market price of common stock and warrants will not fluctuate widely or decline significantly in the future in response to a number of factors, including, among others, the following:

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In addition, in the past, stockholders have initiated class action lawsuits against public companies following periods of volatility in the market prices of these companies’ stock. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could cause it to incur substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq listing rules and, as a result, can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.

As a result of Bitfury Top HoldCo holding more than 50% of the voting power of the Board described above, we are a “controlled company” within the meaning of the listing rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or the Nasdaq listing rules. Therefore, we will not be required to comply with certain corporate governance rules that would otherwise apply to us as a listed company on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, including the requirement that compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of “independent” directors (as defined by the Nasdaq listing rules). As a “controlled company”, the Board will not be required to include a majority of “independent” directors. We presently do not intend to rely on those exemptions. However, we cannot guarantee that this may not change going forward.

Should the interests of Bitfury Top HoldCo differ from those of other stockholders, it is possible that the other stockholders might not be afforded such protections as might exist if the Board, or such committees, were required to have a majority, or be composed exclusively, of directors who were independent of Bitfury Top HoldCo or our management. See also “—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder and, as such, may be able to control our strategic direction and exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.”

The requirements of being a public company require significant resources and management attention and affect our ability to attract and retain executive management and qualified board members.

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, and are required to comply with the applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act,

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as well as rules and regulations of the SEC and Nasdaq, including the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls, changes in corporate governance practices and required filing of annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations.

Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Compliance with public company requirements will increase costs and make certain activities more time-consuming and costly, and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Furthermore, if any issues in complying with those requirements are identified (for example, if the auditors identify a material weakness or significant deficiency in the internal control over financial reporting), we could incur additional costs rectifying those issues, and the existence of those issues could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of it. It may also be more expensive to obtain director and officer liability insurance.

In addition, changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs, and making some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations, and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve or otherwise change over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards (or changing interpretations of them), and this investment may result in increased selling, general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be adversely affected. We also expect that being a public company and the associated rules and regulations will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of the Board, particularly to serve on our audit committee, compensation committee, and nominating and governance committee, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition is more visible, which may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors. If such claims are successful, our business and operating results could be adversely affected, and even if the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and adversely affect our business and operating results. In addition, as a result of our disclosure obligations as a public company, we will have reduced flexibility and will be under pressure to focus on short-term results, which may adversely affect our ability to achieve long-term profitability.

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As a result of our business combination with a special purpose acquisition company, regulatory obligations may impact us differently than other publicly traded companies.

On August 27, 2021, we consummated the Business Combination, pursuant to which we became a publicly traded company. As a result of this transaction, regulatory obligations have, and may continue, to impact us differently than other publicly traded companies. For instance, the SEC and other regulatory agencies may issue additional guidance or apply further regulatory scrutiny to companies like us that have completed a business combination with a special purpose acquisition company. Managing this regulatory environment, which has and may continue to evolve, could divert management’s attention from the operation of our business, negatively impact our ability to raise additional capital when needed, or have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.

We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner.

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

Prior to the completion of the Business Combination, in connection with the restatement of GWAC’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, its management reassessed the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. As a result of that reassessment, it identified a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the warrants issued in connection with the GWAC’s IPO. As a result of this material weakness, GWAC’s management concluded that its internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of the warrant liabilities, change in fair value of warrant liabilities, additional paid-in capital, accumulated deficit and related financial disclosures for the affected period.

To respond to this material weakness, GWAC has devoted and we plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to our accounting for a significant and unusual transaction related to the warrants we issued in connection with the GWAC’s IPO, see Note 2 to the accompanying GWAC’s audited financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.

We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls

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and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our consolidated financial statements.

If we fail to put in place appropriate and effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, we may suffer harm to our reputation and investor confidence levels.

As a privately held company, we were not required to evaluate our internal control over financial reporting in a manner that meets the standards of publicly traded companies required by Section 404. As a public company, we will have significant requirements for enhanced financial reporting and internal controls.

The process of designing and implementing effective internal controls is a continuous effort that requires us to anticipate and react to changes in our business and the economic and regulatory environments and to expend significant resources to maintain a system of internal controls that is adequate to satisfy its reporting obligations as a public company. If we are unable to establish or maintain appropriate internal financial reporting controls and procedures, it could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations on a timely basis, result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements, and harm our operating results. In addition, we will be required, pursuant to Section 404, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in its internal control over financial reporting. The rules governing the standards that must be met for our management to assess our internal control over financial reporting are complex and require significant documentation, testing, and possible remediation. Testing and maintaining internal controls may divert our management’s attention from other matters that are important to our business. Beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, our auditors will be required to issue an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal controls on an annual basis.

In connection with the implementation of the necessary procedures and practices related to internal control over financial reporting, we may identify deficiencies that we may not be able to remediate in time to meet the deadline imposed by SOX for compliance with the requirements of Section 404. In addition, we may encounter problems or delays in completing the remediation of any deficiencies identified by our independent registered public accounting firm in connection with the issuance of their attestation report. Our testing, or the subsequent testing (if required) by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the entity’s financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Any material weaknesses could result in a material misstatement of our annual or quarterly consolidated financial statements or disclosures that may not be prevented or detected. The existence of any material weakness would require management to devote significant time and incur significant expense to remediate any such material weakness, and management may not be able to remediate any such material weakness in a timely manner.

If we fail to implement the requirements of Section 404 in the required timeframe once we are no longer an emerging growth company or a smaller reporting company, we may be subject to sanctions or investigations by regulatory authorities, including the SEC and the Nasdaq. Furthermore, if we are unable to conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting is effective, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our securities could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by regulatory authorities. Failure to implement or maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures required of public companies could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

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If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our securities adversely, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline.

The trading market for our securities will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, market or competitors. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, our share price and trading volume would likely be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts, who may cover us, change their recommendation regarding our common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about its competitors, the price of our common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of us or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause its share price or trading volume to decline.

Future sales, or the perception of future sales, by our stockholders in the public market could cause the market price for our common stock to decline.

The sale of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could harm the prevailing market price of shares of our common stock. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that it deems appropriate.

The shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under the Incentive Award Plan will become eligible for sale in the public market once those shares are issued.

A total of approximately 7% of the fully diluted shares of our common stock has been reserved for future issuance under the Incentive Award Plan, which amount will be subject to increase from time to time. Our compensation committee may determine the exact number of shares to be reserved for future issuance under the Incentive Award Plan at its discretion. We are expected to file one or more registration statements on Form S-8 under the Securities Act to register shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock issued pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan. Any such Form S-8 registration statements will automatically become effective upon filing. Accordingly, shares registered under such registration statements will be available for sale in the open market.

In the future, we may also issue its securities in connection with investments or acquisitions. The amount of shares of our common stock issued in connection with an investment or acquisition could constitute a material portion of our then-outstanding shares of common stock. Any issuance of additional securities in connection with investments or acquisitions may result in additional dilution to our stockholders.

Because there are no current plans to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, you may not receive any return on investment unless you sell our common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

We may retain future earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment and have no current plans to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare and pay dividends as a public company in the future will be made at the discretion of the Board and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends may be limited by covenants of any existing and future outstanding indebtedness it or its subsidiaries incur. As a result, you may not receive any return on an investment in our common stock unless you sell your shares of common stock for a price greater than that which you paid for it.

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We may issue additional shares of its common stock or other equity securities without your approval, which would dilute your ownership interests and may depress the market price of our common stock.

Pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan, we may issue an aggregate of approximately 7.0% of the fully diluted shares of our common stock a, which amount will be subject to increase from time to time. For additional information about this plan, please read the discussion under the heading “Executive Compensation—Incentive Award Plan.” We may also issue additional shares of our common stock or other equity securities of equal or senior rank in the future in connection with, among other things, future acquisitions or repayment of outstanding indebtedness, without stockholder approval, in a number of circumstances.

The issuance of additional shares or other equity securities of equal or senior rank would have the following effects:

Anti-takeover provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of New Cipher, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Our Certificate of Incorporation contains provisions that may delay or prevent an acquisition of New Cipher or a change in its management in addition to the significant rights of Bitfury Top HoldCo as direct and indirect holder of approximately 83.4% of our common stock. These provisions may make it more difficult for stockholders to replace or remove members of the Board. Because the Board is responsible for appointing the members of the management team, these provisions could in turn frustrate or prevent any attempt by stockholders to replace or remove the current management. In addition, these provisions could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. Among other things, these provisions include:

Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a person who owns 15% or more of its outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner. This could discourage, delay or prevent a third party from acquiring or merging with us, whether or not it is desired by, or beneficial to, its stockholders. This could also have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our common stock, including transactions that may be in our stockholders’ best interests. Finally, these provisions establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings. These provisions would apply even if the offer may be considered beneficial by some stockholders. For more information, see “Description of Securities.”

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Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit its stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:

To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, the Certificate of Incorporation further provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation. This may require significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions.

These exclusive forum provisions may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for potential disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. If a court were to find either exclusive-forum provision in the Certificate of Incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur further significant additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, all of which could harm our business.

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

The market price of our securities may be volatile and, in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their securities have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm its business.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

All of the securities offered by the Selling Securityholders pursuant to this prospectus will be sold by the Selling Securityholders for their respective accounts. We will not receive any of the proceeds from these sales.

The Selling Securityholders will pay any underwriting discounts and commissions and expenses incurred by the Selling Securityholders for brokerage, accounting, tax or legal services or any other expenses incurred by the Selling Securityholders in disposing of the securities. We will bear the costs, fees and expenses incurred in effecting the registration of the securities covered by this prospectus, including all registration and filing fees, Nasdaq listing fees and fees and expenses of our counsel and our independent registered public accounting firm.

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MARKET INFORMATION FOR COMMON STOCK AND DIVIDEND POLICY

Market Information

Our common stock and public warrants are currently listed on the Nasdaq under the symbols “CIFR” and “CIFRW,” respectively. Prior to the Closing, GWAC’s ordinary shares and public warrants were listed on the Nasdaq under the symbols “GWAC” and “GWACW,” respectively.

On October 7, 2021, the closing sale price of our common stock was $8.91 per share and the closing price of the public warrants was $1.82 per warrant. As of October 7, 2021, there were approximately 92 holders of record of our common stock and one holder of record of the public warrants. Such numbers do not include beneficial owners holding our securities through nominee names.

Dividend Policy

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of the Board and will depend upon, among other factors, our financial condition, operating results, current and anticipated cash needs, plans for expansion and other factors that the Board may deem relevant.

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UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Defined terms included below have the same meaning as terms defined and included elsewhere in this prospectus, unless defined below. As used in this unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information, “Cipher” refers to Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. prior to the Business Combination and New Cipher and its consolidated subsidiaries after giving effect to the Business Combination.

The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information presents the combination of the financial information of GWAC and Cipher, adjusted to give effect to the Business Combination (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the PIPE Financing and the Bitfury Private Placement) and the other related events contemplated by the Merger Agreement. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 combines the historical balance sheet of GWAC as of June 30, 2021 and the historical balance sheet of Cipher as of July 31, 2021, on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination and related transactions, summarized below, had been consummated on June 30, 2021.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2021, combine the historical statement of operations of GWAC for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and the historical statement of operations of Cipher for the six months ended July 31, 2021 on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination and other related events had been consummated on January 1, 2021. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020, combine the historical statement of operations of GWAC for the period from June 24, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 and the historical statement of operations of Cipher for the period from January 7, 2021 (inception) through January 31, 2021 on a pro forma basis as if the Business Combination and other related events had been consummated on June 24, 2020, the beginning of the earliest period presented.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been developed from and should be read in conjunction with:

Description of the Business Combination

On August 27, 2021, GWAC and Merger Sub and Cipher consummated the Business Combination pursuant to which, Merger Sub merged with and into Cipher, with Cipher surviving the Business Combination. Cipher became a wholly-owned subsidiary of GWAC and GWAC was renamed “Cipher Mining Inc.”

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Upon the consummation of the Business Combination, all holders of Cipher common stock received shares of our common stock of $10.00 per share after giving effect to the Exchange Ratio, resulting in an estimated 200,000,000 million shares of our common stock to be immediately issued and outstanding to Bitfury Top HoldCo (in addition to 17,000,000 million of our common stock held by GWAC), 32,235,000 of our common stock held by the PIPE Investors and 6,000,000 of our common stock received by Bitfury Holding B.V., an affiliate of Bitfury Top HoldCo, under the Bitfury Private Placement, based on the following events contemplated by the Merger Agreement:

Other Related Events in connection with the Business Combination

In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, GWAC entered into: (i) the PIPE Subscription Agreements to sell to certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”), an aggregate of 32,235,000 shares of GWAC Common Stock, immediately following the Closing, for a purchase price of $10.00 per share and at an aggregate gross proceeds of $322,350,000 (the “PIPE Financing”) and (ii) the Bitfury Subscription Agreement to sell to Bitfury Top HoldCo (or an affiliate of Bitfury Top HoldCo), an aggregate of 6,000,000 shares of GWAC Common Stock, following the Closing, for a purchase price of $10.00 per share and Bitfury Top HoldCo’s payment in cash and/or forgiveness of outstanding indebtedness for aggregate gross proceeds of $60,000,000 (the “Bitfury Private Placement”).

Accounting for the Business Combination

The Business Combination will be accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, GWAC is treated as the acquired company and Cipher is treated as the acquirer for financial statement reporting purposes. Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the Business Combination will be treated as the equivalent of Cipher issuing stock for the net assets of GWAC, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of GWAC were stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Operations prior to the Business Combination are those of Cipher. Cipher has been determined to be the accounting acquirer based on evaluation of the following facts and circumstances:

Basis of Pro Forma Presentation

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X. The adjustments in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information have been identified and presented to provide relevant information necessary for an illustrative understanding of New Cipher upon consummation of the Business Combination in accordance with GAAP.

Assumptions and estimates underlying the unaudited pro forma adjustments set forth in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements are described in the accompanying notes. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been presented for illustrative purposes only and are not necessarily indicative of the operating results and financial position that would have been achieved had the Business Combination occurred on the dates indicated, and does not reflect adjustments for any anticipated synergies, operating efficiencies, tax savings or cost savings. Any cash proceeds remaining after the consummation of the Business Combination and the other related events are expected to be used for general corporate purposes.

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Further, the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements do not purport to project the future operating results or financial position of Cipher following the consummation of the Business Combination. The unaudited pro forma adjustments represent management’s estimates based on information available as of the date of these unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements and are subject to change as additional information becomes available and analyses are performed. GWAC and Cipher have not had any historical relationship prior to the transactions. Accordingly, no pro forma adjustments were required to eliminate activities between the companies.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information contained herein assumes that the GWAC’s shareholders approve the Business Combination. Pursuant to the Current Certificate of Incorporation, GWAC’s public shareholders may elect to redeem their shares upon the closing of the Business Combination for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount on deposit (as of two business days prior to the Closing) in the Trust Account. GWAC cannot predict how many of its public shareholders will exercise their right to redeem their GWAC Common Stock for cash.

