MKTY Mechanical Technology Inc

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our Series A Preferred Stock involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in the Series A Preferred Stock, you should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying base prospectus, described under the section entitled “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report, as well as any amendments thereto reflected in subsequent filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, together with other information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus (including the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein). The risks described in these documents are not the only ones we face, but are those that we consider to be material. There may be other unknown or unpredictable economic, business, competitive, regulatory or other factors that could have material adverse effects on our future results. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow or prospects could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our Common Stock and/or Series A Preferred Stock to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. Please also carefully read the section below entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Risks Related to the Shares of Series A Preferred Stock Offered Hereby and the Underwritten Offering

The market price of the Series A Preferred Stock may be volatile and may fluctuate in a way that is disproportionate to our operating performance.

The market price of the Series A Preferred Stock may experience substantial volatility as a result of a number of factors, including:

Finally, our relatively small public float and daily trading volume have in the past caused, and may in the future result in, significant volatility in the price of our Series A Preferred Stock. As of April 25, 2022, we had 1,319,156 shares of our Series A Preferred Stock outstanding held by non-affiliates, excluding any shares of Series A Preferred Stock issued in connection with this Offering and the Underwritten Offering, and our daily trading volume between January 1, 2022 and April 25, 2022 averaged 16,349 shares of Series A Preferred Stock.

Many of these factors are beyond our control. The stock market has historically experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies. These broad market and industry factors could reduce the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.

We may not have sufficient cash from our operations to enable us to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock following the payment of expenses.

Although dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock will be cumulative, the Board must approve the actual payment of the dividends. We will pay monthly dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock from funds legally available for such purpose when, as and if declared by the Board or any authorized committee thereof. The Board can elect at any time or from time to time, and for an indefinite duration, not to pay any or all accumulated dividends. The Board could do so for any reason. We may not have sufficient cash available each quarter to pay dividends. The amount of dividends we can pay depends upon the amount of cash we generate from and use in our operations, which may fluctuate significantly based on, among other things:

In addition, if payment of dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock for any dividend period would cause us to fail to comply with any applicable law, including the requirement under the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) that dividends be paid out of surplus or net profits, we will not declare or pay a dividend for such dividend period. Our ability to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock may also be restricted or prohibited by the terms of any senior equity securities or indebtedness. The instruments governing the terms or future financings or refinancing of any borrowings may contain covenants that restrict our ability to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. The Series A Preferred Stock places no restrictions on our ability to incur indebtedness with such restrictive covenants. In the event that the payment of a dividend on the Series A Preferred Stock would cause us to fail to comply with any applicable law or would be restricted or prohibited by the terms of any senior equity securities or indebtedness, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will not be entitled to receive any dividend for that dividend period, and the unpaid dividend will cease to accrue or be payable.

The amount of cash that we will have available for dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock will not depend solely on our profitability.

The actual amount of cash that we will have available for dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock also depends on many factors, including, among others:

The amount of cash that we generate from our operations may differ materially from our net income or loss for the period, which is affected by non-cash items, and the Board in its discretion may elect not to declare any dividends. As a result of these and the other factors mentioned above, we may pay dividends during periods when we record losses and may not pay dividends during periods when we record net income.

Our ability to meet our obligations under the Series A Preferred Stock depends on the earnings and cash flows of our subsidiaries and the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or advance or repay funds to us.

We conduct all of our business operations through our subsidiaries. In servicing dividend payments to be made on the Series A Preferred Stock, we will rely on cash flows from these subsidiaries, mainly dividend payments and other distributions. The ability of these subsidiaries to make dividend payments to us will be affected by, among other factors, the obligations of these entities to their creditors, requirements of corporate and other law, and restrictions contained in agreements entered into by or relating to these entities.

