Verb Technology Company, Inc.

Our business, results of operations, and financial condition are subject to various risks. These risks are described elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the SEC, including the 2024 Form 10-K filed on March 25, 2025. With the exception of the following, there have been no material changes in the risk factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of our 2024 Form 10-K.

Risks Related to Our TON Treasury Strategy and Toncoin Holdings

Our financial results and the market price of the common stock may be affected by the price of Toncoin.

Toncoin is a highly volatile asset, and fluctuations in the price of Toncoin, like fluctuations experienced in prior years, are likely to influence our financial results and the market price of our common stock. Our financial results and the market price of our common stock would be adversely affected, and our business and financial condition would be negatively impacted, if the price of Toncoin decreased substantially (as it has in the past) or entirely, including as a result of:

The Company’s Toncoin holdings will be less liquid than existing cash and cash equivalents and may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for it to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents.

The Toncoin market has been characterized by significant volatility in price, limited liquidity and trading volumes compared to sovereign currencies markets and certain other digital assets, relative anonymity, a developing regulatory landscape, potential susceptibility to market abuse and manipulation, compliance and internal control failures at exchanges, and various risks inherent in its entirely electronic, virtual form and decentralized network. During times of market instability or due to contractual arrangements, we may not be able to sell our Toncoin at favorable prices, for a certain period of time, or at all. For example, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company entered into a purchase agreement on July 31, 2025, pursuant to which the purchased Toncoins are subject to a lock-up period. As a result, our Toncoin holdings may not be able to serve as a source of liquidity for us to the same extent as cash and cash equivalents. Furthermore, Toncoin we hold with our custodians and transact with our trade execution partners will not enjoy the same protections as are available to cash or securities deposited with or transacted by institutions subject to regulation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Additionally, we may be unable to enter into term loans or other capital raising transactions collateralized by our unencumbered Toncoin or otherwise generate funds using our Toncoin holdings, including in particular during times of market instability or when the price of Toncoin may have experienced significant decline. If we are unable to sell our Toncoin, enter into additional capital raising transactions, including capital raising transactions using Toncoin as collateral, or otherwise generate funds using our Toncoin holdings, or if we are forced to sell our Toncoin at a significant loss, in order to meet our working capital requirements, our business and financial condition could be negatively impacted.

We have recently announced our new TON treasury strategy, and we may be unable to successfully implement it.

We have announced a significant change in strategy to our new TON treasury strategy. There is no assurance that we will be able to successfully implement this new strategy or operate Toncoin-related activities at the scale or profitability currently anticipated. TON operates with a Proof-of-Stake (“PoS”) consensus mechanism. This strategic shift requires specialized employee skillsets and operational, technical and compliance infrastructure to support Toncoin and related staking activities. Our new strategy also requires that we implement different security protocols and treasury management practices. There is no assurance that we will be able to execute this strategy by building out the needed infrastructure within the timeframe that we currently anticipate. Errors in key management could result in significant loss of funds and reduced rewards. As a result, our shift to our TON treasury strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

Our TON treasury strategy requires substantial changes in our day-to-day operations and exposes us to significant operational risks.

Our TON treasury strategy, including staking, restaking, liquid staking, and other decentralized finance activities, exposes us to significant operational risks. TON’s PoS consensus mechanism allows staking either through direct operation of the single nominator pool or participation in nominator pools. In operating a single nominator pool, we may employ secure key management and implement protection against slashing of staked funds. It also requires that we maintain constant up time to ensure that we are eligible for staking rewards and to avoid penalties. In addition, the TON ecosystem rapidly evolves, with frequent upgrades and protocol changes that may require significant adjustments to our operational setup. The upgrades and protocol changes may require that we incur unanticipated costs, and it could cause temporary service disruptions. We may also need to employ third-party service providers in our operations, which may introduce risks outside of our control, including a loss of service or Toncoin as a result of action or inaction of by such providers or significant cybersecurity risks. Any of these operational risks could materially and adversely affect our ability to execute our TON treasury strategy and may prevent us from realizing positive returns and could severely hurt our financial condition.

In connection with our TON treasury strategy, we expect to interact with various smart contracts deployed on TON, which may expose us to risks and technical vulnerabilities.

In connection with our TON treasury strategy, including staking, restaking, liquid staking, and other decentralized finance activities, we expect to interact with various smart contracts deployed on TON in order to optimize our strategy. Smart contracts are self-executing code that operate without human intervention once deployed. Although smart contracts are integral to the functionality of staking deposit contracts, liquid staking protocols, restaking platforms, and decentralized finance applications, they are subject to many known risks such as technical vulnerabilities, coding errors, security flaws, and exploits. Any vulnerability in a smart contract we interact with could result in the loss or theft of Toncoin or other digital assets, which could have a materially adverse impact on our business. A vulnerability in a smart contract could create an unintended and unforeseeable consequence that has adverse financial consequences, such as the inability to access funds. There is no assurance that the smart contracts we integrate with or rely upon will function as intended or remain secure. Exploitation of such vulnerabilities could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

A significant decrease in the market value of our Toncoin holdings could adversely affect our ability to satisfy our financial obligations under any future debt financings.