The following summarizes the pro forma of our common stock ownership valued at $10.00 per share as of immediately following the Closing (totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding):

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Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2021

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Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations

For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2021

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Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statement of Operations

For the Year Ended December 31, 2020

Notes to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Statements

1. Basis of Presentation

The Business Combination is accounted for as a reverse recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, GWAC is treated as the “acquired” company for financial reporting purposes.

Accordingly, for accounting purposes, the Business Combination is treated as the equivalent of Cipher issuing stock for the net assets of GWAC, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of GWAC are stated at historical cost, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded.

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 gives pro forma effect to the Business Combination as if it had been consummated on June 30, 2021. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2021, gives pro forma effect to the Business Combination as if it had been consummated on January 1, 2021. The unaudited pro forma condensed combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2020, gives pro forma effect to the Business Combination as if it had been consummated on June 24, 2020, which was the earliest date either entity was formed.

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The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial statements have been derived from and should be read in conjunction with:

Management has made significant estimates and assumptions in its determination of the pro forma adjustments. As the unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared based on these preliminary estimates, the final amounts recorded may differ materially from the information presented.

The pro forma adjustments reflecting the consummation of the Business Combination are based on information available as of the date hereof and certain assumptions and methodologies that management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. The unaudited condensed pro forma adjustments, which are described in the accompanying notes, may be revised as additional information becomes available and is evaluated. Therefore, the actual adjustments may materially differ from the pro forma adjustments. Management considers this basis of presentation to be reasonable under the circumstances.

One-time direct and incremental transaction costs incurred prior to, or concurrent with, the Closing are reflected in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as a direct reduction to Cipher’s additional paid-in capital and are assumed to be cash settled.

2. Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Financial Information

The unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared to illustrate the effect of the Business Combination and has been prepared for informational purposes only.

The following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information has been prepared in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation S-X as amended by the final rule, Release No. 33-10786 “Amendments to Financial Disclosures about Acquired and Disposed Businesses.” Release No. 33-10786 replaces the existing pro forma adjustment criteria with simplified requirements to depict the accounting for the transaction (“Transaction Accounting Adjustments”) and present the reasonably estimable synergies and other transaction effects that have occurred or are reasonably expected to occur (“Management’s Adjustments”). Cipher has elected not to present Management’s Adjustments and will only be presenting Transaction Accounting Adjustments in the following unaudited pro forma condensed combined financial information.

GWAC and Cipher have not had any historical relationship prior to the Business Combination. Accordingly, no transaction accounting adjustments were required to eliminate activities between the companies.

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Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Balance Sheet

The transaction accounting adjustments included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined balance sheet as of June 30, 2021 are as follows:

Transaction Accounting Adjustments to Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Combined Statements of Operations

The transaction accounting adjustments included in the unaudited pro forma condensed combined statements of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020 are as follows:

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3. Loss per Share

Represents the net loss per share calculated using the historical weighted average shares outstanding, and the issuance of additional shares in connection with the Business Combination, assuming the shares were outstanding since January 1, 2020. As the Business Combination and related transactions are being reflected as if they had occurred at the beginning of the period presented, the calculation of weighted average shares outstanding for basic and diluted net loss per share assumes that the shares issuable relating to the Business Combination have been outstanding for the entire period presented.

The power and hosting arrangements and the Master Services and Supply Agreement, as described in the section titled “Business—Material Agreements” of this prospectus, are not considered within the pro forma information presented.

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATION

You should read the following discussion and analysis of Cipher’s financial condition and results of operations together with Cipher’s unaudited condensed financial statements and notes thereto and audited financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. Certain of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this prospectus, including information with respect to plans and strategy for Cipher’s business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” Cipher’s actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. You should carefully read the section entitled “Risk Factors” to gain an understanding of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Cipher’s forward-looking statements. Please also see the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “Cipher,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Cipher Mining Technologies, Inc., prior to the consummation of the Business Combination and to New Cipher and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination.

Overview

We are an emerging technology company that plans to operate in the Bitcoin mining ecosystem in the United States. Specifically, we plan to develop and grow a cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Our key mission is to become the leading Bitcoin mining company in the United States. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not commenced operations.

We have been established by the Bitfury Group, a global full-service blockchain and technology specialist and one of the leading private infrastructure providers in the blockchain ecosystem. As a stand-alone, U.S.-based cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin, we plan to begin our initial buildout phase with a set-up of cryptocurrency mining facilities (or sites) in at least four cities in the United States (three in Texas and one in Ohio). We currently anticipate to begin deployment of capacity across some of our planned cryptocurrency mining sites in the first quarter of 2022.

In connection with our planned set-up, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we entered into the Standard Power Hosting Agreement, the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement and the Luminant Power Agreement, all of which, together, are expected to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities referenced above, see “Business—Material Agreements”. Pursuant to these agreements, we expect to have access, for at least five years, to an average cost of electricity of approximately 2.7 c/kWh. We expect that this will help to competitively position us to achieve our goal of becoming the largest Bitcoin mining operator in the United States.

We aim to deploy the computing power that we will create to mine Bitcoin and validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. We believe that Cipher will become an important player in the Bitcoin network due to our planned large-scale operations, best-in-class technology, market-leading power and hosting arrangements and a seasoned, dedicated senior management team.

Upon completion of the Business Combination, Bitfury Top HoldCo (together with Bitfury Holding) beneficially owned approximately 83.4% of our common stock with sole voting and sole dispositive power over those shares and, as a result, Bitfury Top HoldCo has the power to elect all of our directors and we are a “controlled company” under Nasdaq corporate governance standards. For additional information, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq listing rules and, as a result, can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.” and “Management—Executive Officers and Directors—Controlled Company Status.”

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Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events

In the period from January 7, 2021 (inception) to the date of this prospectus, we have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for the Business Combination. There has been no significant change in our financial position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance). Our plan of operation for the next 12 months is to develop our initial portfolio comprised of select sites in the United States in which to construct Bitcoin mining facilities for our operations.

Factors Expected to Affect Future Results

We expect our revenue to comprise a combination of: (i) block rewards in Bitcoin, which are fixed rewards programmed into the Bitcoin software that are awarded to a miner or a group of miners for solving the cryptographic problem required to create a new block on a given blockchain and (ii) transaction fees in Bitcoin, which are flexible fees earned for verifying transactions in support of the blockchain.

Block rewards are fixed and the Bitcoin network is designed to periodically reduce them through halving. Currently the block rewards are fixed at 6.25 Bitcoin per block, and it is estimated that it will halve again to 3.125 Bitcoin in March 2024.

Bitcoin miners also collect transaction fees for each transaction they confirm. Miners validate unconfirmed transactions by adding the previously unconfirmed transactions to new blocks in the blockchain. Miners are not forced to confirm any specific transaction, but they are economically incentivized to confirm valid transactions as a means of collecting fees. Miners have historically accepted relatively low transaction confirmation fees, because miners have a very low marginal cost of validating unconfirmed transactions; however, unlike the fixed block rewards, transaction fees may vary, depending on the consensus set within the network.

As the use of the Bitcoin network expands and the total number of Bitcoin available to mine and, thus, the block rewards, declines over time, we expect the mining incentive structure to transition to a higher reliance on transaction confirmation fees, and the transaction fees to become a larger proportion of the revenues to miners.

Limited Business History; Need for Additional Capital

There is no historical financial information about the Company upon which to base an evaluation of our performance. We have not generated any revenues from our business. We cannot guarantee we will be successful in our business plans. Our business is subject to risks inherent in the establishment of a new business enterprise, including limited capital resources, possible delays in the exploration and/or development, and possible cost overruns due to price and cost increases in services. We have no current intention of entering into a merger or acquisition within the next twelve months and we have a specific business plan and timetable to complete our 12-month plan of operation. We may require additional capital to pursue certain business opportunities or respond to technological advancements, competitive dynamics or technologies, customer demands, challenges, acquisitions or unforeseen circumstances. Accordingly, we may in the future engage in equity or debt financings or enter into credit facilities for the above-mentioned or other reasons. For risks associated with this, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Limited Operating History and Early Stage of Growth—In the future, we may need to raise additional capital, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, or at all.”

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of July 31, 2021, we had $655,172 of cash from a loan agreement with Bitfury Holding and a working capital deficiency of $7,174,026, primarily due to the loan and accrued legal expenses associated with the Business Combination. For details on the loan, see additional information below under “Contractual Obligations and Other Commitments.” Further, we have incurred significant costs in pursuit of the Business Combination. Management addressed this need for capital through the successful completion of the Business Combination. The transaction costs of approximately $40.0 million, including legal, financial advisory, deferred underwriters’ discount payable and other professional fees related to the Business Combination were repaid from the proceeds of the Business Combination.

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Summary of Critical Accounting Policies

Revenue recognition

The Company recognizes revenue under FASB ASC 606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers.” The core principle of the revenue standard is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The following five steps are applied to achieve that core principle:

In order to identify the performance obligations in a contract with a customer, a company must assess the promised goods or services in the contract and identify each promised good or service that is distinct. A performance obligation meets ASC 606’s definition of a “distinct” good or service (or bundle of goods or services) if both of the following criteria are met: The customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer (i.e., the good or service is capable of being distinct), and the entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract (i.e., the promise to transfer the good or service is distinct within the context of the contract).

If a good or service is not distinct, the good or service is combined with other promised goods or services until a bundle of goods or services is identified that is distinct.

The transaction price is the amount of consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer. The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both. When determining the transaction price, an entity must consider the effects of all of the following:

Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis. The transaction price allocated to each performance obligation is recognized when that performance obligation is satisfied, at a point in time or over time as appropriate.

Digital asset mining services

Providing computing power in digital asset transaction verification services will be an output of our ordinary activities. The provision of providing such computing power is a performance obligation. The transaction consideration we receive, if any, is noncash consideration, which we will measure at fair value on the date received. The consideration is all variable. There is no significant financing component in these transactions.

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Mining pools

We will also enter into digital asset mining pools by executing contracts, as amended from time to time, with the mining pool operators to provide computing power to the mining pool. The contracts are terminable at any time by either party and our enforceable right to compensation only begins when we provide computing power to the mining pool operator. In exchange for providing computing power, we will be entitled to a fractional share of the fixed cryptocurrency award the mining pool operator receives (less digital asset transaction fees to the mining pool operator which will be recorded as contra-revenue), for successfully adding a block to the blockchain. Our fractional share is based on the proportion of computing power we contributed to the mining pool operator to the total computing power contributed by all mining pool participants in solving the current algorithm.

Providing computing power in digital asset transaction verification services is an output of our ordinary activities. The provision of providing such computing power is the only performance obligation in our contracts with mining pool operators. The transaction consideration we receive, if any, is noncash consideration, which we will measure at fair value on the date received, which is not materially different than the fair value at contract inception or the time we have earned the award from the pools. The consideration is all variable. Consideration is constrained from recognition until the mining pool operator successfully places a block (by being the first to solve an algorithm) and we receive confirmation of the consideration it will receive; at this time, cumulative revenue is longer probable of significant reversal, i.e., associated uncertainty is resolved.

There is no significant financing component in these transactions. There is, however, consideration payable to the customer in the form of a pool operator fee, payable only if the pool is the first to solve the equation; this fee will be deducted from the proceeds we receive and will be recorded as contra-revenue, as it does not represent a payment for a distinct good or service as described in ASC 606-10-32-25.

Certain aspects of our performance obligations, such as providing computing power, may be contracted to various third parties and there is a risk that if these parties are unable to perform or curtail their operations, our revenue and operating results may be negatively affected. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business, Industry and Operations—If we are unable to successfully maintain our power and hosting arrangements or secure the sites for our data centers, on acceptable terms or at all or if we must otherwise relocate to replacement sites, our operations may be disrupted, and our business results may suffer.” Please see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements” for additional information about the Company’s power arrangements.

Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, will be included in current assets in the balance sheets. Cryptocurrencies purchased will be recorded at cost and cryptocurrencies awarded to us through our mining activities will be accounted for in connection with our revenue recognition policy disclosed above.

Cryptocurrencies will be accounted for as intangible assets with indefinite useful lives. An intangible asset with an indefinite useful life is not amortized but assessed for impairment annually, or more frequently, when events or changes in circumstances occur indicating that it is more likely than not that the indefinite-lived asset is impaired. Impairment exists when the carrying amount exceeds its fair value, which is measured using the quoted price of the cryptocurrency at the time its fair value is being measured. In testing for impairment, we have the option to first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that an impairment exists. If it is determined that it is not more likely than not that an impairment exists, a quantitative impairment test is not necessary. If management concludes otherwise, we are required to perform a quantitative impairment test. To the extent an impairment loss is recognized, the loss establishes the new cost basis of the asset. Subsequent reversal of impairment losses is not permitted.

Purchases of cryptocurrencies made by us will be included within investing activities in the statements of cash flows, while cryptocurrencies awarded to us through our mining activities will be included as a non-cash

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adjustment within operating activities on the statements of cash flows. The sales of cryptocurrencies will be included within investing activities in statements of cash flows and any realized gains or losses from such sales will be included in other income (expense) in the statements of operations. We will account for our gains or losses in accordance with the first in first out (“FIFO”) method of accounting.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Management will review its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used will be measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized will be measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets.

Recent accounting pronouncements issued but not yet adopted

In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, “Leases (Topic 842)” which outlines a comprehensive lease accounting model and supersedes the current lease guidance. The new guidance requires lessees to recognize almost all their leases on the balance sheet by recording a lease liability and corresponding right-of-use assets. It also changes the definition of a lease and expands the disclosure requirements of lease arrangements. As per the latest ASU 2020-05 issued by the FASB, the entities who have not yet issued or made available for issuance their financial statements as of June 3, 2020 can defer the new guidance for one year. For public entities, this guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning January 1, 2020, including interim periods within that annual reporting period. For us, this guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning January 1, 2022, and interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning January 1, 2023. Management is in the process of evaluating the impact that the adoption of this pronouncement will have on our financial statements and disclosures.

The Company entered into a series of agreements with affiliates of Luminant ET Services Company LLC (“Luminant”), including the Lease Agreement dated June 29, 2021, with amendment and restatement on July 9, 2021 (as amended and restated, the “Luminant Lease Agreement”), and the Purchase and Sale Agreement dated June 28, 2021, with amendment and restatement on July 9, 2021 (as amended and restated, the “Luminant Purchase and Sale Agreement”). The Company entered into these agreements to build the infrastructure necessary to support its planned operations. The Company determined that the Luminant Lease Agreement and the Luminant Purchase and Sale Agreement should be combined for accounting purposes under the new lease guidance (collectively, the “Combined Luminant Lease Agreement”) and that amounts exchanged under the combined contract should be allocated to the various components of the overall transaction based on relative fair values. These agreements are further discussed in “Business—Material Agreements.” Once the Combined Luminant Lease Agreement is effective and the Company has control over the applicable leased asset, the Company will record both a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability in accordance with Topic 842 for each lease component.

