CLEANSPARK INC
For the period ended Mar 31, 2025. Filed May 8, 2025.
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Mar 31, 2025 · Filed May 8, 2025
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, together with the cautionary statement under the caption “Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These described risks are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results.
The capped call transactions may affect the value of the 2030 Notes and the market price of our common stock.
In connection with the issuance of our $650,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 0% convertible senior notes due 2030 (the “2030 Notes”), we entered into privately negotiated capped call transactions with certain financial institutions (collectively, the “option counterparties”). The capped call transactions are generally expected to reduce the potential dilution to our common stock upon any conversion of the 2030 Notes or offset any cash payments we are required to make in excess of the principal amount of converted 2030 Notes, with such reduction or offset subject to a cap.
In connection with establishing their initial hedges of the capped call transactions, the option counterparties entered into various derivative transactions with respect to our common stock and/or purchased shares of our common stock concurrently with, or shortly after, the pricing of the 2030 Notes. They may modify their hedge positions by entering into or unwinding various derivatives with respect to our common stock and/or purchasing or selling shares of our common stock or other securities of ours in secondary market transactions prior to the maturity of the 2030 Notes, and they are likely to do so during any “observation period” related to a conversion of 2030 Notes or, to the extent we exercise the relevant election under the capped call transactions, following any repurchase or redemption of the 2030 Notes, in each case as described in the Indenture, dated as of December 17, 2024, by and between the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. This activity could also cause or avoid an increase or a decrease in the market price of our common stock or the 2030 Notes.
The option counterparties are financial institutions, and we will be subject to the risk that any or all of them might default under the capped call transactions. Our exposure to the credit risk of the option counterparties will not be secured by any collateral. Past global economic conditions have resulted in the actual or perceived failure or financial difficulties of many financial institutions and could adversely affect the option counterparties’ performance under the capped call transactions. If an option counterparty becomes subject to insolvency proceedings, we will become an unsecured creditor in those proceedings with a claim equal to our exposure at that time under the capped call transactions with such option counterparty. Our exposure will depend on many factors but, generally, an increase in our exposure will be correlated to an increase in the market price and in the volatility of our common stock. In addition, upon a default by an option counterparty, we may suffer more dilution, the effect of which would not be compensated for, than we currently anticipate with respect to our common stock. We can provide no assurance as to the financial stability or viability of the option counterparties.
The accounting treatment for convertible debt securities that may be settled in cash and/or shares, such as the 2030 Notes, may have a material effect on our reported financial results.
The accounting method for reflecting the 2030 Notes on our balance sheet, accruing interest expense for the 2030 Notes and reflecting the underlying shares of our common stock in our reported diluted earnings per share may adversely affect our reported earnings and financial condition.
In accordance with Accounting Standards Update No. 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), we expect that the 2030 Notes will be reflected as a liability on our balance sheet, with the initial carrying amount equal to the principal amount of the 2030 Notes, net of issuance costs. The issuance costs is amortized into interest expense over the term of the 2030 Notes. As a result of this amortization, the interest expense recognized for the 2030 Notes for accounting purposes will be greater than the cash interest payments paid on the 2030 Notes, which will result in lower reported income.
In addition, we expect that the shares underlying the 2030 Notes is reflected in our diluted earnings per share using the “if converted” method, in accordance with ASU 2020-06. Under that method, diluted earnings per share would generally be calculated assuming that all the 2030 Notes were converted solely into shares of common stock at the beginning of the reporting period, unless the result would be anti-dilutive. The application of the if-converted method may reduce our reported diluted earnings per share, and accounting standards may change in the future in a manner that may adversely affect our diluted earnings per share.
Furthermore, if any of the conditions to the convertibility of the 2030 Notes are satisfied, then we may be required under applicable accounting standards to reclassify the liability carrying value of the 2030 Notes as a current, rather than a long-term, liability. This reclassification could be required even if no holders convert their 2030 Notes and could materially reduce our reported working capital.
There are risks related to technological obsolescence, the vulnerability of the global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware disruption, potential trade restrictions and difficulty in obtaining new hardware which may have a negative effect on our business.
As our mining facilities operate, our miners experience ordinary wear and tear and may face more significant malfunctions caused by a number of extraneous factors beyond our control. The degradation of our miners will also require us, over time, to repair or replace miners which are no longer functional. Additionally, as technology evolves, we may be required to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. This upgrading process requires substantial capital investment, and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis.
Further, we have faced complications related to the import of our miners and other mining equipment in the past and may again in the future. The global supply of miners is unpredictable and presently heavily dependent on manufacturers headquartered in China, with manufacturing in Asia, which was severely affected by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. We currently utilize several types of ASIC miners as part of our mining operation, including Bitmain Antminers, Canaan Avalon miners and MicroBT WhatsMiners, all of which are produced in China, Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand. Geopolitical matters, including the relationship of the U.S. with other countries, trade restrictions and tariffs, or the threat of trade restrictions or tariffs, may impact our ability to import miners or other equipment necessary for our operations. In addition, officials of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (“CBP”) have broad discretion regarding products imported into the United States, and the CBP has on occasion, and may again in the future, detained and/or seized imported miners and other equipment necessary to the operation of our miners, which has resulted in significant costs to us. If any of our mining equipment is detained and/or seized again in the future, we may not be able to obtain adequate replacement parts for our existing miners and other equipment or obtain additional miners and other equipment from manufacturers on a timely basis, or at all. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.