Our ability to make scheduled payments on or to refinance any indebtedness and financial commitments we incur depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions including financial, business and other factors beyond our control. If the market value of Toncoin decreases significantly, we may be unable to generate sufficient cash flow to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on any indebtedness.

If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund debt and other obligations, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure our indebtedness. Our ability to restructure or refinance indebtedness will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of indebtedness could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our operations. The terms of existing or future debt instruments may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. In addition, any failure to service our debt would likely result in a reduction of our credit rating, which could harm our ability to incur additional indebtedness. If we face substantial liquidity problems, we might be required to sell assets to meet debt and other obligations. Future indebtedness may restrict our ability to dispose of assets and dictates our use of the proceeds from such disposition.

We may not be able to consummate dispositions, and the proceeds of any such disposition may be inadequate to meet obligations. We may be unable to access adequate funding as a result of a decrease in lender commitments due to an unwillingness or inability on the part of lending counterparties to meet their funding obligations and the inability of other lenders to provide additional funding to cover a defaulting lender’s portion. As a result, we may be unable to execute our plan of operations, make acquisitions or otherwise conduct operations, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Unrealized fair value gains on our Toncoin holdings could cause us to become subject to the corporate alternative minimum tax.

Unless an exemption applies, the Internal Revenue Code imposes a 15% corporate alternative minimum tax (“CAMT”) on certain corporations. In general, CAMT applies to corporations with respect to their initial tax year and subsequent tax years if the average annual adjusted financial statement income for any consecutive three-tax-year period preceding the initial tax year exceeds $1 billion. However, the determination of CAMT applicability is computationally and administratively complex and limited guidance has been provided by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). In June 2025, the Internal Revenue Service released a notice covering CAMT, which included an optional simplified method for determining CAMT applicability and announced its intention to revise regulations addressing CAMT that were proposed in September 2024.

The Company may be required to adopt ASU 2023-08, under which the Company’s Toncoin holdings must be measured at fair value in the Company’s statement of financial position, with gains and losses from changes in the fair value of Toncoin recognized in net income each reporting period. When determining whether the Company is subject to CAMT and when calculating any related tax liability for an applicable tax year, although the September 2024 proposed regulations provide that, among other adjustments, the Company’s adjusted financial statement income must include any unrealized gains or losses reported in the applicable tax year, the June 2025 notice indicated that the IRS intends to issue additional interim guidance addressing how unrealized gains and losses on certain investment assets, such as the Company’s Toncoin holdings, which are reported for financial statement purposes, are taken into account for purposes of determining the application of CAMT, and that the revised CAMT regulations will incorporate such interim guidance.

Accordingly, although the exact approach that any guidance from the IRS or revised CAMT regulations would take is unclear, it is possible that if the Company adopted ASU 2023-08, the Company could become subject to CAMT. If the Company becomes subject to CAMT, it could result in a material tax obligation that the Company would need to satisfy in cash, which could materially affect the Company’s financial results, including its earnings and cash flow, and its financial condition.

Future developments regarding the treatment of crypto assets for U.S. and non-U.S. tax purposes could adversely impact the Company’s business and liquidity.

Due to the evolving nature of cryptocurrencies and the absence of comprehensive legal and tax guidance with respect to digital asset products and transactions, many significant aspects of the U.S. and non-U.S. tax treatment of transactions involving cryptocurrencies are uncertain, and it is unclear whether, when and what guidance may be issued in the future. In 2014, the IRS released Notice 2014-21, discussing certain aspects of “virtual currency” for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, in particular, stating that such virtual currency (i) is “property,” (ii) is not “currency” for purposes of the rules relating to foreign currency gain or loss, and (iii) may be held as a capital asset. In 2019, the IRS released Revenue Ruling 2019-24 and a set of “Frequently Asked Questions” (which have been periodically updated), that provide additional guidance, including guidance to the effect that, under certain circumstances, hard forks of digital currencies are taxable events giving rise to ordinary income and guidance with respect to the determination of the tax basis of virtual currency. However, this guidance does not address other significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of cryptocurrencies and related transactions.