Contractual Obligations and Other Commitments

On January 26, 2021, we entered into a one-year agreement with a service provider of financial advisory and investor relations consulting services in exchange for a monthly payment of $12,000. The agreement may be cancelled at any time during the first year with at least 60 days’ prior notice by either party. The agreement will automatically renew for a second one-year term, if not cancelled at least 30 days prior to the end of the first year. In connection with the completion of the Business Combination, in August 2021, we paid $225,000 to the service provider (including a $50,000 discretionary bonus) and agree to increase the monthly payment to $15,000.

On February 8, 2021, Cipher also entered into a loan agreement with Bitfury Holding for a loan facility in the amount of $100,000. On August 26, 2021, Cipher amended its loan agreement with Bitfury Holding B.V. to:

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(i) amend the original loan facility amount of $100,000 to the actual disbursement under the loan of $7,038,038 (the “Actual Disbursement”), (ii) revise the maturity date to August 31, 2021 and (iii) amend the interest to 2.5% per annum.

On August 20, 2021 and on August 30, 2021, we and Bitmain Technologies Limited (“Bitmain”) entered into a Non-Fixed Price Sales and Purchase Agreement and a Supplemental Agreement to Non-Fixed Price Sales and Purchase Agreement, respectively, (together, the “Bitmain Agreement”) for us to purchase 27,000 Antminer S19j Pro (100 TH/s) miners, which are expected to be delivered in nine batches on a monthly basis between January 2022 and September 2022. The purchase price under the Bitmain Agreement is $171,135,000 (the “Total Purchase Price”) with (i) 25% of the Total Purchase Price due paid within five days of execution of the Bitmain Agreement, (ii) 35% of the purchase price of each batch due five months prior to each delivery, and (iii) the remaining 40% of the purchase price of each batch due 15 days prior to each delivery. As of August 31, 2021, we paid total deposits of $49,656,000 for the miners.

On September 2, 2021, we entered into a Framework Agreement on Supply of Blockchain Servers with SuperAcme Technology (Hong Kong) Limited (the “SuperAcme Agreement”) to purchase 60,000 MicroBT M30S, M30S+ and M30S++ miners, which are expected to be delivered in six batches on a monthly basis between July 2022 and year-end 2022. The expected final purchase price under the SuperAcme Agreement is approximately $222,400,800 with a deposit due 10 business days after the execution of the SuperAcme Agreement and advance payment due thereafter in advance of certain batches of supply being delivered and subject to additional floating price terms. Each batch of miners must be paid in full prior to delivery. As of September 3, 2021, we paid deposits of $22,240,080 for the miners.

We are also party to several power and hosting arrangements. See “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements” for more information.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have during the period presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Change in fiscal year

Starting with the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the Company plans to assume Cipher Mining’s financial calendar with its third fiscal quarter ending September 30 and its fiscal year ending December 31. This change to the fiscal year end was approved by Cipher Mining’s board of directors on September 23, 2021.

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BUSINESS

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to the “Company,” “Cipher,” “we,” “us” or “our” refers to Cipher Mining Technologies, Inc., prior to the consummation of the Business Combination and to New Cipher and its consolidated subsidiaries following the Business Combination.

Business Overview

We are an emerging technology company that plans to operate in the Bitcoin mining ecosystem in the United States. Specifically, we plan to develop and grow a cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin. Our key mission is to become the leading Bitcoin mining company in the United States. As of the date of this prospectus, we have not commenced operations.

We have been established by the Bitfury Group, a global full-service blockchain and technology specialist and one of the leading private infrastructure providers in the blockchain ecosystem.

As a stand-alone, U.S.-based cryptocurrency mining business, specializing in Bitcoin, we plan to begin our initial buildout phase with a set-up of cryptocurrency mining facilities (or sites) in at least four cities in the United States (three in Texas and one in Ohio). We currently anticipate to begin deployment of capacity across some of our planned cryptocurrency mining sites in the first quarter of 2022.

In connection with our planned set-up, pursuant to the Merger Agreement, we entered into the Standard Power Hosting Agreement, the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement and the Luminant Power Agreement, which together are expected to cover sites for our data centers in at least four planned cities referenced above, see “Business—Material Agreements”. Pursuant to these agreements, we expect to have access, for at least five years, to an average cost of electricity of approximately 2.7 c/kWh. We expect that this will help to competitively position us to achieve our goal of becoming the largest Bitcoin mining operator in the United States.

We aim to deploy the computing power that we will create to mine Bitcoin and validate transactions on the Bitcoin network. We believe that Cipher will become an important player in the Bitcoin network due to our planned large-scale operations and technology, market-leading power and hosting arrangements and an experienced and dedicated senior management team.

For a general overview of blockchain and key features of Bitcoin and Bitcoin industry, see “Business—Blockchain and Bitcoin Industry Overview” below.

Upon completion of the Business Combination, Bitfury Top HoldCo (together with Bitfury Holding) beneficially owned approximately 83.4% of our common stock with sole voting and sole dispositive power over those shares and, as a result, Bitfury Top HoldCo has the power to elect all of our directors and we are a “controlled company” under Nasdaq corporate governance standards. For additional information, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—We are a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq listing rules and, as a result, can rely on exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that provide protection to shareholders of other companies.” and “Management—Executive Officers and Directors—Controlled Company Status.”

Our Key Strengths

We believe that we have a number of strengths that will give us a competitive advantage in the global cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining business, including:

Scale potential to become the largest Bitcoin mining operation in the United States

In the cryptocurrency, and specifically Bitcoin, mining business, we believe that scale can be a key factor in driving cost and margin improvements as well as providing a degree of protection against price volatility.

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As further discussed in “—Our Strategy” and “—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline”, as part of our initial buildout phase, we plan to deploy 445MW of electrical power with a computational power (hashrate) of 14.8 EH/s. Utilizing the cash flow that we expect to generate from our operations that are set-up during our initial buildout phase, we plan to expand deployment of energy capacity at existing or new sites as part of the follow-up phase from 2023 until 2025. We expect that upon the completion of those two phases, by the end of 2025, we will have the potential to deploy 745MW of electrical power, generating a hashrate of 39.8 EH/s, which could result in revenue of over 21,000 Bitcoin per annum, taking into account the next halving, which is expected to occur in March 2024. We expect that our share in the overall hashrate of Bitcoin network could amount to approximately 9% by December 2025, which is based on several key assumptions pertaining to the Bitcoin network and our operations, in particular, including: (i) the overall hashrate of Bitcoin network reaching approximately 455 EH/s by December 2025; (ii) Bitcoin price being in approximate $50,000 range; (iii) average transaction fees per block of 2.38 Bitcoin by December 2025; (iv) the progress of our planned expansion with approximately 229,231 miners deployed with power consumption of approximately 3,250W per miner by 2025; (v) our ability to deploy approximately 745MW of electrical power; and (vi) ASIC chip efficiency reaching approximately 10 W/TH in 2025.

Furthermore, we expect that our focus on the U.S. operations will further support our potential. We believe that the United States currently provides the optimal geographic platform for the development of a cryptocurrency mining business, both in terms of its transparency and regulatory environment, including access to capital markets and the general contractual protections afforded by the U.S. legal system. As further discussed in “—Our Strategy”, we believe that this stability and transparency of the regulatory environment will allow us to establish and develop strong Bitcoin mining operations, and, in conjunction with our other strengths, will allow us to pursue our goal of becoming a leader in Bitcoin mining in the United States.

Cost leadership with reliable electricity supply and resilient business model with downside protection against drops in Bitcoin prices

For our planned buildout phases, we entered into separate power and hosting arrangements with each of Standard Power, WindHQ and Luminant to provide us with hosting and power services. For further details on those arrangements, see “Business—Material Agreements—Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements”. With those arrangements, we expect to have access, for at least five years, to an average cost of electricity of approximately 2.7 c/kWh. We expect that this will provide us with competitive electricity costs, when compared to other Bitcoin mining operations in North America, based on the median electricity price paid by miners in North America of approximately 5.0 c/kWh and, globally, approximately 4.6 c/kWh (Source: Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, Benchmarking Study, September 2020) and the general range of the average costs of electricity as reported by some of our peers of approximately 2.8 c/kWh to approximately 4.5 c/kWh. We also plan to utilize leading technology and mining equipment to maximize computing power output per MW, while minimizing downtime and repair costs. We anticipate that our use of different operational modes will allow us to balance between maximum output per chip and maximum efficiency to respond to varying market conditions.

The overall hashrate of the Bitcoin network is highly correlated with Bitcoin price, and any significant fall in Bitcoin price may force high-cost miners to cease their mining activities, which would typically result in a proportional decrease of the network power. As the number of blocks available for mining is set by Bitcoin protocol irrespective of the network’s hashrate or Bitcoin price increases, in periods of low Bitcoin prices, low-cost producers have the opportunity to take the market share of less-efficient participants and keep their economics resilient by mining a larger number of blocks.

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The graph below shows a historic comparison between the Bitcoin price and the hashrate of the Bitcoin network:

Source: Coin Metrics, February 8, 2021

In line with our business model, we believe that our anticipated controlled power costs as well as the expected use of leading technology and reliable operations and maintenance services will provide our mining operations with high resilience against drops in Bitcoin prices. If the price of Bitcoin drops, we anticipate that we will not only be able to continue our operations despite a drop in profitability, but also that we may be able to potentially take additional market share from our competitors, as some of our competitors with higher cost bases may be forced to curtail or even shut down their operations entirely if the price of Bitcoin drops significantly. We believe that such a model can produce an asymmetric and favorable risk-return profile for potential investors as compared to a direct investment in Bitcoin.

Key management’s track record with relevant expertise and capabilities

At Cipher, we have assembled an experienced executive management team with many years of relevant experience and significant industry and technical knowledge.

Strategic adjacencies with compelling long-term opportunities

With development of cryptocurrency exchanges and similar platforms, we believe that institutional investors will increasingly want to gain exposure to Bitcoin. Accordingly, we believe that we are strategically well positioned not only to develop our cryptocurrency mining business, but also to enhance it through other long-term opportunities in the Bitcoin ecosystem. As our expected Bitcoin inventory will be freshly minted, originated within the U.S. regulatory system and not previously transacted, we believe that it may make us a particularly attractive candidate for potential partnership opportunities. Those opportunities could include, for example, potential partnerships with larger companies in technology and financial services as well as offering of mining-as-a-service.

For further information, see “Business—Our Strategy”.

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Our Strategy

Our strategy is to become the leading Bitcoin mining operator in the United States. Key elements of this strategy are:

Focus on building our operations in the United States and our planned initial and second buildout phases.

We believe that the North American market, and specifically the United States, represents a particularly attractive geographic region for establishment and development of Bitcoin mining operations. Two key drivers for this are the attractive market dynamics and its stable regulatory environment. We believe that the strong cryptocurrency mining dynamics in the United States are particularly driven by the low-cost energy and reliable power infrastructure, significant institutional investor interest and an opportunity to decentralize mining away from China. On the regulatory side, while crypto asset regulation in the United States, as in the rest of the world, is still in the development phase (see “Business—Government Regulation”), we believe that the regulatory framework for Bitcoin in the United States is sufficiently well established and accepted. Furthermore, we believe that the U.S. digital asset ecosystem is more tightly regulated and may attract more compliance-oriented investors, which is expected to contribute to the overall stability of this ecosystem.

The following charts represent known and estimated total global Bitcoin mining capacity distributions as of July 2020:

Source: Cipher, based on BitOoda, “Bitcoin Mining Hashrate and Power Analysis”, July 2020

The charts do not take into account the crypto mining ban in China introduced in the summer of 2021. Due to China’s mining ban, Chinese hashrate is expected to approach zero, with mining capacity relocating out of China.

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As outlined in our “—Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations—Operational Buildout Timeline”, we aim to complete the first initial buildout phase of our operations across at least four cities in the United States (three in Texas and one in Ohio) by the end of 2022. We then aim to commence the second phase of our buildout, which we would expect to continue until the end of 2025. In progressing through our buildout phases, we aim to capitalize on the advantages that we expect from our power and hosting arrangements and our use of the leading technology and mining equipment to maximize computing power output per MW, while minimizing downtime and repair costs. We anticipate that our use of different operational modes will allow us to balance between maximum output per chip and maximum efficiency to respond to varying market conditions.

As part of our operations, we would also plan to utilize one or more third-party mining pools and are currently in the process of evaluating various options. We would anticipate our average payments to the third-party mining pool operators to be in the range of approximately 0-1.25%. We have no immediate plans to establish our own mining pool. We intend to periodically re-evaluate this as part of our overall strategy going forward and, in the future, we may also decide to stop using mining pools.

Establish our cost leadership and maintain strong relationships with our industry partners.

We will seek to structure our relationships with our equipment and service providers, power and hosting suppliers and other potential partners as long-term partnerships. We believe that such an approach may create incentives for better long-term development of our operating platform as well as for our partners.

Retain flexibility in considering strategically adjacent opportunities complimentary to our business model.

As the cryptocurrency ecosystem develops and our business, including Bitcoin inventory, grows, we aim to retain certain flexibility in considering and engaging in various strategic initiatives, which may be complimentary to our mining operations in the United States. For example, we could consider initiatives such as: (i) engaging in lending out Bitcoin as an additional line of revenue; (ii) expanding our operations to mining other cryptocurrencies; (iii) engaging into strategic acquisitions or joint ventures; (iv) leveraging our expected Bitcoin holdings to enter into strategic partnerships in the fintech space; (v) engaging in asset management products; and (vi) providing mining-as-a-service, which may involve working with infrastructure investors on managed Bitcoin mining deployments and other potential projects.

Bitcoin Mining Technology

Below we list the key components of the Bitcoin mining technology which we would require to establish our operations:

ASIC chips

The ASIC chip is the key component of a mining machine and is designed specifically to maximize the rate of hashing operations. Typically, upon completion of the design and engineering sample or pilot production phase, chip developers work with a third-party manufacturer to manufacture the chips on a large scale. The production of ASIC chips typically requires highly sophisticated silicon wafers, which currently only a small number of fabrication facilities, or wafer foundries, in the world are capable of producing. For risks associated with our ASIC chip supplies, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Cipher’s Business and Operations Following the Business Combination—We may depend on third parties to provide us with certain critical equipment and may rely on components and raw materials that may be subject to price fluctuations or shortages, including ASIC chips that have been subject to an ongoing significant shortage. Equipment orders for our initial buildout phase would typically require payments in advance, and we would expect to receive the funds for those upon Closing.”

Servers with proven demand response features

Automatic demand response system allows cryptocurrency mining equipment to rapidly switch on and off by a command from the dispatcher in order to help balance the power grid supply and demand. This technology

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enables users to participate in sophisticated demand-response programs to reduce effective power price by up to 1.0-1.5 cents per kWh, which can make a significant cost difference.