We may incur additional indebtedness, which may impact our financial position, cash flow and ability to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

As of the date of this prospectus supplement, the Company has a $1.0 million unsecured line of credit from KeyBank National Association, all of which is currently drawn and outstanding. We may incur additional indebtedness and become more highly leveraged, which may negatively impact our financial position, cash flow and ability to pay dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. Increases in our borrowing could affect our financial condition and make it more difficult for us to comply with the financial covenants governing our indebtedness.

While there are no restrictions under our current indebtedness on our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders, our future indebtedness may restrict payments of dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. Only the Change of Control conversion right relating to the Series A Preferred Stock protects the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock in the event of a highly leveraged or other transaction, including a merger, amalgamation or the sale, lease or conveyance of all or substantially all of our assets or business, which might adversely affect the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock.

The Series A Preferred Stock represent perpetual equity interests.

The Series A Preferred Stock represent perpetual equity interests in us and, unlike our indebtedness, will not give rise to a claim for payment of a principal amount at a particular date. As a result, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock may be required to bear the financial risks of an investment in the Series A Preferred Stock for an indefinite period of time.

If the Series A Preferred Stock is delisted from Nasdaq, the ability to transfer or sell shares of the Series A Preferred Stock may be limited and the market value of the Series A Preferred Stock will likely be materially adversely affected.

The Series A Preferred Stock is currently listed on Nasdaq and does not contain provisions that are intended to protect investors if the Series A Preferred Stock is delisted from Nasdaq. In order to maintain that listing, we must satisfy minimum financial and other continued listing requirements and standards, including those regarding director independence and independent committee requirements, minimum stockholders’ equity, minimum share price, and certain corporate governance requirements. There can be no assurances that we will be able to comply with the applicable listing standards. If the Series A Preferred Stock is delisted from Nasdaq, investors’ ability to transfer or sell shares of the Series A Preferred Stock will be limited and the market value of the Series A Preferred Stock will likely be materially adversely affected. Moreover, since the Series A Preferred Stock has no stated maturity date, investors may be forced to hold shares of the Series A Preferred Stock indefinitely while receiving stated dividends thereon when, as and if authorized by the Board and paid by us with no assurance as to ever receiving the liquidation value thereof. 

We may incur additional indebtedness and obligations to pay dividends on preferred stock, some of which may be senior to the rights of the Series A Preferred Stock.

We and our subsidiaries may incur additional indebtedness and obligations to pay cumulative dividends on preferred stock, some of which may be senior to the rights of the Series A Preferred Stock. The terms of the Series A Preferred Stock do not prohibit us or our subsidiaries from incurring additional indebtedness or issuing additional series of preferred stock. Any such indebtedness will in all cases be senior to the rights of holders of Series A Preferred Stock. We may also issue additional series of preferred stock that contain dividend rights and liquidation preferences that are senior to the rights of holders of Series A Preferred Stock. Our subsidiaries may also incur indebtedness that is structurally senior to the Series A Preferred Stock, and we and our subsidiaries could incur indebtedness secured by a lien on our assets, entitling the holders of such indebtedness to be paid first from the proceeds of such assets. If we issue any additional preferred stock that ranks senior or pari passu with the Series A Preferred Stock, the holders of those shares will be entitled to a senior or ratable share with the holders of the Series A Preferred Stock in any proceeds distributed in connection with our insolvency, liquidation, reorganization or dissolution. This may have the effect of reducing the amount of proceeds paid to the holders of Series A Preferred Stock.

Market interest rates may adversely affect the value of the Series A Preferred Stock.

One of the factors that continues to influence the price of the Series A Preferred Stock will be the dividend yield on the Series A Preferred Stock (as a percentage of the price of the Series A Preferred Stock) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates may lead prospective purchasers of the Series A Preferred Stock to expect a higher dividend yield, and higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for dividends. Accordingly, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock to decrease.

The amount of the liquidation preference on the Series A Preferred Stock is fixed and investors in this Offering that receive shares of Series A Preferred Stock will have no right to receive any greater payment.