There continues to be uncertainty with respect to the timing, character and amount of income inclusions for various digital asset transactions. Although we believe our treatment of digital asset transactions for U.S. federal income tax purposes is consistent with existing guidance provided by the IRS and existing U.S. federal income tax principles, because of the rapidly evolving nature of digital asset innovations and the increasing variety and complexity of digital asset transactions and products, it is possible the IRS and various U.S. states may disagree with our treatment of certain digital asset transactions for U.S. tax purposes, which could adversely affect our business. There can be no assurance that the IRS, the U.S. state revenue agencies or other non-U.S. tax authorities, will not alter their respective positions with respect to cryptocurrencies in the future or that a court would uphold the treatment set forth in existing guidance. It also is unclear what additional guidance may be issued in the future on the treatment of existing digital asset transactions and future digital asset innovations for purposes of U.S. or non-U.S. tax regulations. Any such alteration of existing IRS, U.S. state and non-U.S. tax authority positions or additional guidance regarding digital asset products and transactions could result in adverse tax consequences for holders of cryptocurrencies and could have an adverse effect on the value of cryptocurrencies and the broader cryptocurrency markets. Future technological and operational developments that may arise with respect to cryptocurrencies may increase the uncertainty with respect to the treatment of cryptocurrency for U.S. and non-U.S. tax purposes. The uncertainty regarding tax treatment of digital asset transactions could adversely impact our business and our operations, including how we are taxed, if the volume of cryptocurrency transactions decreases due to an adverse tax effect.

Toncoin and other digital assets are relatively novel and are subject to significant uncertainty, which could adversely impact their price. The application of state and federal securities laws and other laws and regulations to digital assets is unclear in certain respects, and it is possible that regulators in the United States or foreign countries may interpret or apply existing laws and regulations in a manner that adversely affects the price of Toncoin or the ability of individuals or institutions such as us to own or transfer Toncoin.

The U.S. federal government, states, regulatory agencies, and foreign countries may also enact new laws and regulations, or pursue regulatory, legislative, enforcement or judicial actions, that could materially impact the price of Toncoin or the ability of individuals or institutions such as us to own or transfer Toncoin. For example, without limitation, within the past several years:

Furthermore, in 2019 the SEC filed a complaint against Telegram alleging that Telegram was conducting an unregistered offering of securities by selling interests (in the form of promissory notes) in unissued and incomplete “Grams”, which at the time was the proposed native token of the proposed Telegram Open Network blockchain. A district court enjoined Telegram’s distribution of Grams, ultimately resulting in Telegram returning more than $1.2 billion to investors and paying an $18.5 million civil penalty, on the basis that the SEC had shown a substantial likelihood of success in proving that Telegram’s plan to distribute Grams was an unregistered offering of securities to which no exemption applied. Following the injunction, Telegram ceased involvement with the Telegram Open Network blockchain. Grams were not fully developed, and the test version of the tokens was placed into smart contracts, which anyone could mine. A community of open-source developers continued development of the Telegram Open Network using its codebase, architecture, and documentation, subsequently updating its testnet to mainnet and rebranding it as TON, and used the open-source code as the basis for Toncoin.

In 2025, the SEC dismissed its civil enforcement actions against several major crypto asset trading platforms, including Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. While these dismissals may signal a shift in regulatory approach or enforcement priorities, and although the SEC in July 2025, supported by the current presidential administration, unveiled “Project Crypto”, an SEC initiative to develop a flexible regulatory framework to accommodate cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based trading, there remains significant uncertainty regarding the application of federal securities laws to crypto assets, including Toncoin. Future regulatory actions, changes in interpretation or administrations, or new legislation could adversely affect our ability to hold, acquire, or utilize Toncoin and other crypto assets, and could materially impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Furthermore, these types of activities are subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny, and future changes in laws or regulations could restrict our ability to engage in such strategies or impact our ability to recover assets in the event of a counterparty default. If we are unable to recover our Toncoin or funds from a counterparty, or if regulatory changes adversely affect our ability to generate income from our Toncoin holdings, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

It is not possible to predict whether, or when, new laws will be enacted that change the legal framework governing digital assets or provide additional authorities to the SEC or other regulators, or whether, or when, any other federal, state or foreign legislative bodies will take any similar actions. It is also not possible to predict the nature of any such additional laws or authorities, how additional legislation or regulatory oversight might impact the ability of digital asset markets to function, the willingness of financial and other institutions to continue to provide services to the digital assets industry, or how any new laws or regulations, or changes to existing laws or regulations, might impact the value of digital assets generally and Toncoin specifically. The consequences of any new law or regulation relating to digital assets and digital asset activities could adversely affect the market price of Toncoin, as well as our ability to hold or transact in Toncoin, and in turn adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Moreover, the risks of engaging in a TON treasury strategy are relatively novel and have created, and could continue to create, complications due to the lack of experience that third parties have with companies engaging in such a strategy, such as increased costs of director and officer liability insurance or the potential inability to obtain such coverage on acceptable terms in the future.