Our Planned Cryptocurrency Operations

Operational Buildout Timeline

We anticipate our cryptocurrency mining operations to be set-up in two phases:

Overall, we expect that upon completion of those two phases, by the end of 2025, we will have the potential to reach a cumulative electrical power of 745MW with a hashrate of 39.8 EH/s and the ability to earn in revenue (mined Bitcoin and transaction fees) over 21,000 Bitcoin per annum, taking into account the next halving, which is expected to occur in March 2024. Based on our projections and assuming an overall hashrate of the Bitcoin network of 455 EH/s in December 2025, we expect that our share in the overall hashrate of the Bitcoin network could amount to approximately 9% by December 2025. Our expectations and estimates are subject to a number of important assumptions, including, but not limited to, our hashrate and the network hashrate estimates, our buildout schedule and the timing and quality of the hardware we receive, including ASIC chips.

Expected Revenue Structure

We expect our revenue to comprise a combination of block rewards and transaction fees, earned for verifying transactions in support of the blockchain:

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The graphic below shows a simplified summary of our business model and mining revenue generation:

Source: Cipher

Block rewards are fixed and the Bitcoin network is designed to periodically reduce them through halving. Most recently in May 2020, when the block reward was reduced from 12.5 to 6.25 Bitcoin, and it is estimated that it will halve again to 3.125 Bitcoin in March 2024.

Bitcoin miners also collect transaction fees for each transaction they confirm. Miners validate unconfirmed transactions by adding the previously unconfirmed transactions to new blocks in the blockchain. Miners are not forced to confirm any specific transaction, but they are economically incentivized to confirm valid transactions as a means of collecting fees. Miners have historically accepted relatively low transaction confirmation fees, because miners have a very low marginal cost of validating unconfirmed transactions, however transaction fees may vary.

As the use of the Bitcoin network expands and the total number of Bitcoin available to mine and, thus, the block rewards, declines over time, we expect the mining incentive structure to transition to a higher reliance on transaction confirmation fees, and the transaction fees to become a larger proportion of the revenues to miners. Thus, our goal is to be well positioned to command an increasing portion of the network transaction fees.

Based on our model, we generally expect the percentage of our revenue expected from transaction fees to increase from approximately 7% in 2021 to approximately 40% in 2025. We generally expect the average transaction fees to grow at a monthly compound growth rate of approximately 3.0%.

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The chart below sets out an illustrative example of the proportion of our potential future revenues that we would expect will come from transaction fees pre- and post-halving:

Source: Cipher; this illustrative example assumes a base case of Bitcoin price at $50,000

Historically, Bitcoin transaction fees have increased each time the network saw an extended period of heavy usage. With more traffic to handle, we believe that transactions with the highest fee have the biggest chance of getting included in the first available block. Transaction fees are closely related to the price of Bitcoin and, similarly to the price of Bitcoin, they historically have been subject to significant fluctuation. Specifically, at the end of 2017, after a significant increase in global market interest in Bitcoin, the average Bitcoin transaction fees ranged from a monthly average of approximately $32 per transaction (approximately 3.69 Bitcoin per block), during the peak of Bitcoin market at the time, to less than $5 per transaction (approximately 0.21 Bitcoin per block) through 2018, 2019 and 2020. The monthly average Bitcoin transaction fees were approximately $16 per transaction (0.60 Bitcoin per block) from January to June of 2021, peaking in April 2021 at approximately $62 per transaction (approximately 1.06 Bitcoin per block) (Source: Blockchain.com).

As transaction fees are closely linked to the movement in the price of Bitcoin, predicting the development rates of transaction fees is difficult as it is subject to potential volatility in the price of Bitcoin. For the risks related to the value of Bitcoin, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Cryptocurrency Mining—Bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that we currently plan to mine and, thus, our future success will depend in large part upon the value of Bitcoin; the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings.” In general, however, we believe that Bitcoin transaction fees have a strong potential to grow over the medium to long term, which is expected to be driven by a wider Bitcoin adoption as well as the overall growth in Bitcoin trading activity and network traffic. Specifically, we believe that it is supported by underlying trends, such as the general rise in the number of digital wallets; potential higher acceptance rates of Bitcoin by traditional financial institutions and some sovereign nations; rising investments levels in Bitcoin from institutional investors and increasing Bitcoin trading volumes. According to BitOoda, while Bitcoin transaction fees have been volatile since 2013 and averaged approximately 7.1% growth per bi-annual period, by the end of 2025, transaction fees are expected to return to their mid-2017 levels and could exceed block rewards. This is in large part expected to be driven by the general network usage growth and the amount of daily Bitcoin mined (Source: BitOoda, “Bitcoin Hashpower Estimate Details”, July 2021).

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The following chart presents historic and projected average transaction fees per block in the relevant periods:

Source: BitOoda, “Bitcoin Hashpower Estimate Details”, July 2021. Points on line denote significant technology developments

Subject to its strategic development plans, we may from time-to-time exchange Bitcoin for fiat currency through OTC providers or exchanges to fund our operations and growth.

Material Agreements

In connection with the Business Combination, we have entered into several key agreements that we expect will be material to our operations:

Power Arrangements and Hosting Arrangements

Luminant

On January 14, 2020, Bitfury Top HoldCo entered into a term sheet setting out the basic terms and conditions for a power purchase agreement with Luminant ET Services Company LLC (“Luminant”) for the supply of electric power to one of our planned sites in Texas (the “Luminant Agreement Term Sheet”). The parties agreed to make Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. the counterparty to the definitive power purchase agreement.

On June 23, 2021, we and Luminant signed a definitive power purchase agreement pursuant to the Luminant Agreement Term Sheet, which was subsequently amended and restated on July 9, 2021 (as amended and restated, the “Luminant Power Agreement”). The agreement provides for a take or pay arrangement, whereby, starting from the Initial Delivery Date (as defined below), Luminant shall supply, and we shall accept, a total electrical power capacity of a minimum of 200MW and up to 210MW (the “Contract Quantity”) during the Initial Term (as defined below) at a predetermined MWh rate. The agreement also provides for certain curtailment events when Luminant has a right to curtail a certain portion of the energy delivered in each contractual year.

On June 29, 2021, with amendment and restatement on July 9, 2021, we also entered into a lease agreement with Luminant’s affiliate, under which Luminant’s affiliate leases us a plot of land to set up the planned data center,

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ancillary infrastructure and electrical system (the “Interconnection Electric Facilities”) at the relevant site (as amended and restated, the “Luminant Lease Agreement”).

Under the Luminant Power Agreement, we are required to provide Luminant a collateral of $12,553,804 (the “Independent Collateral Amount”). Half of the Independent Collateral Amount was paid to Luminant on September 1, 2021 as the Company received notice that Luminant had commenced construction of the Interconnection Electrical Facilities. The other half will be due 15 days prior to the date on which the Interconnection Electric Facilities are completed and made operational. Such amount shall remain in place through the term of the Luminant Power Agreement. Furthermore, pursuant to the Luminant Power Agreement, if Luminant’s exposure reaches 95% of the posted Independent Collateral Amount, we are required to post additional cash collateral (in increments of $100,000) (the “Variable Collateral”) such that the sum of the Independent Collateral Amount, lien value credit (provided for in the agreement) and such additional Variable Collateral equal an amount no less than 105% of Luminant’s exposure.

The details of the construction of the Interconnection Electric Facilities, including the collateral (in addition to the Independent Collateral Amount), are set out in a separate purchase and sale agreement between us and another Luminant affiliate, Vistra Operations Company LLC (“Vistra”), which was entered into on June 28, 2021, and amended and restated on July 9, 2021 (as amended and restated, the “Luminant Purchase and Sale Agreement”). Specifically, under this agreement, we provided $3,063,020 as collateral independent of the Independent Collateral Amount. The agreement also provides that the Interconnection Electric Facilities are targeted to be completed and made operational by April 30, 2022, with an outside closing date of July 31, 2022. The Luminant Purchase and Sale Agreement provides that the Interconnection Electrical Facilities are to be sold to us upon completion of their construction for $13,159,349 to be paid in monthly installments over a five-year period and which will carry interest of 11.21% per annum. Upon conclusion of the Luminant Lease Agreement, the Interconnection Electrical Facilities are to be sold to Vistra at a price to be determined based upon bids obtained in the secondary market.

The Luminant Power Agreement provides that the parties’ respective obligations under the agreement shall become effective as of the first day of the month following (i) the date on which the Interconnection Electric Facilities are completed and made operational by Luminant, and Luminant is ready to deliver energy (which is also conditioned upon Closing), and (ii) the date the Interconnection Electric Facilities are ready to accept energy (together, the “Initial Delivery Date”) and shall continue for five years thereafter (the “Initial Term”). Subject to certain early termination exceptions, the agreement provides for a subsequent automatic annual renewal, unless either party provides written notice to the other party of its intent to terminate the agreement at least six months prior to the expiration of then current term. The Luminant Lease Agreement is effective from the date of our written note of the completion of the Business Combination (the “Effective Date”) and shall continue for five years thereafter, subject to renewal provisions aligned with the Luminant Power Agreement.

Copies of the Luminant Power Agreement, the Luminant Lease Agreement and the Luminant Purchase and Sale Agreement, along with the amendments and restatements to them, are attached as Exhibits 10.22 through 10.27 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Standard Power

On February 3, 2021, we entered into a term sheet providing the basic terms and conditions for a Bitcoin mining hosting agreement with turnkey infrastructure with Standard Power for the hosting of our Bitcoin mining equipment to generate computational power at the three facilities in Ohio provided for by Standard Power (the “SP Agreement Term Sheet”). On April 1, 2021, we and Standard Power signed a definitive hosting agreement pursuant to the SP Agreement Term Sheet and, subsequently on May 12, 2021, we entered into an amendment and restatement to the agreement (as amended and restated, the “Standard Power Hosting Agreement”). Under the Standard Power Hosting Agreement, we agree to provide to Standard Power Bitcoin miners with a specified energy utilization capacity of two hundred Megawatts (200 MWs), or more if agreed, necessary to generate computational power at the respective facilities (the “Miners”). We can acquire such Miners from the Bitfury Group or another supplier. Standard Power, in turn, is obligated to (i) host the Miners in specialized containers

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and provide the electrical power and transmission and connection equipment necessary for the mining and (ii) host, operate and manage the Miners there, in each case in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Standard Power Hosting Agreement.

The Standard Power Hosting Agreement provides that Standard Power shall provide an electric power infrastructure, including containers, necessary to operate Miners with a specified energy utilization capacity of initially at least forty Megawatts (40 MWs) at facility 1 in Ohio in accordance with the specifications and power availability date set out in the availability schedule. The power availability date for the first forty Megawatts (40 MWs) of the required power is set for December 15, 2021.

Thereafter, Standard Power shall provide the hosting capacity, housing and equipment for Miners with the specified energy utilization capacities that will be delivered to the facilities in accordance with the availability schedule, as may be amended and supplemented. Standard Power also undertakes to be responsible for the proper installation and the costs of work for hosting the Miners in the specialized containers in each facility and for the proper care and maintenance of the Miners, the facilities and the containers in which the Miners are installed. The Standard Power Hosting Agreement provides that Standard Power shall purchase these specialized containers from Bitfury Top HoldCo’s affiliate or from another supplier.

Under the Standard Power Hosting Agreement, we are obligated to pay (i) the Hosting Fee, which is comprised of the (a) Base Hosting Fee and the Infrastructure Fee and (b) the Bitcoin Profits Sharing Fee, subject to the applicable Hosting Fee Cap, and (ii) Operational Service Fee (all terms are defined in the Standard Power Hosting Agreement). The Bitcoin Profits Sharing Fee amounts to fifteen percent (15.00%) of the Bitcoin Profits (generally defined as Bitcoins mined at the respective facilities under the Standard Power Hosting Agreement minus all the operating reasonable expenses for the respective period) throughout the initial term of five (5) years.

The Standard Power Hosting Agreement also provides that we are required to provide Standard Power either with an acceptable form of credit guarantee or a security deposit in cash equal to three (3) months aggregate Base Hosting Fee and Infrastructure Fee paid at least fourteen (14) days before the date first Miners have been delivered to the facility 1.

The Standard Power Hosting Agreement provides for the initial term of five (5) years with automatic five (5) year renewal provisions.

A copy of the Standard Power Hosting Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.28 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

WindHQ

On January 11, 2021, Bitfury Top HoldCo entered into a non-binding letter of intent providing the basic terms and conditions to enter into a joint venture to build, equip and operate one or more data centers (“Data Centers”) with WindHQ LLC (“WindHQ JV Letter of Intent”). Bitfury Top HoldCo assigned the WindHQ JV Letter of Intent to Cipher on February 19, 2021. On June 10, 2021, we and WindHQ signed a binding definitive framework agreement with respect to the construction, build-out, deployment and operation of the Data Centers in the United States (the “WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement”).

The WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement provides that the parties shall collaborate to fund the construction and build-out of certain specified Data Centers at locations already identified by the parties (“Initial Data Centers”). Each Initial Data Center will be owned by a separate limited liability company (each, an “Initial Data Center LLC”), and WindHQ will own 51% of the initial membership interests of each Initial Data Center LLC and we will 49% of the initial membership interests of each Initial Data Center LLC.

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The WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement includes a development schedule for additional electrical power capacity through the joint identification, procurement, development and operation of additional Data Centers (“Future Data Centers”) totaling (including the Initial Data Centers) 110MW by December 31, 2022, 210MW by December 31, 2023, 340MW by December 31, 2024, and 500MW by December 31, 2026. Each Future Data Center will be owned by a separate limited liability company (each, a “Future Data Center LLC”, and collectively with the Initial Data Center LLCs, the “Data Center LLCs”), and WindHQ will own at least 51% of the initial membership interests of each Future Data Center LLC and we will own a maximum of 49% of the initial membership interests of each Future Data Center LLC. Furthermore, under the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement, WindHQ is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to procure energy for Future Data Centers at the most favorable pricing then available. Similarly, we are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to procure the applicable equipment needed for the Future Data Centers at the most favorable pricing then available.

Under the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement, WindHQ agrees to provide a series of services to each of the Data Centers, including but not limited to: (i) the design and engineering of each of the Data Centers; (ii) the procurement of energy equipment and others related services such as logistics for each of the Data Centers; and (ii) the construction work for each of the Data Centers. Furthermore, we are required to support and monitor (remotely) the operations of the hardware at each Data Center (particularly the mining servers) as required under the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement.

A development fee equal to 2% of capital expenditures in respect of the initial development of each Data Center shall be paid 50% to WindHQ and 50% to us. Furthermore, a fee equal to 2% of the gross revenues of each of the Data Centers will be payable monthly based on the immediately prior month gross revenue of such Data Center, 50% to WindHQ and 50% to us.