The payment due upon liquidation on the Series A Preferred Stock is fixed at the liquidation preference of $25.00 per share, plus an amount equal to all accumulated and unpaid dividends thereon to the date of liquidation, whether or not declared. If, in the case of our liquidation, there are remaining assets to be distributed after payment of this amount, you will have no right to receive or to participate in these amounts. In addition, if the market price of a holder’s Series A Preferred Stock is greater than the liquidation preference, such holder will have no right to receive the market price from us upon our liquidation.

There may be future sales of Series A Preferred Stock or similar securities, which may adversely affect the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock.

Subject to the terms of the Certificate of Designations, our Articles of Incorporation and the NRS, we are not restricted from issuing additional Series A Preferred Stock or securities similar to the Series A Preferred Stock, including any securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, Series A Preferred Stock. Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have no preemptive rights that entitle holders to purchase their pro rata share of any offering of shares of any class or series. The market price of the Series A Preferred Stock could decline as a result of sales of Series A Preferred Stock, sales of other securities made after this Offering or the Underwritten Offering, or as a result of the perception that such sales could occur. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of any future offerings. Thus, holders of the Series A Preferred Stock bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock and diluting their holdings in the Series A Preferred Stock.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from the Offerings and may not use them effectively.

We will not receive any cash proceeds in this Offering as a result of our repayment of the Notes with the Shares in accordance with the terms of the Notes. Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from the Offerings, including for any of the purposes described in the section of this prospectus supplement entitled “Use of Proceeds.” The Underwritten Offering is not contingent upon this Offering and we can offer no assurance that the Underwritten Offering will close. If the Underwritten Offering does not close, we will not receive any cash proceeds from the Offerings, as we are issuing the Shares to the Lenders as full repayment of the Notes. The failure by our management to apply such funds effectively could harm our business. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from the Underwritten Offering in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our shareholders.

Raising additional funds through debt or equity financing could be dilutive and may cause the market price of the Series A Preferred Stock to decline. We still may need to raise additional funding which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain additional capital may force us to delay, limit, or terminate our product development efforts or other operations.

To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a shareholder. Furthermore, any additional fundraising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our products and services. In addition, the sale of a significant number of our shares of Series A Preferred Stock by us could depress the price of our securities.

We estimate that our current cash and cash equivalents, along with the extinguishment of the debt represented by the Notes in connection with this Offering and the net proceeds received from the Underwritten Offering, will be sufficient for us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. We may continue to seek funds through equity or debt financings, collaborative or other arrangements with corporate sources, or through other sources of financing. Additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Any failure to raise capital as and when needed, as a result of insufficient authorized shares or otherwise, could have a negative impact on our financial condition and on our ability to pursue our business plans and strategies.

If we are not paying full dividends on any future Parity Stock or Senior Stock, we will not be able to pay full dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

When dividends are not paid in full on any shares of issued and outstanding Parity Stock for a dividend period, all dividends declared with respect to Series A Preferred Stock and all shares of issued and outstanding Parity Stock for such dividend period shall be declared pro rata so that the respective amounts of such dividends declared bear the same ratio to each other as all accumulated but unpaid dividends per share of Series A Preferred Stock and all shares of issued and outstanding Parity Stock for such dividend period bear to each other. Therefore, if we are not paying full dividends on any issued and outstanding shares of Parity Stock, we will not be able to pay full dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock. Similarly, if we issue any series of Senior Stock, we expect that if we do not pay any amount of stated dividends thereon, we will not be able to pay any dividends on the Series A Preferred Stock.

We are permitted to make certain payments even after dividend periods for which we do not declare and pay, or set aside funds for, full cumulative dividends on all outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock.