The growth of the digital assets industry in general, and the use and acceptance of Toncoin in particular, may also impact the price of Toncoin and is subject to a high degree of uncertainty. The pace of worldwide growth in the adoption and use of Toncoin may depend, for instance, on public familiarity with digital assets, ease of buying, accessing or gaining exposure to Toncoin, institutional demand for Toncoin as an investment asset, the participation of traditional financial institutions in the digital assets industry, consumer demand for Toncoin as a store of value or means of payment, and the availability and popularity of alternatives to Toncoin. Certain other digital assets are better-known and have more liquidity than Toncoin. Even if growth in Toncoin adoption occurs in the near or medium-term, there is no assurance that Toncoin usage will continue to grow over the long-term.

Because Toncoin has no physical existence beyond the record of transactions on TON blockchain, a variety of technical factors related to TON blockchain could also impact the price of Toncoin. For example, malicious attacks by certain network participants, inadequate fees to incentivize validating of transactions, hard “forks” of TON blockchain into multiple blockchains, and advances in digital computing, algebraic geometry, and quantum computing could undercut the integrity of TON blockchain and negatively affect the price of Toncoin. The liquidity of Toncoin may also be reduced and damage to the public perception of Toncoin may occur, if financial institutions were to deny or limit banking services to businesses that hold Toncoin, provide Toncoin-related services or accept Toncoin as payment, which could also decrease the price of Toncoin. Actions by U.S. banking regulators, such as the issuance in February 2023 by federal banking agencies of the “Interagency Liquidity Risk Statement,” which cautioned banks on contagion risks posed by providing services to digital assets customers, and similar actions, have in the past resulted in or contributed to reductions in access to banking services for Toncoin-related customers and service providers, or the willingness of traditional financial institution to participate in markets for digital assets. Though this statement was withdrawn in April 2025, indicating a shift towards a more permissive stance on crypto-asset activities for financial institutions. there is no guarantee that federal banking agencies in the future will maintain this approach. The liquidity of Toncoin may also be impacted to the extent that changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements negatively impact the ability of exchanges and trading venues to provide services for Toncoin and other digital assets.

The availability of spot ETPs for digital assets may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Given the relative novelty of digital assets, general lack of familiarity with the processes needed to hold digital assets directly, as well as the potential reluctance of financial planners and advisers to recommend direct digital asset holdings to their retail customers because of the manner in which such holdings are custodied, some investors have sought exposure to digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, through investment vehicles that hold digital assets and issue shares representing fractional undivided interests in their underlying digital asset holdings. These vehicles, which were previously offered only to “accredited investors” on a private placement basis, have in the past traded at substantial premiums to net asset value, possibly due to the relative scarcity of traditional investment vehicles providing investment exposure to the underlying digital asset.

On January 10, 2024, the SEC approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin ETPs, the shares of which can be sold in public offerings and are traded on U.S. national securities exchanges. Additionally, on May 23, 2024, the SEC approved rule changes permitting the listing and trading of spot ETPs that invest in ether, the main crypto asset supporting the Ethereum blockchain. The approved spot ETPs commenced trading directly to the public on July 23, 2024. Furthermore, on July 29, 2025, the SEC approved orders that permit in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto asset ETPs, aligning the regulatory treatment of digital asset ETPs with established practices for traditional commodity-based ETPs. The SEC has not, to date, but may in the future approve, a spot Toncoin ETP. The listing and trading of spot ETPs for ether offers investors another alternative to gain exposure to digital assets, which could result in a decline in the trading price of Toncoin as well as a decline in the value of our common stock relative to the value of our Toncoin.

Although we are an operating company, and we believe we offer a different value proposition than a spot ETP, investors may nevertheless view our common stock as an alternative to an investment in an ETP and choose to purchase shares of a spot digital asset ETP instead of our common stock. They may do so for a variety of reasons, including if they believe that ETPs (including any future SEC-approved Toncoin Spot ETP) offer a “pure play” exposure to particular digital assets that is generally not subject to federal income tax at the entity level as we are, or the other risk factors applicable to an operating business, such as ours. Additionally, unlike spot ETPs, we (i) do not seek for our shares of common stock to track the value of the underlying digital asset we hold before payment of expenses and liabilities, (ii) do not benefit from various exemptions and relief under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including Regulation M, and other securities laws, which enable ETPs to continuously align the value of their shares to the price of the underlying assets they hold through share creation and redemption, (iii) are a corporation rather than a statutory trust, and do not operate pursuant to a trust agreement that would require us to pursue one or more stated investment objectives, and (iv) are not required to provide daily transparency as to our Toncoin holdings or our daily net asset value. Furthermore, recommendations by broker-dealers to buy, hold, or sell complex products and non-traditional ETPs, or an investment strategy involving such products, may be subject to additional or heightened scrutiny that would not be applicable to broker-dealers making recommendations with respect to our common stock. Based on how we are viewed in the market relative to ETPs and other vehicles that offer economic exposure to digital assets, such as any future SEC-approved spot ETP that invests in Toncoin, futures exchanged-traded funds, leverage futures ETFs, and equivalent vehicles on international exchanges, including ETPs for Toncoin, any premium or discount in our common stock relative to the value of our Toncoin holdings may increase or decrease in different market conditions.