The U.S. political and economic environment could materially impact our business operations and financial performance, and uncertainty surrounding the potential legal, regulatory and policy changes by the new U.S. presidential administration may directly affect us and the global economy.
The political and economic environment in the U.S. and elsewhere has resulted in, and may continue to result in, uncertainty. Changing regulatory policies because of the evolving political environment or otherwise could pose challenges to our business model and materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, in March 2025, the U.S. federal government established a strategic bitcoin reserve, which could significantly affect bitcoin prices through large-scale purchasing programs, potentially creating increased price volatility or artificial price suppression that could make our mining operations less profitable or unprofitable.
Furthermore, the government might exercise greater influence over the bitcoin network, which could affect mining difficulty rates, transaction processing, or other technical aspects of the network in ways that could adversely impact our operations. These changes could affect market sentiment and institutional adoption of bitcoin in unpredictable ways that could impact bitcoin’s value.
Our ability to conduct business can also be significantly impacted by changes in tariffs, customs policies, changes in or repeals of trade agreements and the imposition of other trade restrictions or retaliatory actions imposed by various governments. For example, during the first quarter of 2025, the United States introduced trade policy actions that have increased import tariffs across a wide range of countries at various rates, including from certain jurisdictions from which we import mining equipment, or from which components of our mining equipment are manufactured. Such tariffs, if continued, will affect shipments from such jurisdictions.
The timeline, structure, and scope of any potential regulatory policies are uncertain, making it difficult for us to plan for or mitigate these risks effectively. In addition, we cannot predict what further action may be taken with respect to tariffs or trade relations between the U.S. and other governments. Any such changes could fundamentally alter the competitive and regulatory landscape in which we operate, and political tensions as a result of trade policies could reduce trade volume, investment, technological exchange, and other economic activities between major international economies, resulting in a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, all of which could potentially having a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operation.. The price of bitcoin has historically been volatile and is impacted by a variety of factors, including political, economic, regulatory or other conditions.
We are exposed to risks relating to our bitcoin treasury function.
In April 2025, we launched the treasury function and we plan to continue to integrate them into our regular treasury management activities. Our expansion into such treasury management activities for our bitcoin holdings subjects us to unforeseen risks, challenges and uncertainties, and there is no guarantee that we will generate revenue from such activities or realize any of the other anticipated benefits of such activities. The transactions in which the bitcoin treasury function may engage in could involve significant risks. Trading in bitcoin and bitcoin related financial products is a speculative activity. The price of bitcoin has been subject to significant historical volatility and may be subject to influence from malicious actors, real or perceived scarcity, political, economic, and regulatory conditions, and speculation, making its price more volatile.
We established relationships to engage in derivative transactions that permit our bitcoin treasury function to trade in bitcoin and bitcoin related financial products; however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such relationships or establish such relationships. An inability to establish or maintain such relationships could limit our treasury activities, create losses, preclude us from engaging in certain transactions, financing, derivative intermediation and counterparty services and prevent us from trading at optimal rates and terms. Moreover, a disruption in the financing, derivative intermediation and counterparty services provided by any such relationships before we establish additional relationships could have a significant impact on our business due to our reliance on such counterparties.
Some of the markets in which we may effect transactions in bitcoin will not be “exchanged-based”, including “over-the-counter” or “interdealer” markets (i.e., principal to principal contracts between us and third parties entered into privately, rather than on an exchange). As a result, we are not afforded the regulatory and financial protections of an exchange or its clearinghouse (or of the government regulator that oversees such exchange and clearinghouse), and in privately negotiated transactions, the risk of the negotiated price deviating materially from fair value is substantial. This exposes us to the risk that a counterparty will not settle a transaction in accordance with its terms and conditions because of a dispute over the terms of the contract (whether or not bona fide) or because of a credit or liquidity problem, thus causing us to suffer a loss. Such “counterparty risk” is accentuated for contracts with longer maturities where events may intervene to prevent settlement, or where we have concentrated our transactions with a single or small group of counterparties. Furthermore, there is a risk that any of our counterparties could become insolvent and/or the subject of insolvency proceedings. If one or more of our counterparties were to become insolvent or the subject of insolvency proceedings, there exists the risk that the recovery of bitcoin from our counterparties, including but not limited to, broker-dealers, will be delayed or be of a value less than the value of the bitcoin originally entrusted to such counterparty.
We may use counterparties located in jurisdictions outside the United States. Such counterparties are subject to the laws and regulations in non-US jurisdictions that are designed to protect their customers in the event of their insolvency. However, the practical effect of these laws and their application to our assets are subject to substantial limitations and uncertainties. Because of the large number of entities and jurisdictions involved and the range of possible factual scenarios involving the insolvency of a counterparty, it is impossible to generalize about the effect of their insolvency on us and our assets.
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