The terms of the Series A Preferred Stock generally restrict us from making certain payments, such as paying dividends on all other capital stock issued by us expressly designated as ranking junior to the Series A Preferred Stock and repurchasing or redeeming junior or capital stock expressly designated as ranking on parity with the Series A Preferred Stock or shares of the Series A Preferred Stock, unless dividends on all outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock for all past completed dividend periods have been paid in full or declared and a sum sufficient for the payment thereof has been set aside for payment. These restrictions, however, are subject to multiple exceptions which permit us to, among other things, (i) pay or declare dividends on our capital stock, (ii) redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire junior stock or parity stock or (iii) redeem, purchase or otherwise acquire the Series A Preferred Stock. These exceptions are described in “Description of the Series A Preferred Stock—Restrictions on Dividends, Redemption and Repurchases” and may result in payments being made, whether as the result of a dividend, redemption or repurchase, on junior stock or parity stock after we have failed to pay full cumulative dividends on all outstanding shares of the Series A Preferred Stock. Additionally, in certain circumstances, our ability to make payments on junior stock and parity stock, whether as the result of a redemption, repurchase or other acquisition of such capital stock, is more extensive than our ability to make payments, whether as the result of a redemption, repurchase or other acquisition, of the Series A Preferred Stock.

The Series A Preferred Stock may not continue have an active trading market.

The Series A Preferred Stock are a recent issue of securities and do not have a long-established trading market. Although the Series A Preferred Stock is listed, we cannot assure you that an active market for the Series A Preferred Stock will be sustained or that holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will be able to sell their shares of Series A Preferred Stock at favorable prices or at all. The difference between bid and ask prices in any secondary market for the Series A Preferred Stock could be substantial. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or trading market for, the Series A Preferred Stock, and holders of the Series A Preferred Stock may be required to bear the financial risks of an investment in the Series A Preferred Stock for an indefinite period of time.

The voting rights of holders of the Series A Preferred Stock are limited.

Holders of the Series A Preferred Stock have no voting rights with respect to matters that generally require the approval of voting shareholders. The limited voting rights of holders of the Series A Preferred Stock include the right to vote as a single class on certain matters that may affect the preference or special rights of the Series A Preferred Stock, as described under “Description of the Series A Preferred Stock—Limited Voting Rights”.

Dividends or other payments with respect to the Series A Preferred Stock may be subject to withholding taxes in circumstances where we are not obliged to make gross up payments, and this could result in holders receiving less than expected in such circumstances.

In the event of certain changes to current tax law that require tax to be withheld from dividends or other payments on the Series A Preferred Stock, we are not required to make gross up payments in respect of such taxes. This would result in holders of Series A Preferred Stock receiving less than expected and could materially adversely affect the return on your investment.

This Offering is not conditioned on the consummation of any other financing, including the Underwritten Offering.

Neither the completion of this Offering nor the concurrent Underwritten Offering is contingent on the completion of the other, so it is possible that this Offering occurs and the Underwritten Offering does not occur, and vice versa. This prospectus supplement and accompanying base prospectus is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of Series A Preferred Stock being offered in the Underwritten Offering. We cannot assure you that the Underwritten Offering will be completed on the terms described herein, or at all.

Risk Factors Summary

In evaluating the Company, its business and any investment in the Company, readers should carefully consider the following factors:

Risks relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainty 

Risks related to our SCI business and cryptocurrency

Risks relating to our MTI Instruments business

Risks relating to our Company generally

Risks related to the recent acquisition of Soluna Computing

General Risks

Please see “Risk Factors” beginning on page 4 for more detail.

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider and read carefully all of the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein before deciding to invest in such securities. If any of the following risks, or any risk described elsewhere in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, occurs, our business, business prospects, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. In any such case, the trading prices of our Common Stock and Series A Preferred Stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risks described below and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also adversely affect us. This prospectus also contains forward-looking statements, estimates and projections that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements because of specific factors, including the risks described below and in the documents incorporated by reference herein.