As a result of the foregoing factors, availability of spot ETPs for Toncoin or other digital assets could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

Our TON treasury strategy will subject us to enhanced regulatory oversight.

There has been increasing focus on the extent to which digital assets can be used to launder the proceeds of illegal activities, commit or facilitate fraud schemes, fund criminal or terrorist activities, or circumvent sanctions regimes. While we have implemented or intend to implement and maintain policies and procedures reasonably designed to promote compliance with applicable anti-money laundering and sanctions laws and regulations and take care to only acquire our Toncoin through entities subject to anti-money laundering regulation and related compliance rules in the United States, if we are found to have purchased any of our Toncoin from bad actors that have used Toncoin to launder money or persons subject to sanctions, we may be subject to regulatory proceedings and any further transactions or dealings in Toncoin by us may be restricted or prohibited.

We may incur indebtedness or enter into other financial instruments in the future that may be collateralized by the Toncoin we acquire. We may also consider pursuing strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our Toncoin holdings. These types of Toncoin-related transactions are the subject of enhanced regulatory oversight. These and any other Toncoin-related transactions we may enter into, beyond simply acquiring and holding Toncoin, may subject us to additional regulatory compliance requirements and scrutiny, including under federal and state money services regulations, money transmitter licensing requirements and various commodity and securities laws and regulations.

Increased enforcement activity and changes in the regulatory environment, including changing interpretations and the implementation of new or varying regulatory requirements by the government or any new legislation affecting digital assets, as well as enforcement actions involving or impacting our trading venues, counterparties and custodians, may impose significant costs or significantly limit our ability to hold and transact in Toncoin.

In addition, private actors that are wary of Toncoin or the regulatory concerns associated with Toncoin may take actions, including but not limited to litigation, that may have an adverse effect on our business or the market price of our common stock.

Toncoin trading venues are relatively new and, in many cases, unregulated. Furthermore, there are Toncoin trading venues that do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices and regulatory compliance. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in Toncoin trading venues, including exchanges that handle a significant volume of Toncoin trading and/or are subject to regulatory oversight, in the event one or more Toncoin trading venues cease or pause for a prolonged period the trading of Toncoin or other digital assets, or experience fraud, significant volumes of withdrawal, security failures or operational problems.

The SEC has brought recent actions against individuals and digital asset market participants alleging that such persons artificially increased trading volumes in certain digital assets through wash trades, or repeated buying and selling of the same assets in fictitious transactions to manipulate their underlying trading price. Any actual or perceived wash trading in the Toncoin market, and any other fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices, could adversely affect the value of Toncoin. Negative perception, a lack of stability in the broader Toncoin markets and the closure, temporary shutdown or operational disruption of Toncoin trading venues, institutional investors, custodians, or other major participants in the TON ecosystem, due to fraud, business failure, cybersecurity events, government-mandated regulation, bankruptcy, or for any other reason, may result in a decline in confidence in Toncoin and the broader TON ecosystem, and greater volatility in the price of Toncoin. As we expect the price of our common stock to be affected by the value of our Toncoin holdings, the failure of a major participant in the TON ecosystem could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

The concentration of Toncoin holdings may heighten the risks inherent in the Company’s TON treasury strategy.

We have and intend to purchase Toncoin and increase our overall holdings of Toncoin in the future. The intended concentration of our Toncoin holdings limits the risk mitigation that we could achieve if we were to purchase a more diversified portfolio of treasury assets, and the absence of diversification enhances the risks inherent in our TON treasury strategy. Significant declines, like the declines experienced in prior years, in the price of Toncoin could have a more pronounced impact on our financial condition than if we used our cash to purchase a more diverse portfolio of assets.