For each Data Center, WindHQ and we will cooperate to prepare a financial model incorporating the relevant economic factors of such Data Center, including a determination of a target projected return for any expansion projects for such Data Center (such return, the “Economic Threshold” for such Data Center), and both WindHQ and we will provide the initial funding required for each Data Center on a pro rata basis in accordance with our respective ownership interests in the applicable Data Center LLC. Either WindHQ or we may propose expansion projects to be undertaken by a Data Center LLC (“Expansion Projects”). For any Expansion Project with a projected return expected to equal or exceed the Economic Threshold for the applicable Data Center, WindHQ and we will fund such Expansion Project through the subscription for additional membership interests in the applicable Data Center LLC. If the projected return for an Expansion Project is less than the Economic Threshold for the applicable Data Center and either WindHQ or we do not approve of the applicable Data Center LLC undertaking such Expansion Project, then WindHQ (if WindHQ proposed the Expansion Project) or we (if we proposed the Expansion Project) may form a separate limited liability company to pursue the Expansion Project, and the applicable Initial Data Center LLC shall enter into a shared facilities agreement with such separate limited liability company that provides such limited liability company with the rights necessary to proceed with such Expansion Project at the applicable Data Center.

In the absence of any material breaches by either party, the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement may only be terminated by mutual written consent of both parties. A copy of the WindHQ Joint Venture Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.29 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Master Services and Supply Agreement

In connection with the Business Combination, Bitfury Top HoldCo and Cipher entered into the Master Services and Supply Agreement on August 26, 2021. The initial term of the agreement is 84 months, with automatic 12-month renewals thereafter (unless either party provides sufficient notice of non-renewal). Pursuant to this agreement, Cipher can request and Bitfury Top HoldCo is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide, or procure the provision of, certain equipment and/or services, such as construction, engineering and operations, in each case as may be required to launch and maintain Cipher’s mining centers in the United States.

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Specifically, under the terms of the Master Services and Supply Agreement, Cipher can request and Bitfury Top HoldCo is required to: (i) use commercially reasonable efforts to manufacture (or procure the manufacture by its suppliers and/or subcontractors) and supply to Cipher the quantity, specification and type of equipment (including modular data centers, servers, ASIC chips and miners); and (ii) provide certain project management and quality control, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations, maintenance and other related services as outlined in the Master Services and Supply Agreement.

Additionally, the Master Services and Supply Agreement provides that, subject to certain de minimis thresholds, Bitfury Top HoldCo agrees not to compete with Cipher in the Bitcoin mining business in the United States.

The Master Services and Supply Agreement is not exclusive to Bitfury Top HoldCo or any of its affiliates, and Cipher may retain any other parties to manufacture and deliver any equipment or perform any of the services required. The Master Services and Supply Agreement does not set out precise types, specifications, quantities or timings of any equipment or services deliveries. If Cipher decides to order any equipment under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, it will set out the relevant type, specifications, quantity and timing for delivery of equipment in individual purchase orders. Similarly, Cipher will request the relevant services under individual statements of work. Cipher is not obligated to order any equipment or services from Bitfury under the Master Services and Supply Agreement. The agreement does not provide for any minimum level or volume of services or any minimum quantity or type of equipment (including ASIC chips or miners) that Cipher would be required to order. If an order is made, the timeframes for any particular deliveries are to be set out in the relevant individual purchase orders or statements of work.

The Master Services and Supply Agreement provides that Cipher can use: (i) subject to certain notice requirements, a right of first refusal regarding the purchase of chips that Bitfury Top HoldCo makes available to the market in future; and (ii) “most-favored nation pricing” protection in relation to any services (with reference to the United States prices) and/or equipment (with reference to the worldwide prices) that it may decide to order from Bitfury Top HoldCo.

In addition to the Master Services and Supply Agreement, Cipher and Bitfury Holding also entered into a fee side letter, which sets out the basic pricing framework applicable under the Master Services and Supply Agreement for any services. Under the side letter, monthly fees for any potential future services, if any, would be determined by reference to two groups of services, which may be provided under the Master Services and Supply Agreement: (i) Bitfury Top HoldCo’s “onsite” services fee would be calculated on a straight cost +5% basis (plus applicable duties and taxes); and (ii) Bitfury Top HoldCo’s “remote services” would be calculated on a ratchet basis applying a management fee of $1000/MW up to 445MW (capped at $200,000/month) and $450USD/MW above 445MW (plus applicable duties and taxes).

The Master Services and Supply Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The fee side letter to the Master Services and Supply Agreement is attached as Exhibit 10.30 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder. The Master Services and Supply Agreement will constitute a related-party transaction. For further details, see “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions—Cipher’s Related Party Transaction—Master Services and Supply Agreement”. Bitfury Top HoldCo is entitled to appoint a majority of the members of the Board, and it has the power to determine the decisions to be taken at New Cipher’s shareholder meetings on matters of New Cipher’s management that require the prior authorization of our shareholders, including in respect of related party transactions, such as the Master Services and Supply Agreement, corporate restructurings and the date of payment of dividends and other capital distributions. Thus, the decisions of Bitfury Top HoldCo as our controlling shareholder on these matters, including its decisions with respect to its or our performance under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, may be contrary to the expectations or preferences of New Cipher stockholders. For further details, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder and, as such, may be able

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to control our strategic direction and exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.”

Recent Business Developments

In August 2021, we and Bitmain entered into agreement for us to purchase 27,000 Antminer S19j Pro (100 TH/s) miners, which are expected to be delivered in nine batches on a monthly basis between January 2022 and September 2022. In September 2021, we also entered into a framework agreement with SuperAcme Technology (Hong Kong) Limited to purchase 60,000 MicroBT M30S, M30S+ and M30S++ miners, which are expected to be delivered in six batches on a monthly basis between July 2022 and year-end 2022. For further details on the Bitmain Agreement and the SuperAcme Agreement, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Contractual Obligations and Other Commitments.”

Competition

Bitcoin is mined all over the world by a variety of miners, including individuals, public and private companies and mining pools. There is also a possibility that, in the future, foreign governments may decide to subsidize or in some other way support certain large-scale cryptocurrency mining projects, see “Risk Factors—Regulatory actions in one or more countries could severely affect the right to acquire, own, hold, sell or use certain cryptocurrencies or to exchange them for fiat currency”. Thus, we expect to compete against a number of companies and entities operating both within the United States and abroad. Equally important, as Bitcoin price increases, additional miners may be drawn into the market. The corollary would mean that as Bitcoin price decreases, miners that are less cost-efficient may be driven out of the market.

Blockchain and Bitcoin Industry Overview

Our business model centers on cryptocurrency mining operations and, specifically, Bitcoin mining.

Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies and Other Digital Assets

A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed ledger. Unlike a centralized database whereby an entire database, or full copies of that database, remains in the control of one person or entity stored on a computer that is controlled or owned by that same person or entity, a blockchain ledger typically has partial copies of itself across various computers or participants (“nodes”) in the network. Each new block requires a method of consensus between nodes of the network in order for the block to post to the ledger and become permanent. There are various methods being developed for executing a consensus.

Currently, the most popular application of blockchain is cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are currencies that are not backed by a central bank or a national, supra-national or quasi-national organization and are not typically backed by hard assets or other credit. Cryptocurrencies are typically used as a medium of exchange—similar to fiat currencies like the U.S. Dollar—that is transacted through and recorded on a blockchain.

In addition to cryptocurrencies, there are other assets, such as contracts or other information that reside on a blockchain that represent a form of ownership. Examples may include insurance contracts, deeds, wills, health data or securities. Together with cryptocurrencies, these other assets, which also include virtual currencies, digital coins and tokens, and other blockchain assets, make up a class of assets called “Digital Assets”. The value of Digital Assets is determined by the value that various market participants place on them through their transactions, for example, via peer-to-peer transactions, e-commerce or exchanges.

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Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the oldest and most commonly used cryptocurrency today. Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an unknown person under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and launched in 2009 as a medium of exchange. As of the date of this prospectus, Bitcoin is the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

As described in the original white paper by Nakamoto, Bitcoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that allows online payments to be sent from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Upon verification by computers (“miners”) serving the Bitcoin network, authenticated transactions are forever added to a public ledger (“chain”) for all to view. Without the need for a trusted third party to determine which transactions are authentic, Bitcoin allows any two willing market participants to transact, thereby minimizing transaction costs, reducing the minimum practical transaction size, and enabling the ability to make non-reversible payments for non-reversible services.

Sending Bitcoin

When Bitcoins are sent, the transactions are broadcasted to all nodes in the Bitcoin network. Each node bundles a collection of transactions into an encrypted block and applies computation power to decipher the code (“hash”) to the encrypted block, which requires verification that all transactions within the block are valid. Once the node cracks the code, that code is sent to all other miners who can easily verify that the hash is indeed correct. And when enough nodes agree that the hash is correct, the block is added to the existing chain and miners move on to work on the next block by utilizing the hash of the accepted block as the previous hash.

The verification is necessary because, unlike physical cash that can only be held by one party at a time, cryptocurrency is a digital file that could be fraudulently copied and sent to multiple recipients if there are no safeguards in place. To address this double-spending problem, the public ledger in the Bitcoin network keeps track of user balances and a complete history of every transaction executed among Bitcoin network participants, all the while keeping participants anonymous.

Bitcoin Parameters

When Bitcoin was created, the inventor limited its supply to 21 million coins. 1 Bitcoin is equal to 100 million satoshi, which is the smallest unit of Bitcoin. This supply limitation ensures that Bitcoin remains scarce, and the divisibility enables small-sized transactions even in a rising Bitcoin price environment.

Bitcoin Distribution

As of the date of this prospectus, there were approximately 19 million coins in circulation. To distribute Bitcoins into circulation and incentivize miners for expending time and computation power to find solutions to encrypted blocks, the Bitcoin network rewards the miner who finds the right hash with Bitcoins.

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The following chart shows the estimated Bitcoin supply schedule:

Source: Coin Metrics; Bitcoin market data, February 8, 2021; 18.9MM BTC as of February 8, 2021 (approx. 88%), expected 19.9MM BTC by 2024 (approx. 94%), expected 21MM BTC by 2141 (approx. 100%)

The number of Bitcoin rewards is reduced by 50% for every 210,000 blocks mined, and given that a block is added to the ledger approximately every 10 minutes (time for the Bitcoin system to mine a new block), the “halving event” takes place roughly once every 4 years until all 21 million Bitcoins have been “unearthed”. Currently, each block mined rewards 6.25 Bitcoins and the next halving is expected to occur on March 2024, at which point each block mined would only reward 3.125 Bitcoins.

Transaction Fees

When a user decides to send Bitcoin to a recipient, the transaction is first broadcasted to a memory pool before being included in a block. Because each block can only contain up to 1 megabyte of transaction information, it is in this memory pool that miners can pick and choose which transactions to bundle into the next block and verify. During periods of heavy network usage, there can oftentimes be more transactions awaiting confirmation than there is space in a block. Consequently, not all attempted transactions will be verified immediately and some transactions can take up to a day or longer to verify.

In such situations where there are more transactions in the memory pool than there is space on the next block, users compete for miners’ computation power by adding fees (“tips”) onto their transactions in the hope that miners would prioritize their transactions. Due to the 1 megabyte limitation, miners tend to favor smaller transactions that are easier to validate. Larger “tips” are required to incentivize miners to mine larger transactions. When the network congestion eases, the miners then turn their focus upon the remaining transactions.

Wallet

Bitcoins are held in Bitcoin wallets, which is a software program for storing Bitcoins. Each wallet is assigned a unique address. When users transact directly, using wallets, or indirectly, through exchanges, Bitcoins are moved from one wallet address to another after the transaction has been verified by miners.

Bitcoin Mining

The term “mining” is used to define a process whereby the blockchain consensus is formed. The Bitcoin consensus process, for example, entails solving complex mathematical problems using custom-designed

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computers. However, many more public and private blockchains are being developed with different algorithms or consensus models, which can use different hardware and methods for performing the function of adding blocks to their blockchains.

Hashing

To mine Bitcoin, computers solve difficult mathematical problems to verify transactions in support of the blockchain. As an incentive to expend time, power and other resources to mine Bitcoin, miners are rewarded in Bitcoin and transaction fees. Each computation is a hash, and the speed at which these problems can be solved at is measured in hash rate. Initially, miners used general purpose chips such as Central Processing Units (“CPUs”) and Graphics Processing Units (“GPUs”) to complete calculations.

In recent years, however, ASIC chips have replaced GPUs in order to improve speeds. As miners across the world compete to solve these computations at the fastest hash rate, miners are rewarded in proportion to their processing contribution of the overall network. Due to this dynamic, low-cost energy sources and the most powerful ASIC chips are in high demand and can be difficult to obtain, requiring miners to become more sophisticated and better capitalized to compete in the future.

Energy Price

As computers continuously compute and verify each block of transactions, they require a reliable and large amount of electricity. Given how electricity costs account for a significant proportion of a miner’s operating expenses, having the lowest possible electricity price may provide a company with a significant advantage over its peers.

Cooling

Bitcoin is mined by chips housed in data centers. Due to the amount of energy that computers expend in order to solve complex computations, advanced cooling systems are needed to prevent the computers from overheating. Some miners achieve this by placing their hardware in cold climate locations or underground. Others resort to traditional fan cooling systems. Yet another solution is to submerse computers in non-conductive, cooling liquid.

Mining pools

A “mining pool” is the pooling of resources by miners, which allows miners to combine their processing power over a network, increasing their chances of solving a block and getting paid by the network. The rewards are distributed by the pool operator, proportionally to the miner’s “hashing” capacity they contribute to the pool mining power, used to generate each block. Mining pools emerged partly in response to the growing difficulty and available hashing power that competes to place a block on the bitcoin blockchain. As additional miners competed for the limited supply of blocks, individuals found that they were working for months without finding a block and receiving any reward for their mining efforts.

The mining pool operator provides a service that coordinates the computing power of the independent mining enterprise. Fees are paid to the mining pool operator to cover the costs of maintaining the pool. The pool uses software that coordinates the pool members’ hashing power, identifies new block rewards, records how much work all the participants are doing, and assigns block rewards for successful algorithm solutions in-proportion to the individual hash rate that each participant contributed to a given successful mining transaction. Pool fees are typically deducted from amounts the pool miners may otherwise earn.

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Government Regulation

We will operate in a complex and rapidly evolving regulatory environment and expect to be subject to a wide range of laws and regulations enacted by U.S. federal, state and local governments, governmental agencies and regulatory authorities, including the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as well as similar entities in other countries. Other regulatory bodies, governmental or semi-governmental, have shown an interest in regulating or investigating companies engaged in the blockchain or cryptocurrency business.

Regulations may substantially change in the future and it is presently not possible to know how regulations will apply to our businesses, or when they will be effective. As the regulatory and legal environment evolves, we may become subject to new laws and further regulation by the SEC and other agencies, which may affect our mining and other activities. For instance, various bills have also been proposed in the U.S. Congress related to our business, which may be adopted and have an impact on us. For additional discussion regarding our belief about the potential risks existing and future regulation pose to our business, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Regulatory Framework”.

Furthermore, as we may strategically expand our operations into new areas, see “Business—Our Strategy—Retain flexibility in considering strategically adjacent opportunities complimentary to our business model”, we may become subject to additional regulatory requirements.

