Hut 8 Corp.

Power constraints

Access to energy is a key factor affecting our ability to meet growing demand for next-generation, energy-intensive technologies. Power is the foundation of our operations. We acquire, develop, and manage critical energy assets such as interconnects, powered land, and other electrical infrastructure to address the load demands of energy-intensive applications. As competition for power intensifies, our performance depends on originating, commercializing, and optimizing energy capacity at scale. We believe our experience in power origination, infrastructure design, and load optimization positions us to manage these constraints and support continued growth. Our portfolio currently provides access to competitively priced electrical power in the regions where we operate; however, there is no guarantee that we will be able to procure additional power on similar terms, or at all. Market prices for power, capacity, and ancillary services are unpredictable and tend to fluctuate substantially. See "Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Operations—We are subject to risks associated with our need for significant electrical power" in the Annual Report.

Expansion into AI infrastructure services and other energy-intensive use cases

A key factor affecting our performance is our ongoing expansion into AI infrastructure services and other energy-intensive use cases. We are leveraging our existing development and operational expertise to develop data centers that support specialized workloads for enterprise and hyperscale customers and other next-generation, energy-intensive use cases. Success in this area depends on various factors, including our ability to develop future sites, manage construction and delivery schedules, secure and retain customers, manage capital efficiently, and compete effectively in emerging technology markets. While this expansion may increase operating and capital costs and expose us to execution and market risks, management believes our experience in power origination, development, and management in large-scale digital infrastructure development positions us to capture long-term growth opportunities in the evolving AI sector and other next-generation, energy-intensive use cases.

Price of Bitcoin

While we are migrating towards less volatile, lower cost-of-capital businesses, such as data centers, our current financials remain heavily dependent on the price of Bitcoin, which has historically experienced significant volatility. Our exposure is driven primarily by the Bitcoin held on our consolidated balance sheet, including Bitcoin held directly by us and American Bitcoin in our respective strategic reserves. In addition, our consolidated results reflect American Bitcoin's activities as a Bitcoin accumulation platform and its strategy of purchasing and holding Bitcoin. Lastly, we generate revenue from Bitcoin rewards that are earned through mining operations at our facilities, the majority of which are conducted through American Bitcoin.

Under ASU 2023-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60): Accounting for and Disclosure of Crypto Assets ("ASU 2023-08"), Bitcoin is revalued at fair value at the end of each reporting period, with changes in fair value recognized in net income. As a result, fluctuations in Bitcoin prices may impact our consolidated financial performance, including mark-to-market adjustments on Bitcoin, but do not reflect changes in our core operating performance.

Bitcoin network difficulty and hashrate

Our consolidated business is not only impacted by the volatility in Bitcoin prices, but American Bitcoin is also affected by increases in the competition for Bitcoin production, specifically for ASIC compute. This increased competition is described as the network hashrate resulting from the growth in the overall quantity and quality of miners working to solve blocks on the Bitcoin blockchain, and the difficulty index associated with the secure hashing algorithm employed in solving the blocks. Increased difficulty reduces the mining proceeds of the equipment proportionally and eventually requires Bitcoin miners like American Bitcoin, to upgrade their equipment to remain profitable and compete effectively with other miners. Conversely, a decline in network hashrate results in a decrease in difficulty, increasing mining proceeds and profitability.

Block reward and halving

The current Bitcoin reward for solving a block is 3.125 Bitcoin. The Bitcoin network is programmed such that the Bitcoin block reward is halved every 210,000 blocks mined, or approximately every four years. This reduction in reward spreads out the release of Bitcoin over a long period of time as fewer Bitcoin are mined with each halving event. Bitcoin halving events impact the number of Bitcoin that we mine, including through American Bitcoin which, in turn, may have a potential impact on our results of operations. The last halving event occurred in April 2024, and the next halving event is expected to occur in 2028.