If the Company or its third-party service providers experience a cybersecurity incident or unauthorized parties obtain access to its TON assets, or if a user or other party commits a market-related exploit, the Company may lose some or all of its TON assets and its financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

Substantially all of the Toncoin we will acquire will be held in custody accounts at Blockchain.com, a non-U.S. entity. We may in the future use other accounts at other institutions. Cybersecurity incidents are of particular concern with respect to our Toncoin. Toncoin and other blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and the entities that provide services to participants in the TON ecosystem have been, and may in the future be, subject to cybersecurity incidents or other malicious activities. For example, state actors and hacker groups have successfully exploited cryptocurrencies’ underlying code and infiltrated digital asset custodians.

A successful cybersecurity incident could result in:

Further, any actual or perceived cybersecurity incident directed at other companies with digital assets or companies that operate digital asset networks, regardless of whether we are directly impacted, could lead to a general loss of confidence in the broader TON ecosystem or in the use of TON to conduct financial transactions, which could negatively impact us.

Attacks on systems across a variety of industries, including industries related to Toncoin, are increasing in frequency, persistence, and sophistication, and, in many cases, are being conducted by sophisticated, well-funded and organized groups and individuals, including state actors, criminal hackers, hacktivists, and insiders. The techniques used to obtain unauthorized, improper or illegal access to systems and information (including personal data and digital assets), disable or degrade services, or sabotage systems are constantly evolving (including the use of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies), may be difficult to detect quickly, and often are not recognized or detected until after they have been launched against a target. These attacks may occur on our systems or those of our third-party service providers or partners, and may be heightened in the event we determine to transact bilaterally. The Company may be required to expend additional resources to continue to enhance the Company’s cybersecurity measures or to investigate and remediate any cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

We and our third-party service providers may experience cybersecurity incidents due to human error, malfeasance, insider threats, system errors or vulnerabilities, or other irregularities. In particular, unauthorized parties have attempted, and we expect that they will continue to attempt, to gain access to our systems, as well as the systems and facilities of our partners and third-party service providers, through various means, such as hacking, social engineering, phishing and fraud. Advanced cyberattacks can be multi-staged, unfold over time, and utilize a range of attack vectors with military-grade cyber weapons and proven techniques, such as spear phishing and social engineering, leaving organizations and users at high risk of being compromised. Any such access, disclosure, or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, a disruption of our operations, damage to our reputation, a loss of confidence in our business, early termination of our contracts and other business losses, indemnification of our customers, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance costs, financial penalties, litigation, regulatory investigations and other significant liabilities, any of which could materially harm our business any of which could adversely affect our business, revenues, and competitive position.

In addition, certain types of attacks are designed to remain dormant or undetectable, sometimes for extended periods of time, or until launched against a target and we may not be able to implement adequate preventative or corrective measures. Further, there has been an increase in such activities due to the increase in remote workers. The risk of cyberattacks could also be increased by cyberwarfare in connection with geopolitical conflicts, including potential proliferation of malware into systems unrelated tosuch conflicts. Any future cybersecurity incident of our operations or those of others in the broader digital assets industry, including third-party services on which we rely, could materially and adversely affect our business.

The Company will face risks relating to the custody of Toncoin it acquires, including the loss or destruction of private keys required to access its Toncoin and cyberattacks or other data loss relating to its Toncoin.

We may use third-party exchanges, such as Kraken, or brokerage firms, such as Cumberland or Galaxy, which we believe to be reputable, to purchase Toncoin for our treasury to the extent Toncoin is available on such exchanges. As part of our process in determining transactions with third-party exchanges, we will search for reputable exchanges that have industry standard policies and procedures in place regarding data security and customer diligence related to anti-money laundering (“AML”), Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) and know-your client (“KYC”) rules and regulations. If any of these third-party exchanges no longer meet our standards or if there is a decrease in reputable third-party exchanges, we may need to find additional counterparties and enter into additional agreements that could be on less favorable terms, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or the results of our operations.

In addition, as noted above, substantially all of the Toncoin we will acquire will be initially held in custody accounts at Blockchain.com, a non-U.S. entity. Accordingly, we will depend on the Blockchain.com to maintain industry standard policies and procedures and to implement satisfactory internal controls. Blockchain.com is not subject to U.S. state or federal laws or regulations, or regulated by U.S. governing bodies. If Blockchain.com fails to maintain industry standard policies surrounding custodianship, our business, financial condition or the results of our operations may be materially adversely affected.

Absent federal regulations, there is the possibility that Toncoin may be classified as a “security.” Any classification of Toncoin as a “security” would subject us to additional regulation and could materially impact the operation of our business and potentially cause us to dispose of a substantial majority of the Toncoin we hold.