Intellectual Property

We plan to use specific hardware and software for our cryptocurrency mining operations. 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, we intend 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 may in the future develop certain proprietary software applications for purposes of our cryptocurrency mining operation.

Legal proceedings

We are not a party to any material pending legal proceedings. From time to time, we may be subject to legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of business.

Employees

As of the date of this prospectus, we had five full-time employees and officers. Tyler Page has acted as Chief Executive Officer of Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. since its inception and as Chief Executive Officer of New Cipher since August 27, 2021. Edward Farrell acted as Chief Financial Officer of Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. since late January 2021 and as Chief Financial Officer of New Cipher since August 27, 2021. William Iwaschuk and Patrick Kelly have acted, respectively, as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Cipher Mining Technologies Inc. from March 2021 and as Chief Legal Officer and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, of New Cipher since August 27, 2021. Christopher Kessler acted as Vice President of New Cipher since August 2021.

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MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

The following table lists the names, ages as of September 1, 2021, and positions of the individuals serving as directors and executive officers of our company:

Executive Officers

Tyler Page. Since the Closing, Mr. Page has served as New Cipher’s Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board. From 2020 to 2021, Mr. Page served as Head of Business Development for digital asset infrastructure at Bitfury Holding, where he was responsible for business development and strategic planning work of the Bitfury Group. Since the inception of Cipher, Mr. Page solely focused on preparation for the Business Combination and set-up of Cipher’s planned operations following the Business Combination; however, Mr. Page remained employed by Bitfury Holding, an entity wholly owned by Bitfury Top HoldCo. Mr. Page ceased all his responsibilities under his contract with Bitfury Holding in March 2021 and, upon the Closing, Mr. Page will terminate his contract with Bitfury Holding.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in institutional finance and fintech, including as a member of the Management Committee and Head of Client Strategies at New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), from 2017 to 2019, and as Head of Institutional Sales at Stone Ridge, from 2016 to 2019. Previously, he served as Global Head of Business Development for Fund Solutions at Guggenheim Partners in New York and London, as well as in various roles in derivatives teams at Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. He began his career as an attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. He holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Edward Farrell. Since the Closing, Mr. Farrell has serves as New Cipher’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Cipher, from 2003 to 2018, Mr. Farrell held several senior positions at AllianceBernstein, L.P., including Controller, Chief Accounting Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Farrell brings more than 35 years of financial administration and leadership experience in the financial services industry, including his prior positions at Nomura Securities International and Salomon Brothers. Ed started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Mr. Farrell currently serves on the board of directors Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. where he is a member to both their Audit and Corporate Governance Committees. He received his B.B.A. in Business Administration from St. Bonaventure University.

Patrick Kelly. Since the Closing, Mr. Kelly has served as New Cipher’s Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Cipher, from 2012 to 2019, Mr. Kelly served as Chief Operating Officer at Stone Ridge Asset Management, LLC. Between 2012 and 2018, he also held several directorship positions with several trusts of Stone Ridge Asset Management. From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Kelly served as Chief Operating Officer of Quantitative Strategies at Magnetar Capital. Prior to that, he served as Head of Portfolio Valuation at D. E. Shaw & Co. Mr. Kelly is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and received his B.S. in Finance from DePaul University.

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William Iwaschuk. Since the Closing, Mr. Iwaschuk has served as New Cipher’s Chief Legal Officer. Prior to Cipher, from 2014 to 2020, Mr. Iwaschuk held senior positions at Tower Research Capital LLC, including serving as General Counsel and Secretary (2016-2020) and Counsel (2014-2016). From 2013 to 2014, Mr. Iwaschuk was a Partner in the Investment Management Group of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in New York. Mr. Iwaschuk also previously served as a Vice-President in the legal department at Goldman Sachs & Co. from 2005 until 2012. Mr. Iwaschuk started his career as an equity derivatives associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP in New York. Mr. Iwaschuk holds an LL.B. and a B.A. from The University of British Columbia.

Non-Employee Directors

Cary Grossman. Since the Closing, Mr. Grossman has served as a member of the Board. Mr. Grossman co-founded GWAC in 2020 and served as its President and a member of its board of directors since June 2020. Mr. Grossman is a veteran corporate finance professional with a combination of executive management, investment banking and public accounting experience. In 2010, Mr. Grossman co-founded Shoreline Capital Advisors, Inc., an advisory firm focused on providing financial advisory services to middle companies. Prior to Shoreline Capital Advisors, from 1991 to 2002, Mr. Grossman co-founded and was the CEO of another investment banking firm, McFarland, Grossman & Company. Earlier in his career, he practiced public accounting for 15 years. Mr. Grossman also held a number of executive positions, including; President of XFit, Inc. from 2019 to 2020, Chief Financial Officer of Blaze Metals, LLC from 2007 to 2010; Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Gentium, S.P.A. from 2004 to 2006; Chief Executive Officer of ERP Environmental Services, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer of U.S. Liquids, Inc. from 2001 to 2003. He also co-founded Pentacon, Inc. (NYSE: JIT) and served as a board member and Executive Chairman from 1998 until 2002, and as a director of Metalico (NYSE: MEA) from 2014 until 2015 and INX Inc. (Nasdaq: INXI) from 2004 until 2011. Mr. Grossman is a Certified Public Accountant and earned a B.B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Texas. We believe that Mr. Grossman is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive corporate finance and management experience and his overall public company experience.

Caitlin Long. Since the Closing, Ms. Long has served as a member of the Board. Ms. Long has extensive experience in both traditional financial services and cryptocurrencies. She is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avanti Financial Group, Inc., a chartered bank that she founded in 2020 to serve as a compliant bridge between the U.S. dollar and cryptocurrency financial systems. Ms. Long has been active in Bitcoin since 2012. Beginning in 2017 she helped lead the charge in her native state of Wyoming to enact more than 20 blockchain-enabling laws during consecutive legislative sessions, and she was appointed by two Wyoming Governors to serve on related legislative committees from 2018 to 2020. She worked at investment banks in New York and Zurich from 1994 to 2016, where she held senior roles as a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. Ms. Long earned a B.A. from the University of Wyoming and a joint J.D./ M.P.P. degree from Harvard Law School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government. We believe that Ms. Long is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive digital asset experience, her legal and regulatory expertise, and her prior experience working with public companies.

James Newsome. Since the Closing, Mr. Newsome has served as a member of the Board. Mr. Newsome served on the advisory board of Bitfury Top HoldCo from 2015 until 2021. Mr. New as president of the New York Mercantile Exchange from August of 2004 until it was acquired by the CME Group in 2009. He subsequently served on the board of CME Group from 2009 until 2011. Mr. Newsome has also previously served on the board of directors of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange and is a former director of the National Futures Association. From 1998 until 2004, Mr. Newsome held various senior roles at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) from Commissioner (1998 to 2000) to a Chairman of CFTC (2000 to 2004). As a Chairman of CFTC, Mr. Newsome guided the regulation of the nation’s futures markets and led the CFTC’s regulatory implementation of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. He also served as one of four members of the President’s Working Group for Financial Markets, along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Chairmen of the Federal Reserve and the SEC. Mr. Newsome is also presently a founding partner of Delta Strategy Group,

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a full-service government affairs firm based in Washington, D.C. He earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Economics from Mississippi State University. We believe that Mr. Newsome is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive corporate finance and management experience.

Wesley Williams. Since the Closing, Mr. Williams has served as a member of the Board. Mr. Williams brings over 20 years of experience in corporate finance. From 2017, he has served as Portfolio Manager, Chief Operating Officer, and a member of the Board of Managers of Gallatin Loan Management, a high yield credit investment management firm. From 2013 until 2016, Mr. Williams was a founding partner of Hildene Leveraged Credit, until its sale to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group. From 2010 through 2012, he worked as a turnaround Operating Partner, Interim CFO, and Shareholder Representative for Goldman Sachs portfolio companies. From 2006 until 2008, Mr. Williams worked as a Vice President of specialty finance and leveraged credit at Marathon Asset Management, a high yield credit investment manager. From 1999 through 2005, Mr. Williams also held various roles in the Investment Banking and Merchant Banking Divisions of Goldman Sachs. He holds an AB in Sociology from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. We believe that Mr. Williams is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive corporate finance and overall management experience.

Holly Morrow Evans. Since the Closing, Mrs. Evans has served as a member of the Board. Prior to Cipher, Mrs. Evans served in consulting and advisory capacity at Hakluyt and Company from 2015 till present. From 2007 to 2013, she was a senior adviser for ExxonMobil. She also served as director on the National Security Council from 2005 to 2007 and as China advisor to the office of vice president from 2003 to 2005. Mrs. Evans holds a B.A. in Political Science from Georgetown and an M.A. in Asian Studies from Harvard University. We believe that Mrs. Evans is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to her extensive advisory experience.

Robert Dykes. Since the Closing, Mr. Dykes has served as a member of the Board. Prior to Cipher, Mr. Dykes served as Director of Bitfury Group Limited (UK) from 2014 until 2020 and was on the advisory board of Bitfury Top HoldCo from 2020 until 2021. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Dykes served as the Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President and Principal Accounting Officer of VeriFone Systems, Inc., company specializing in retail credit card payment systems. He has more than 30 years of operational management experience, and an established reputation in building world-class organizations. He served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President, Business Operations of Juniper Networks Inc., from 2005 to 2007. Mr. Dykes served as the Chief Financial Officer of Flextronics International Ltd., from 1997 to 2004. From 1988 to 1997, Mr. Dykes served as the Executive Vice President of Worldwide Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Symantec Corporation. Mr. Dykes holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration Degree from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. We believe that Mr. Dykes is well qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive corporate finance and management experience and his overall public company experience.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.

Controlled Company Status

Following the Business Combination, Bitfury Top HoldCo beneficially owns approximately 83.4% of our common stock with sole voting and sole dispositive power over those shares, and, as a result, Bitfury Top HoldCo has the power to elect all of our directors. Therefore, we are a “controlled company” under Nasdaq corporate governance standards. As a controlled company, we have the right to elect not to comply with the corporate governance rules of Nasdaq requiring: (i) a majority of independent directors on the Board, (ii) an independent compensation committee and (iii) an independent corporate governance and nominating committee.

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Nevertheless, we voluntarily elected to comply with the Nasdaq corporate governance requirement that a majority of the Board and human resources (i.e., compensation) and nominating and corporate governance committees consist of independent directors.

Corporate Governance

Composition of the Board of Directors

When considering whether directors and director nominees have the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, taken as a whole, to enable the Board to satisfy its oversight responsibilities effectively in light of its business and structure, the board of directors expects to focus primarily on each person’s background and experience as reflected in the information discussed in each of the directors’ individual biographies set forth above in order to provide an appropriate mix of experience and skills relevant to the size and nature of its business.

Director Independence

As a result of our common stock being listed on Nasdaq, we are required to comply with the applicable rules of such exchange in determining whether a director is independent. The board of directors undertook a review of the independence of the individuals named above and has determined that six of seven qualify as “independent” as defined under the applicable Nasdaq rules.

Committees of the Board of Directors

The Board directs the management of its business and affairs, as provided by Delaware law, and conducts its business through meetings of the board of directors and standing committees. New Cipher has a standing audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee, each of which operate under a written charter.

In addition, from time to time, special committees may be established under the direction of the board of directors when the board deems it necessary or advisable to address specific issues. Copies of New Cipher’s committee charters are posted on its website, https://investors.ciphermining.com, as required by the applicable SEC and Nasdaq rules. The information on or available through any of such website is not deemed incorporated in this prospectus and does not form part of this prospectus.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee will consists of Cary Grossman, Wesley Williams and Robert Dykes, with Robert Dykes serving as the chair of the committee. The Board has determined that each of these individuals meets the independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act and the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq. Each member of New Cipher’s audit committee can read and understand fundamental financial statements in accordance with Nasdaq audit committee requirements. In arriving at this determination, the board has examined each audit committee member’s scope of experience and the nature of their prior and/or current employment.

The Board has determined that Robert Dykes qualifies as an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of SEC regulations and meets the financial sophistication requirements of the Nasdaq rules. In making this determination, the Board has considered Robert Dykes formal education and previous and current experience in financial and accounting roles. Both New Cipher’s independent registered public accounting firm and management will periodically meet privately with New Cipher’s audit committee.

The audit committee’s responsibilities will include, among other things:

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The composition and function of the audit committee will comply with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and all applicable SEC rules and regulations. New Cipher will comply with future requirements to the extent they become applicable to New Cipher.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee consists of Holly Morrow Evans, Wesley Williams and Cary Grossman, with Cary Grossman serving as the chair of the committee. Holly Morrow Evans, Wesley Williams and Cary Grossman are non-employee directors, as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act. The Board has determined that Holly Morrow Evans, Wesley Williams and Cary Grossman are “independent” as defined under the applicable Nasdaq listing standards, including the standards specific to members of a compensation committee.

The compensation committee’s responsibilities will include, among other things:

The composition and function of the compensation committee will comply with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and all applicable SEC rules and regulations. New Cipher will comply with future requirements to the extent they become applicable to New Cipher.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our nominating and corporate governance committee consists of Caitlin Long, Holly Morrow Evans and Robert Dykes. The Board has determined that Caitlin Long, Holly Morrow Evans and Robert Dykes are “independent” as defined under the applicable Nasdaq listing standards, including the standards specific to members of a nominating and corporate committee.

The functions of the nominating and corporate governance committee are expected to include:

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The composition and function of the nominating and corporate governance committee will comply with all applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and all applicable SEC rules and regulations. New Cipher will comply with future requirements to the extent they become applicable to New Cipher.

Code of Ethics

We have a code of ethics that applies to all of our executive officers, directors and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions. The code of ethics is available on our website, https://investors.ciphermining.com. The reference to our website address in this prospectus does not include or incorporate by reference the information on that website into this prospectus. We intend to disclose future amendments to certain provisions of this code of ethics, or waivers of these provisions, on our website or in public filings to the extent required by the applicable rules.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on the Board.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Executive Compensation

Because we were formed on January 7, 2021, there were no named executive officers in 2020. Since April 1, 2021, we have been paying salaries to our executive officers. We also may reimburse our executive officers for any out of pocket expenses that they incur on our behalf. We entered into employment agreements with each of our executive officers as described below (the “Executive Employment Agreements”). On August 26, 2021, each of the Executive Employment Agreements were assigned to, and assumed by, New Cipher.

On May 11, 2021, we entered into employment agreements with Tyler Page (our Chief Executive Officer), Patrick Kelly (our Chief Operating Officer), Edward Farrell (our Chief Financial Officer) and William Iwaschuk (our Chief Legal Officer). Each employment agreement will remain in effect through May 11, 2025, and thereafter will automatically renew annually unless either party gives notice of non-renewal. The employment agreements provide for an annual base salary of $300,000 for Mr. Page and $200,000 for Messrs. Kelly, Farrell and Iwaschuk. Beginning in 2022, each executive officer will be eligible to earn a discretionary cash bonus under any of our bonus plan then in effect, subject to the executive officer’s continued employment through the payment date. The employment agreements also provide for each executive’s eligibility to participate in the Incentive Award Plan, subject to the terms of such plan and any award agreement thereunder.