You should carefully consider the following risk factors in evaluating our business and us. The factors listed below and in the prospectus and in any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus represent certain important factors that we believe could cause our business results to differ. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the general or specific risks that may affect us. It should be recognized that other risks may be significant, presently or in the future, and the risks set forth below may affect us to a greater extent than indicated. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. You should also consider the other information included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Form 10-K”) and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the SEC, which are incorporated herein by reference into this registration statement, as well as in any applicable prospectus supplement and contained or to be contained in our filings with the SEC and incorporated by reference in this prospectus, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, or any applicable prospectus supplement. For a description of these reports and documents, and information about where you can find them, see “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.” If any of the risks or uncertainties described in our SEC filings or any prospectus supplement or any additional risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Relating to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Global Economic Uncertainty                                                      

Adverse changes in economic or other market conditions in the United States and globally may have serious implications for the growth and stability of our business and could otherwise adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business is affected by general economic conditions, both inside and outside of the United States. Adverse changes to and uncertainty in the global economy, particularly in light of the continuing uncertainty regarding the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic, including as a result of the recently-discovered Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus as well as the potential for resurgences or the emergence of new variants to set back the global economic recovery or trigger future economic slowdowns or recessions, may lead to decreased demand for our products and for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, revenue fluctuations, and increased price competition for our products, and may increase the risk of excess and obsolete inventories and higher overhead costs as a percentage of revenue. It could also result in a decline in business and economic forecasts, which could adversely affect our sales in future periods. Additionally, the financial strength of our customers and suppliers and their ability to obtain and rely on credit financing may affect their ability to fulfill their obligations to us and have an adverse effect on our financial results.

Revenue growth and continued profitability of our MTI Instruments business will significantly depend on the overall demand for test and measurement instrumentations in key markets including research and development, automotive, semiconductor, cryptocurrencies, and electronics. The U.S. and global economies have been historically cyclical and market conditions continue to be challenging, which has resulted in companies delaying or reducing expenditures. Although recent trends have pointed to continuing improvements, there is still lingering volatility and uncertainty, particularly in light of recent resurgences of the spread of COVID-19 and the emergence of the Omicron variant. A change or disruption in the national or global financial markets for any reason may cause consumers, businesses, and governments to defer purchases in response to tighter credit, decreased cash availability, and declining consumer confidence. Accordingly, demand for our products could decrease and differ materially from their current expectations. Further, some of our customers may require substantial financing in order to fund their operations and make purchases from us. The inability of these customers to obtain sufficient credit to finance purchases of our products and meet their payment obligations to us or possible insolvencies of our customers could result in decreased customer demand, an impaired ability for us to collect on outstanding accounts receivable, significant delays in accounts receivable payments, and significant write-offs of accounts receivable, each of which could adversely impact our business and our financial results.

The long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic, or the impacts of any future pandemics or other health crises, are unknown and may adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow.

Our overall performance generally depends upon domestic and worldwide economic and political conditions. The global spread of COVID-19 has created volatility, uncertainty, and economic disruption. The pandemic caused a slowdown, and, going forward may cause future slowdowns in worldwide economic activity, decreased demand for products and services, and financial markets. Meanwhile, disruptions to global supply chains, including a global semiconductor chip shortage, as a result of the pandemic has continued, and may increase if there are surges in transmission and illness from the coronavirus going forward, including as a result of new variants.

While the COVID-19 pandemic, and the changes to our operations necessitated by governmental and societal actions to contain it, including social distancing and the closing and/or limits on the business operations, required us to make certain changes to the way we conduct our business and operations, we have been fortunate that, to date, the pandemic has had a limited impact on our supply chains, distribution systems, and ability to continue to conduct our business and operations. We cannot, however, predict the longer-term impacts of the pandemic, or future health emergencies, on our business, operations, revenues, results of operations, or financial condition. The ultimate extent of the impact of the current coronavirus pandemic, or any future epidemic, pandemic, or other outbreak or health emergency, will depend on future developments, including how fast effective (or with respect to the current pandemic, additional) vaccines and treatments are developed, the length of time before such vaccines are sufficiently distributed (both in the United States and worldwide), new or continued government actions in response, including with respect to successive waves or variants of the virus (as well as the extent to which such variants are more contagious and/or lethal), the extent to which then-current vaccines and treatments are less effective against any such variants, and whether delays in such vaccinations allow vaccine-resistant variants to develop and spread, all of which will impact the current or any future pandemic’s or similar outbreak’s ultimate duration and severity as well as and how fast the economy recovers afterwards. Actions we took to mitigate the impact of the current pandemic may not be successful if the pandemic continues for a longer period than expected or in future pandemics or similar emergencies. For example, beginning in March 2020 we replaced our in-person sales meetings with meetings held by videoconference, telephone calls, webinars, and additional informational website content geared towards addressing our customers’ questions and concerns for both domestic and overseas customers. Nevertheless, we believe that our inability to hold in-person meetings, while not significant, did have a negative impact on our product sales during the year ended December 31, 2020 and the nine months ended September 30, 2021, and our efforts to mitigate the effects of the pandemic restrictions on our sales model may not be a viable alternative to in-person meetings on a longer-term basis or during any future health or other emergency that engenders similar restrictions.