None of the SEC or any other U.S. federal or state regulator has publicly stated whether they agree that Toncoin is a “security,” or taken a regulatory or legal position to that effect. Despite the Executive Order titled “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology”, which includes as an objective “protecting and promoting the ability of individual citizens and private sector entities alike to access and . . . to maintain self-custody of digital assets,” Toncoin has not yet been classified with respect to U.S. federal securities laws. Therefore, while we believe that Toncoin is not a “security” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, and that registration of the Company or our treasury under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “ICA”), is therefore not required, we acknowledge that a regulatory body or federal court may determine otherwise in the future. If this occurs, even if our beliefs were reasonable under the circumstances, we could become subject to the requirement to register as an investment company under the ICA which could be impractical. If that were the case, we could be required to sell a substantial majority of our Toncoin.

As part of our ongoing review of applicable securities laws, we consider a number of factors, including the various definitions of “security” under such laws and federal court decisions interpreting the elements of these definitions, such as the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions in theHowey andReves cases. We also consider court rulings, reports, orders, press releases, public statements, and speeches by the SEC Commissioners and SEC Staff providing guidance on when a digital asset or a transaction to which a digital asset may relate may be a security for purposes of U.S. federal securities laws. Our position that Toncoin is not a “security” is premised, among other reasons, on our conclusion that Toncoin does not meet elements of theHowey test. We caution, however, that, as discussed above, in 2018, a district court enjoined Telegram’s distribution of Grams. In its ruling, the court ruled that the series of understandings, transactions, and undertakings between Telegram and initial purchasers of interests (in the form of promissory notes) in unissued and incomplete “Grams”, were investment contracts and, therefore, securities.

We acknowledge, however, that the SEC, a federal court or another relevant entity could take a different view with regard to the classification of Toncoin in the future. The application of securities laws to the specific facts and circumstances of digital assets is complex and subject to interpretations by the SEC and the courts. Our conclusion, even if reasonable under the circumstances, would not preclude legal or regulatory action based on a finding that Toncoin, or any other digital asset we might hold, is a “security.” Therefore, we are at risk of enforcement proceedings against us, which could result in potential injunctions, cease-and-desist orders, fines and penalties if Toncoin or components of TON blockchain was determined to be a security by a regulatory body or a court. Such developments could subject us to fines, penalties and other damages, adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, treasury operations and prospects, and potentially require us to dispose of a substantial majority of the Toncoin or other digital assets that we hold.

Furthermore, state regulators may conclude that the digital assets we hold are securities under state laws, requiring us to comply with state-specific securities regulations. States like California have stricter definitions of “investment contracts” than the SEC, increasing the risk of additional regulatory scrutiny.

Any additional regulatory implications of a determination that Toncoin is a security could adversely affect the market price of Toncoin and in turn adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

If we were deemed to be an investment company under the ICA, applicable restrictions likely would make it impractical for us to continue segments of our business as currently contemplated

Under Sections 3(a)(1)(A) and (C) of the ICA, a company generally will be deemed to be an “investment company” if (i) it is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities or (ii) it engages or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding, or trading in securities, and it owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of its total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities, cash items, and interests in qualifying majority owned subsidiaries ) on an unconsolidated basis. Rule 3a-1 promulgated under the ICA (“Rule 3a-1”) generally provides that notwithstanding the test described in clause (ii) in the previous sentence, an entity will not be deemed to be an “investment company” for purposes of the ICA if no more than 45% of the value of its assets (as computed under Rule 3a-1) consists of, and no more than 45% of its net income after taxes (for the last four fiscal quarters combined) is derived from, securities other than U.S. government securities, securities issued by qualifying employees’ securities companies, securities issued by qualifying majority owned subsidiaries of such entity, and securities issued by qualifying companies that are controlled primarily by such entity.

We do not believe that we are an “investment company” as such term is defined in either Section 3(a)(1)(A) or Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the ICA because we believe Toncoin is not an investment security under the ICA. This belief is derived from our belief that Toncoin is not a security under general securities laws, as described above. With respect to Section 3(a)(1)(A), we do not hold ourselves out as being engaged primarily or propose to engage primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting, or trading in securities within the meaning of such section. With respect to Section 3(a)(1)(C), we believe we satisfy the elements of Rule 3a-1 and therefore should be deemed not to be an investment company under, and we intend to conduct our operations such that we will not be deemed an investment company under, Section 3(a)(1)(C).

Toncoin and other digital assets, as well as new business models and transactions enabled by blockchain technologies, present novel interpretive questions under the ICA. There is a risk that assets or arrangements that we have concluded are not securities could be deemed to be securities by the SEC or a federal court for purposes of the ICA, which would increase the percentage of investment securities held by us for ICA purposes. We understand that the SEC has requested information from a number of participants in the digital assets’ ecosystem, regarding the potential application of the ICA to their businesses. For example, in an action unrelated to the Company, in February 2022, the SEC issued a cease-and-desist order under the ICA to BlockFi Lending LLC (“BlockFi”), in which the SEC alleged that BlockFi was operating as an unregistered investment company because it issued securities and also held more than 40% of its total assets, as computed under the ICA, in investment securities, including the loans of digital assets made by BlockFi to institutional borrowers.