The Executive Employment Agreements provide that if an executive officer’s employment is terminated by us without Cause, or the executive officer resigns for Good Reason (in each case as defined in the executive officer’s Executive Employment Agreement), or we elect not to renew the employment term, in each case, following the Closing and subject to the executive officer’s execution and non-revocation of a release of claims and continued compliance with the restrictive covenants to which he is bound, the executive officer will be entitled to receive, in addition to any accrued amounts, (i) his annual base salary for a period of twelve months (or, if such termination occurs within twelve (12) months following a Change in Control (as defined in the Incentive Award Plan), such payment shall be paid in a lump sum), (ii) a pro-rated annual bonus (to the extent the executive officer would have been entitled to such bonus for the year in which the termination occurs), based on actual performance and (iii) payment of our share of the premiums for participation in our health plans pursuant to COBRA for the twelve-month period following termination.

As defined in each executive officer’s Executive Employment Agreement, “Good Reason” means the occurrence of any one or more of the following events without the executive officer’s prior written consent, unless we fully correct the circumstances constituting Good Reason (provided such circumstances are capable of correction): (i) a material diminution in the executive officer’s position (including status, offices, titles and reporting requirements), authority, duties or responsibilities (subject to certain exceptions), (ii) our material reduction of the executive officer’s then-current base salary, or (iii) our material breach of the executive officer’s Executive Employment Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the executive officer will not be deemed to have resigned for Good Reason unless (1) the executive officer provides us with written notice setting forth in reasonable detail the facts and circumstances claimed by the executive officer to constitute Good Reason within sixty (60) days after the date of the occurrence of any event that the executive officer knows or should reasonably have known to constitute Good Reason, (2) we fail to cure such acts or omissions within thirty (30) days following its receipt of such notice, and (3) the effective date of the executive officer’s termination for Good Reason occurs no later than sixty (60) days after the expiration of our cure period.

Pursuant to the Executive Employment Agreements, each executive officer is subject to confidentiality and assignment of intellectual property provisions, and certain restrictive covenants, including one-year post-employment non- competition and employee and customer non-solicitation covenants which take effect only after the Closing.

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Director Compensation

We currently do not provide any compensation to any of our directors in their capacity as such. We expect that the Board will implement an annual compensation program for our non-employee directors. The material terms of this program are not yet known and will depend on the judgment of the members of the board based on advice and counsel of its advisors.

Incentive Award Plan

In connection with the Business Combination, the Board adopted, and our stockholders approved, the Incentive Award Plan, in order to facilitate the grant of cash and equity incentives to directors, employees (including our named executive officers) and consultants of our company and to enable us to obtain and retain services of these individuals, which is essential to our long-term success. We expect to grant to certain directors and executive officers equity awards in the future. As of the date of this prospectus, no equity awards have been made pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan.

Purpose of the Incentive Award Plan

The purpose of the Incentive Award Plan is to enhance our ability to attract, retain and motivate persons who make (or are expected to make) important contributions to Cipher Mining Inc. and its participating subsidiaries by providing these individuals with equity ownership opportunities. We believe that the Incentive Award Plan enhances such employees’ sense of participation in performance, aligns their interests with those of stockholders, and is a necessary and powerful incentive and retention tool that benefits stockholders.

Summary of the Incentive Award Plan

This section summarizes certain principal features of the Incentive Award Plan. The summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Incentive Award Plan.

Eligibility and Administration

Cipher Mining Inc.’s employees, consultants and directors, and employees and consultants of any of Cipher Mining Inc.’s subsidiaries, are eligible to receive awards under the Incentive Award Plan. As of October 7, 2021, there were approximately five employees of the Cipher Mining Inc., one consultant of Cipher Mining Inc. and six Cipher Mining Inc. directors eligible to participate in the Incentive Award Plan. The basis for participation in the Incentive Award Plan by eligible persons is the selection by such persons for participation by the plan administrator (or its proper delegate) in its discretion. The Incentive Award Plan is generally administered by the Board, which may delegate its duties and responsibilities to committees of the Board and/or officers (referred to collectively as the plan administrator below), subject to certain limitations that may be imposed under the Incentive Award Plan, Section 16 of the Exchange Act and/or stock exchange rules, as applicable. The plan administrator will have the authority to make all determinations and interpretations under, prescribe all forms for use with, and adopt rules for the administration of, the Incentive Award Plan, subject to its express terms and conditions. The plan administrator will also set the terms and conditions of all awards under the Incentive Award Plan, including any vesting and vesting acceleration conditions. The plan administrator may also institute and determine the terms and conditions of an “exchange program,” which could provide for the surrender or cancellation, transfer, or reduction or increase of exercise price, of outstanding awards, subject to the limitations provided for in the Incentive Award Plan.

Limitation on Awards and Shares Available

The number of shares initially available for issuance under awards granted pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan is 19,869,312 shares of our common stock. The number of shares initially available for issuance will be increased

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on January 1 of each calendar year beginning in 2022 and ending in 2031, by an amount equal to the lesser of (a) 3% of the shares of our common stock outstanding on the final day of the immediately preceding calendar year and (b) such smaller number of shares as determined by the Board. No more than 19,869,312 shares of our common stock may be issued upon the exercise of incentive stock options under the Incentive Award Plan. Shares issued under the Incentive Award Plan may be authorized but unissued shares, shares purchased in the open market or treasury shares.

If an award under the Incentive Award Plan expires, lapses or is terminated, exchanged for cash, surrendered to an exchange program, repurchased, cancelled without having been fully exercised or forfeited, any shares subject to such award will, as applicable, become or again be available for new grants under the Incentive Award Plan.

Awards

The Incentive Award Plan provides for the grant of stock options, including incentive stock options, or ISOs, and nonqualified stock options, or NSOs; restricted stock; dividend equivalents; restricted stock units, or RSUs; stock appreciation rights, or SARs; and other stock or cash-based awards. Certain awards under the Incentive Award Plan may constitute or provide for a deferral of compensation, subject to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, which may impose additional requirements on the terms and conditions of such awards. All awards under the Incentive Award Plan will be set forth in award agreements, which will detail the terms and conditions of the awards, including any applicable vesting and payment terms and post-termination exercise limitations. A brief description of each award type follows.

Stock options. Stock options provide for the purchase of shares of our common stock in the future at an exercise price set on the grant date. ISOs, by contrast to NSOs, may provide tax deferral beyond exercise and favorable capital gains tax treatment to their holders if certain holding period and other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code are satisfied. Unless otherwise determined by the plan administrator and except with respect to certain substitute options granted in connection with a corporate transaction, the exercise price of a stock option will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the underlying share on the date of grant (or 110% in the case of ISOs granted to certain significant stockholders). Unless otherwise determined by the plan administrator in accordance with applicable laws, the term of a stock option may not be longer than ten years (or five years in the case of ISOs granted to certain significant stockholders). Vesting conditions determined by the plan administrator may apply to stock options and may include continued service, performance and/or other conditions. ISOs generally may be granted only to Cipher Mining Inc. employees and employees of Cipher Mining Inc.’s subsidiary corporations, if any.

SARs. SARs entitle their holder, upon exercise, to receive from Cipher Mining Inc. an amount equal to the appreciation of the shares subject to the award between the grant date and the exercise date. The exercise price of a SAR will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of the underlying share on the date of grant (except with respect to certain substitute SARs granted in connection with a corporate transaction), and unless otherwise determined by the plan administrator in accordance with applicable laws, the term of a SAR may not be longer than ten years. Vesting conditions determined by the plan administrator may apply to SARs and may include continued service, performance and/or other conditions.

Restricted stock and RSUs. Restricted stock is an award of nontransferable shares of our common stock that remain forfeitable unless and until specified conditions are met, and which may be subject to a purchase price. RSUs are contractual promises to deliver shares of our common stock in the future, which may also remain forfeitable unless and until specified conditions are met and may be accompanied by the right to receive the equivalent value of dividends paid on shares of our common stock prior to the delivery of the underlying shares. Delivery of the shares underlying RSUs may be deferred under the terms of the award or at the election of the participant, if the plan administrator permits such a deferral. Conditions applicable to restricted stock and RSUs may be based on continuing service, the attainment of performance goals and/or such other conditions as the plan administrator may determine.

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Other stock or cash-based awards. Other stock or cash-based awards are awards of cash, fully vested shares of our common stock and other awards valued wholly or partially by referring to, or otherwise based on, shares of our common stock. Other stock or cash-based awards may be granted to participants and may also be available as a payment form in the settlement of other awards, as standalone payments and as payment in lieu of base salary, bonus, fees or other cash compensation otherwise payable to any individual who is eligible to receive awards. The plan administrator will determine the terms and conditions of other stock or cash-based awards, which may include vesting conditions based on continued service, performance and/or other conditions.

Performance Awards

Performance awards include any of the foregoing awards that are granted subject to vesting and/or payment based on the attainment of specified performance goals or other criteria the plan administrator may determine, which may or may not be objectively determinable. Performance criteria upon which performance goals are established by the plan administrator may include: net earnings or losses (either before or after one or more of interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and non-cash equity-based compensation expense); gross or net sales or revenue or sales or revenue growth; net income (either before or after taxes) or adjusted net income; profits (including, but not limited to, gross profits, net profits, profit growth, net operation profit or economic profit), profit return ratios or operating margin; budget or operating earnings (either before or after taxes or before or after allocation of corporate overhead and bonus); cash flow (including operating cash flow and free cash flow or cash flow return on capital); return on assets; return on capital or invested capital; cost of capital; return on stockholders’ equity; total stockholder return; return on sales; costs, reductions in costs and cost control measures; expenses; working capital; earnings or loss per share; adjusted earnings or loss per share; price per share or dividends per share (or appreciation in or maintenance of such price or dividends); regulatory achievements or compliance; implementation, completion or attainment of objectives relating to research, development, regulatory, commercial or strategic milestones or developments; market share; economic value or economic value added models; division, group or corporate financial goals; customer satisfaction/growth; customer service; employee satisfaction; recruitment and maintenance of personnel; human resources management; supervision of litigation and other legal matters; strategic partnerships and transactions; financial ratios (including those measuring liquidity, activity, profitability or leverage); debt levels or reductions; sales-related goals; financing and other capital raising transactions; cash on hand; acquisition activity; investment sourcing activity; marketing initiatives; and other measures of performance selected by the Board or its applicable committee, any of which may be measured in absolute terms or as compared to any incremental increase or decrease. Such performance goals also may be based solely by reference to Cipher Mining Inc.’s performance or the performance of its subsidiary, division, business segment or business unit, or based upon performance relative to performance of other companies or upon comparisons of any of the indicators of performance relative to performance of other companies. When determining performance goals, the plan administrator may provide for exclusion of the impact of an event or occurrence which the plan administrator determines should appropriately be excluded, including, without limitation, non-recurring charges or events, acquisitions or divestitures, changes in the corporate or capital structure, events unrelated to the business or outside of the control of management, foreign exchange considerations, and legal, regulatory, tax or accounting changes.

Provisions of the Incentive Award Plan Relating to Director Compensation

The Incentive Award Plan provides that the plan administrator may establish compensation for non-employee directors from time to time subject to the Incentive Award Plan’s limitations. The plan administrator may establish the terms, conditions and amounts of all such non-employee director compensation in its discretion and in the exercise of its business judgment, taking into account such factors, circumstances and considerations as it shall deem relevant from time to time, provided that the sum of any cash compensation or other compensation and the grant date fair value (as determined in accordance with ASC 718, or any successor thereto) of any equity awards granted as compensation for services as a non-employee director during any calendar year may not exceed $750,000, increased to $1,000,000 of a non-employee director’s initial service as

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a non-employee director. The plan administrator may make exceptions to these limits for individual non-employee directors in extraordinary circumstances, as the plan administrator may determine in its discretion, provided that the non-employee director receiving such additional compensation may not participate in the decision to award such compensation or in other contemporaneous compensation decisions involving non-employee directors.

Certain Transactions

In connection with certain transactions and events affecting our common stock, including a change in control, or change in any applicable laws or accounting principles, the plan administrator has broad discretion to take action under the Incentive Award Plan to prevent the dilution or enlargement of intended benefits, facilitate such transaction or event, or give effect to such change in applicable laws or accounting principles. This includes canceling awards in exchange for either an amount in cash or other property with a value equal to the amount that would have been obtained upon exercise or settlement of the vested portion of such award or realization of the participant’s rights under the vested portion of such award, accelerating the vesting of awards, providing for the assumption or substitution of awards by a successor entity, adjusting the number and type of shares available, replacing awards with other rights or property and/or terminating awards under the Incentive Award Plan.

For purposes of the Incentive Award Plan, a “change in control” means and includes each of the following:

a transaction or series of transactions whereby any “person” or related “group” of “persons” (as such terms are used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d)(2) of the Exchange Act) (other than Cipher Mining Inc. or its subsidiaries or any employee benefit plan maintained by Cipher Mining Inc. or any of its subsidiaries or a “person” that, prior to such transaction, directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, us) directly or indirectly acquires beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) of Cipher Mining Inc.’s securities possessing more than 50% of the total combined voting power of Cipher Mining Inc.’s securities outstanding immediately after such acquisition; or

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Foreign Participants, Claw-back Provisions, Transferability and Participant Payments

With respect to foreign participants, the plan administrator may modify award terms, establish subplans and/or adjust other terms and conditions of awards, subject to the share limits described above. All awards will be subject to the provisions of any claw-back policy that may be implemented by Cipher Mining Inc. to the extent set forth in such claw-back policy or in the applicable award agreement. With limited exceptions for estate planning, domestic relations orders, certain beneficiary designations and the laws of descent and distribution, awards under the Incentive Award Plan are generally non-transferable prior to vesting and are exercisable only by the participant. With regard to tax withholding obligations arising in connection with awards under the Incentive Award Plan and exercise price obligations arising in connection with the exercise of stock options under the Incentive Award Plan, the plan administrator may, in its discretion, accept cash, wire transfer, or check, shares of our common stock that meet specified conditions (a market sell order) or such other consideration as it deems suitable or any combination of the foregoing.

Plan Amendment and Termination

The Board may amend or terminate the Incentive Award Plan at any time; however, except in connection with certain changes in Cipher Mining Inc.’s capital structure, stockholder approval will be required for any amendment that increases the number of shares available under the Incentive Award Plan. The plan administrator will have the authority, without the approval of Cipher Mining Inc.’s stockholders, to amend any outstanding option or SAR to reduce its exercise or base price per share. No award may be granted pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan after the earlier of (i) the tenth anniversary of the date on which the Board adopts the Incentive Award Plan and (ii) the earliest date as of which all awards granted under the Incentive Award Plan have been satisfied in full or terminated and no shares approved for insurance under the Incentive Award Plan remain available to be granted under new awards.