In addition, while the supply-chain disruptions and semiconductor shortage noted above have not had a significant impact on our mining operations to date, if these conditions continue we may not be able to obtain new cryptocurrency mining equipment (generally called “miners”) to replace miners that are no longer functioning, expand our cryptocurrency mining operations, or keep up with technological developments, or be able to obtain replacement parts for our existing miners, in a timely or cost-effective manner. This could negatively impact our ability to expand our mining operations and compete in the cryptocurrency mining industry, and otherwise materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Further, the long-term social and economic impact of the pandemic, or the acceleration of pre-existing trends as a result thereof, are still uncertain, and it is not possible at this time to estimate the full impact that the pandemic will have on our business, as the impact will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. It is also unknowable what impacts future pandemics or health emergencies may bring. In either case, any such developments could materially and adversely affect our customer base or the demand for our products, which would have a negative effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, and financial condition, all of which could have a negative effect on the market price of our securities.

Risks Related to our SCI Business and Cryptocurrency

SCI has a limited operating history and we may not recognize operating income from the SCI line of business in the future.

SCI began operations in January 2020 and therefore is subject to all the risks inherent in a newly-established business venture in a rapidly developing and changing industry. SCI’s limited operating history also makes it difficult to evaluate SCI’s current business and its future prospects. SCI has not yet been able to confirm that its business model can or will be successful over the long term, and we may not ever continue to recognize operating income from this business. Our projections for its growth have been developed internally and may not prove to be accurate. SCI’s operating results will likely fluctuate moving forward as we focus on increasing its mining operations and as the market prices of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fluctuate. We may need to make business decisions that could adversely affect SCI’s operating results, such as modifications to its business structure or operations. In addition, we expect additional growth in this business, which could place significant demands on SCI’s and the Company’s management and other resources and require us to continue developing and improving our operational, financial, and other internal controls. SCI may not be able to address these challenges in a cost-effective manner or at all. If we do not effectively manage SCI’s growth, it may not be able to execute on its business plan, respond to competitive pressures, or take advantage of market opportunities, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially harmed.

Given SCI’s start-up status with an unproven business model, there is a substantial risk regarding SCI’s ability to succeed. You should consider our business and prospects in light of these risks and the risks and difficulties that we will encounter as we continue to develop our business model. We may not be able to address these risks and difficulties successfully, which would materially harm our business and operating results, and we could be forced to terminate our business, liquidate our assets and dissolve, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile, and if our mined cryptocurrencies are converted into dollars when such values are low, we may not recognize the income from the conversion of the mined cryptocurrencies that we were expecting.