If we were to be deemed an investment company in the future, restrictions imposed by the ICA, including limitations on our ability to issue different classes of stock, including senior securities, leverage limitations, diversification requirements, custody requirements and broad restrictions on transactions with affiliated persons and their affiliates, likely would make it impractical for us to continue our business model as contemplated, could require us to dispose of a substantial majority of the Toncoin or other digital assets our subsidiary owned, and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects.

A disruption of the Internet may affect the operation of the cryptocurrency networks, which may adversely affect the cryptocurrency industry and an investment in the Company.

The cryptocurrency networks rely on the Internet. A significant disruption of Internet connectivity could disrupt the cryptocurrency networks’ functionality until such disruption is resolved. A disruption in the Internet could adversely affect an investment in the Company. In particular, some variants of cryptocurrencies have experienced a number of denial-of-service attacks, which have led to temporary delays in block creation and cryptocurrency transfers.

Cryptocurrencies are also susceptible to border gateway protocol hijacking (“BGP hijacking”). Such an attack can be a very effective way for an attacker to intercept traffic en route to a legitimate destination. BGP hijacking impacts the way different nodes and network participants are connected to one another to isolate portions of them from the remainder of the network, which could lead to a risk of the network allowing double-spending and other security issues. If BGP hijacking occurs on any cryptocurrency network, participants may lose faith in the security of cryptocurrency, which could affect cryptocurrency’s value and consequently the value of the Common Stock.

Any Internet failures or Internet connectivity-related attacks that impact the ability to transfer cryptocurrency could have a material adverse effect on the price of cryptocurrency and the value of an investment in the Company.

Toncoin is created and transmitted through TON. If TON is disrupted or encounters any unanticipated difficulties, the value of Toncoin could be negatively impacted.

If TON is disrupted or encounters any unanticipated difficulties, then the processing of transactions on TON may be disrupted, which in turn may prevent us from depositing or withdrawing Toncoin from our accounts with our custodian or otherwise effecting Toncoin transactions. Such disruptions could include, for example: the price volatility of Toncoin; the insolvency, business failure, interruption, default, failure to perform, security breach, or other problems of participants, custodians, or others; the closing of Toncoin trading platforms due to fraud, failures, security breaches or otherwise; or network outages or congestion, power outages, or other problems or disruptions affecting TON.

In addition, digital asset validating operations can consume significant amounts of electricity, which may have a negative environmental impact and give rise to public opinion against allowing, or government regulations restricting, the use of electricity for validating operations. Additionally, validators may be forced to cease operations during an electricity shortage or power outage.

The Company’s TON treasury strategy exposes it to risk of non-performance by counterparties.

Our TON treasury strategy exposes us to the risk of non-performance by counterparties, whether contractual or otherwise. We are exposed to counterparty risk primarily through transacting bilaterally with individual counterparties from which we may purchase Toncoin and through custodian performance obligations under custody agreements. Risk of non-performance includes inability or refusal of a counterparty to perform because of a deterioration in the counterparty’s financial condition and liquidity or for any other reason. For example, our execution partners, custodians, or other counterparties might fail to perform in accordance with the terms of our agreements with them, which could result in a loss of Toncoin, a loss of the opportunity to generate funds, or other losses.

A series of relatively recent high-profile bankruptcies, closures, liquidations, regulatory enforcement actions and other events relating to companies operating in the digital asset industry, including the filings for bankruptcy protection by Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, FTX Trading and Genesis Global Capital, among others, and the filing and subsequent settlement of a civil fraud lawsuit by the New York Attorney General against Genesis Global Capital, its parent company Digital Currency Group, Inc., and former partner Gemini Trust Company have highlighted the perceived and actual counterparty risk applicable to digital asset ownership and trading. Legal precedent created in these bankruptcy and other proceedings may increase the risk of future rulings adverse to our interests in the event one or more of our custodians becomes a debtor in a bankruptcy case or is the subject of other liquidation, insolvency or similar proceedings.

While our custodians are subject to regulatory regimes intended to protect customers in the event of a custodial bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceeding, no assurance can be provided that our custodially-held Toncoin will not become part of the custodian’s insolvency estate if one or more of our custodians enters bankruptcy, receivership or similar insolvency proceedings. Additionally, if we pursue any strategies to create income streams or otherwise generate funds using our Toncoin holdings, we would become subject to additional counterparty risks. Any significant non-performance by counterparties, including in particular the custodians with which we may custody substantially all of our Toncoin, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and operating results.