Securities Laws

The Incentive Award Plan is intended to conform to all provisions of the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and any and all regulations and rules promulgated by the SEC thereunder, including, without limitation, Exchange Act Rule 16b-3. The Incentive Award Plan will be administered, and awards will be granted and may be exercised, only in such a manner as to conform to such laws, rules and regulations.

Federal Income Tax Consequences

The material federal income tax consequences of the Incentive Award Plan under current federal income tax law are summarized in the following discussion, which deals with the general U.S. federal income tax principles applicable to the Incentive Award Plan. The following discussion is based upon laws, regulations, rulings and decisions now in effect, all of which are subject to change. Foreign, state and local tax laws, and employment, estate and gift tax considerations are not discussed due to the fact that they may vary depending on individual circumstances and from locality to locality.

Stock options and SARs. An Incentive Award Plan participant generally will not recognize taxable income and Cipher Mining Inc. generally will not be entitled to a tax deduction upon the grant of a stock option or SAR. The tax consequences of exercising a stock option and the subsequent disposition of the shares received upon exercise will depend upon whether the option qualifies as an ISO or an NSO. Upon exercising an NSO when the fair market value of our common stock is higher than the exercise price of the option, an Incentive Award Plan participant generally will recognize taxable income at ordinary income tax rates equal to the excess of the fair market value of the stock on the date of exercise over the purchase price, and Cipher Mining Inc. (or its subsidiaries, if any) generally will be entitled to a corresponding tax deduction for compensation expense, in the amount equal to the amount by which the fair market value of the shares purchased exceeds the purchase price for the shares. Upon a subsequent sale or other disposition of the option shares, the participant will recognize a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss in the amount of the difference between the sales price of the shares and the participant’s tax basis in the shares.

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Upon exercising an ISO, an Incentive Award Plan participant generally will not recognize taxable income, and Cipher Mining Inc. will not be entitled to a tax deduction for compensation expense. However, upon exercise, the amount by which the fair market value of the shares purchased exceeds the purchase price will be an item of adjustment for alternative minimum tax purposes. The participant will recognize taxable income upon a sale or other taxable disposition of the option shares. For federal income tax purposes, dispositions are divided into two categories: qualifying and disqualifying. A qualifying disposition generally occurs if the sale or other disposition is made more than two years after the date the option was granted and more than one year after the date the shares are transferred upon exercise. If the sale or disposition occurs before these two periods are satisfied, then a disqualifying disposition generally will result.

Upon a qualifying disposition of ISO shares, the participant will recognize long-term capital gain in an amount equal to the excess of the amount realized upon the sale or other disposition of the shares over their purchase price. If there is a disqualifying disposition of the shares, then the excess of the fair market value of the shares on the exercise date (or, if less, the price at which the shares are sold) over their purchase price will be taxable as ordinary income to the participant. If there is a disqualifying disposition in the same year of exercise, it eliminates the item of adjustment for alternative minimum tax purposes. Any additional gain or loss recognized upon the disposition will be recognized as a capital gain or loss by the participant.

Cipher Mining Inc. will not be entitled to any tax deduction if the participant makes a qualifying disposition of ISO shares. If the participant makes a disqualifying disposition of the shares, Cipher Mining Inc. should be entitled to a tax deduction for compensation expense in the amount of the ordinary income recognized by the participant.

Upon exercising or settling a SAR, an Incentive Award Plan participant will recognize taxable income at ordinary income tax rates, and Cipher Mining Inc. should be entitled to a corresponding tax deduction for compensation expense, in the amount paid or value of the shares issued upon exercise or settlement. Payments in shares will be valued at the fair market value of the shares at the time of the payment, and upon the subsequent disposition of the shares the participant will recognize a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss in the amount of the difference between the sales price of the shares and the participant’s tax basis in the shares.

Restricted stock and RSUs. An Incentive Award Plan participant generally will not recognize taxable income at ordinary income tax rates and Cipher Mining Inc. generally will not be entitled to a tax deduction upon the grant of restricted stock or RSUs. Upon the termination of restrictions on restricted stock or the payment of RSUs, the participant will recognize taxable income at ordinary income tax rates, and Cipher Mining Inc. should be entitled to a corresponding tax deduction for compensation expense, in the amount paid to the participant or the amount by which the then fair market value of the shares received by the participant exceeds the amount, if any, paid for them. Upon the subsequent disposition of any shares, the participant will recognize a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss in the amount of the difference between the sales price of the shares and the participant’s tax basis in the shares. However, an Incentive Award Plan participant granted restricted stock that is subject to forfeiture or repurchase through a vesting schedule such that it is subject to a risk of forfeiture (as defined in Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code) may make an election under Section 83(b) of the Internal Revenue Code to recognize taxable income at ordinary income tax rates, at the time of the grant, in an amount equal to the fair market value of the shares of common stock on the date of grant, less the amount paid, if any, for the shares. Cipher Mining Inc. will be entitled to a corresponding tax deduction for compensation, in the amount recognized as taxable income by the participant. If a timely Section 83(b) election is made, the participant will not recognize any additional ordinary income on the termination of restrictions on restricted stock, and Cipher Mining Inc. will not be entitled to any additional tax deduction.

Other stock or cash-based awards. An Incentive Award Plan participant will not recognize taxable income and Cipher Mining Inc. will not be entitled to a tax deduction upon the grant of other stock or cash-based awards until cash or shares are paid or distributed to the participant. At that time, any cash payments or the fair market value of shares that the participant receives will be taxable to the participant at ordinary income tax rates and Cipher

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Mining Inc. should be entitled to a corresponding tax deduction for compensation expense. Payments in shares will be valued at the fair market value of the shares at the time of the payment. Upon the subsequent disposition of the shares, the participant will recognize a short-term or long-term capital gain or loss in the amount of the difference between the sales price of the shares and the participant’s tax basis in the shares.

Limitation on the Employer’s Compensation Deduction

Section 162(m) of the Code limits the deduction certain employers may take for otherwise deductible compensation payable to certain executive officers of the employer to the extent the compensation paid to such an officer for the year exceeds $1 million.

Excess Parachute Payments

Section 280G of the Code limits the deduction that the employer may take for otherwise deductible compensation payable to certain individuals if the compensation constitutes an “excess parachute payment.” Excess parachute payments arise from payments made to disqualified individuals that are in the nature of compensation and are contingent on changes in ownership or control of the employer or certain affiliates. Accelerated vesting or payment of awards under the Incentive Award Plan upon a change in ownership or control of the employer or its affiliates could result in excess parachute payments. In addition to the deduction limitation applicable to the employer, a disqualified individual receiving an excess parachute payment is subject to a 20% excise tax on the amount thereof.

Application of Section 409A of the Code

Section 409A of the Code imposes an additional 20% tax and interest on an individual receiving non-qualified deferred compensation under a plan that fails to satisfy certain requirements. For purposes of Section 409A, “non-qualified deferred compensation” includes equity-based incentive programs, including some stock options, stock appreciation rights and RSU programs. Generally speaking, Section 409A does not apply to incentive stock options, non-discounted non-qualified stock options and stock appreciation rights if no deferral is provided beyond exercise, or restricted stock.

The awards made pursuant to the Incentive Award Plan are expected to be designed in a manner intended to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code to the extent the awards granted under the Incentive Award Plan are not exempt from coverage. However, if the Incentive Award Plan fails to comply with Section 409A in operation, a participant could be subject to the additional taxes and interest.

State, local and foreign tax consequences may in some cases differ from the United States federal income tax consequences described above. The foregoing summary of the United States federal income tax consequences in respect of the Incentive Award Plan is for general information only. Interested parties should consult their own advisors as to specific tax consequences of their awards.

The Incentive Award Plan is not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and is not intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code.

New Plan Benefits

Grants under the Incentive Award Plan will be made at the discretion of the plan administrator and are not currently determinable. The value of the awards granted under the Incentive Award Plan will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of the common stock on future dates, the exercise decisions made by the participants and the extent to which any applicable performance goals necessary for vesting or payment are achieved.

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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS

Pre-Business Combination GWAC Related Party Transactions

In July 2020, certain of GWAC’s initial stockholders purchased 4,312,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 (of which 62,500 shares were forfeited by the Sponsor). In August 2020, certain of GWAC’s initial stockholders forfeited 1,355,000 founder shares and the Anchor Investors purchased 1,355,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $7,855, or approximately $0.006 per share. In October 2020, the Sponsor forfeited an aggregate of 562,500 founder shares for no consideration, and GW Sponsor 2, LLC, an entity managed by GWAC’s management, purchased from GWAC 562,500 shares for a purchase price of $163,125.

The Anchor Investors purchased an aggregate of 228,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($2,280,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of GWAC’s initial public offering. The private placement units are identical to the units sold in GWAC’s initial public offering except that the private placement warrants included in the private placement units: (i) will not be redeemable by GWAC and (ii) may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis, in each case so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or any of their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the initial purchasers or any of their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by GWAC and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units sold in GWAC’s initial public offering.

In connection with GWAC’s initial public offering, GWAC entered into an Administrative Services Agreement, which agreement was amended in February 2021, pursuant to which GWAC pays Shoreline Capital Advisors, Inc., an affiliate of one of GWAC’s officers, a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities, secretarial support and other administrative and consulting services. Accordingly, upon completion of the Business Combination, Shoreline Capital Advisors, Inc. was paid a total of $210,000 ($10,000 per month) and was entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.

The Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, were reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on GWAC’s behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations.

GWAC engaged I-Bankers as an advisor in connection with GWAC’s business combination. Accordingly, upon completion of the Business Combination, I-Bankers was paid for such services an amount equal to, in the aggregate, $7,650,000 or 4.5% of the gross proceeds of GWAC’s IPO, including the proceeds from the partial exercise of the over-allotment option.

In connection with the Closing, each of the Anchor Investors forfeited 169,375 shares of GWAC Common Stock that were originally issued to the Anchor Investors in a private placement in August 2020. The forfeiture of such shares was in accordance with an agreement entered into between GWAC and the Anchor Investors in August 2020, pursuant to which each Anchor Investor agreed to forfeit a certain amount of shares if such Anchor Investor held less than 1.5 million shares of GWAC Common Stock on the date of GWAC’s special meeting of stockholders, which was held on August 25, 2021. The aggregate amount of GWAC common stock forfeited pursuant to the foregoing arrangement was 677,500 shares.

Master Services and Supply Agreement

At the Closing, Bitfury Top HoldCo and Cipher entered into the Master Services and Supply Agreement. The initial term of the agreement is 84 months, with automatic 12-month renewals thereafter (unless either party provides sufficient notice of non-renewal). Pursuant to this agreement, Cipher can order, and Bitfury Top HoldCo is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to provide, certain construction, engineering, operations and other services and equipment required to launch and maintain Cipher’s mining centers in the

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United States. For a detailed description of the agreement, see “Business—Material Agreements—Master Services and Supply Agreement” and for the risks related to this agreement, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder and, as such, may be able to control our strategic direction and exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our counterparty under the Master Services and Supply Agreement and is a holding company with limited assets.”

Bitfury Top HoldCo has been and will remain Cipher’s controlling shareholder following the Business Combination. Bitfury Top HoldCo is entitled to appoint a majority of the members of the Board, and it has the power to determine the decisions to be taken at New Cipher’s shareholder meetings on matters of New Cipher’s management that require the prior authorization of New Cipher’s shareholders, including in respect of related party transactions, such as the Master Services and Supply Agreement. Thus, the decisions of Bitfury Top HoldCo as the controlling shareholder of New Cipher on these matters, including its decisions with respect to its or New Cipher’s performance under the Master Services and Supply Agreement, may be contrary to the expectations or preferences of our common stock holders. For further details, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Common Stock and Warrants—Bitfury Top HoldCo is our controlling shareholder and, as such, may be able to control our strategic direction and exert substantial influence over all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and amendments of our organizational documents, and an approval right over any acquisition or liquidation.”

Director and Officer Indemnification

The Governing Documents provide for indemnification and advancement of expenses for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, subject to certain limited exceptions. In connection with Closing, Cipher entered into indemnification agreements for each post-Closing director and executive officer of New Cipher.

Policies and Procedures for Related Person Transactions

Effective upon the Closing, the Board adopted a written related person transaction policy that sets forth the following policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of related person transactions. A “related person transaction” is a transaction, arrangement or relationship in which New Cipher or any of its subsidiaries was, is or will be a participant, the amount of which involved exceeds $120,000, and in which any related person had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. A “related person” means:

New Cipher has policies and procedures designed to minimize potential conflicts of interest arising from any dealings it may have with its affiliates and to provide appropriate procedures for the disclosure of any real or potential conflicts of interest that may exist from time to time. Specifically, pursuant to its audit committee charter, the audit committee will have the responsibility to review related party transactions.

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PRINCIPAL SECURITYHOLDERS

The following table sets forth information known to us regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock following consummation of the Business Combination by:

Beneficial ownership is determined according to the rules of the SEC, which generally provide that a person has beneficial ownership of a security if he, she or it possesses sole or shared voting or investment power over that security, including options and warrants that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days. Except as described in the footnotes below and subject to applicable community property laws and similar laws, we believe that each person listed above has sole voting and investment power with respect to such shares.

The beneficial ownership of common stock is based on 247,058,619 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding immediately following consummation of the Business Combination, including the redemption of the public shares as described above, the consummation of the PIPE Financing and the Bitfury Private Placement.

Bitfury Holding is indirectly controlled by Valerijs Vavilovs. The business address of Bitfury Holding is Strawinskylaan 3051, 1077ZX Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the business address of Valerijs Vavilovs is Serenia Residences, North A-502, Crescent Road East, The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE.

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SELLING SECURITYHOLDERS

The Selling Securityholders may offer and sell, from time to time, any or all of the shares of common stock or warrants being offered for resale by this prospectus, which consists of:

The Selling Securityholders may from time to time offer and sell any or all of the shares of common stock set forth below pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. When we refer to the “Selling Securityholders” in this prospectus, we mean the persons listed in the table below, the holders of shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon the exercise of options to purchase common stock and the pledgees, donees, transferees, assignees, successors, designees and others who later come to hold any of the Selling Securityholders’ interest in the common stock other than through a public sale.

The following table is prepared based on information provided to us by the Selling Securityholders. The following table sets forth, as of the date of this prospectus, the names of the Selling Securityholders, and the aggregate number of shares of common stock that the Selling Securityholders may offer pursuant to this prospectus.

Because each Selling Securityholder may dispose of all, none or some portion of their securities, no estimate can be given as to the number of securities that will be beneficially owned by a selling securityholder upon termination of this offering. For purposes of the tables below, however, we have assumed that after termination of this offering none of the securities covered by this prospectus will be beneficially owned by the Selling Securityholders and further assumed that the Selling Securityholders will not acquire beneficial ownership of any additional securities during the offering. In addition, the Selling Securityholders may have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of, or may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of, at any time and from time to time, our securities in transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act after the date on which the information in the tables is presented.

Please see the section titled “Plan of Distribution” for further information regarding the Selling Securityholders’ method of distributing these shares.