The fluctuating prices of cryptocurrencies represent significant uncertainties for SCI’s business. The price of Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies are subject to dramatic fluctuations. A variety of factors, known and unknown, may affect price and valuation, including, but not limited to (i) the supply of such cryptocurrencies; (ii) global blockchain asset demand, which can be influenced by the growth of retail merchants’ and commercial businesses’ acceptance of blockchain assets like cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services, the security of online cryptocurrency exchanges and networks and digital wallets that hold blockchain assets, the perception that the use and holding of blockchain assets is safe and secure, and the regulatory restrictions on their use; (iii) investors’ expectations with respect to the rate of inflation; (iv) changes in the software, software requirements or hardware requirements underlying a blockchain network; (v) changes in the rights, obligations, incentives, or rewards for the various participants in a blockchain network; (vi) currency exchange rates; (vii) fiat currency withdrawal and deposit policies of cryptocurrency exchanges and networks and liquidity on such exchanges and networks; (viii) interruptions in service from or failures of major cryptocurrency exchanges and networks; (ix) investment and trading activities of large subscribers, including private and registered investment funds, that may directly or indirectly invest in blockchain assets; (x) monetary policies of governments, trade restrictions, currency devaluations and revaluations; (xi) regulatory measures, if any, that affect the use of blockchain assets; (xii) the maintenance and development of the open-source software protocol of the cryptocurrency networks; (xiii) global or regional political, economic or financial events and situations; (xiv) expectations among blockchain participants that the value of blockchain assets will soon change; and (xv) a decrease in the price of blockchain assets that may have a material adverse effect on SCI’s financial condition and operating results. If our mined cryptocurrencies are converted into dollars when their values are low, we may not recognize the income from the conversion of the mined cryptocurrencies that we were expecting. Further, the extreme swings in value can make it difficult for us to develop reasonable financial plans and projections with respect to SCI’s business.

SCI has an evolving business model that is subject to various uncertainties.

As cryptocurrency assets and blockchain technologies become more widely available, we expect the services and products associated with them to evolve. In order to stay current with the industry, our business model may need to evolve as well. From time to time, we may modify aspects of SCI’s business relating to our models and strategies. We cannot offer any assurance that these or any other modifications will be successful or will not result in harm to our business. We may not be able to manage growth effectively, which could damage our reputation, limit our growth and negatively affect our operating results. Further, we cannot provide any assurance that we will successfully identify all emerging trends and growth opportunities in this business sector and we may lose out on those opportunities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations.

SCI may not be able to continue to develop its technology and keep pace with technological developments, expand its mining operations or otherwise compete with other companies, some of whom have greater resources and experience.

We do not have the resources to compete with larger cryptocurrency mining entities at this time and may not be able to compete successfully against present or future competitors. The cryptocurrency industry has attracted various high-profile and well-established operators, some of which have substantially greater liquidity and financial resources than we do. With the limited resources we have available, we may experience great difficulties in expanding and improving our network of miners to remain competitive, and we may not be in a position to construct additional operational cryptocurrency mines.

Rapid technological change is a current feature of the cryptocurrency industry, including cryptocurrency mining, and we cannot provide assurance that we will be able to achieve the technological advances, in a timely manner or at all, that may be necessary for us to remain competitive or that certain of our equipment will not become obsolete. Our ability to anticipate and manage changes in technology standards on a timely basis will be a significant factor in our ability to remain competitive. We may not be successful, generally or relative to our competitors, 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. Further, if due to technological developments we need to replace our miners entirely to remain competitive in the market, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so on a cost-effective basis or in a timely manner, particularly in light of the long production period to manufacture and assemble cryptocurrency miners, potential large-scale purchases of miners from existing competitors and new entrants into the industry, and the current semiconductor chip shortage. Furthermore, there can be no assurance 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, and operations may suffer, and there may be adverse effects on our financial condition and on the market prices of our securities.

In addition, competition from existing and future competitors, particularly the many other North American companies that have access to more competitively-priced energy, could result in our inability to secure acquisitions and partnerships that we may need to 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 plan. If we are unable to expand and remain competitive, our business could be negatively affected which would have an adverse effect on the trading price of our securities, which in turn would harm investors in our Company.

There are several new and existing competitors in our industry that are purchasing mining equipment at scale, which may cause delays or difficulty in us obtaining new miners, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

Many of the competitors in our industry have also been purchasing mining equipment at scale, which has caused a worldwide shortage of mining equipment and extended the corresponding delivery schedules for new miner purchases. There can be no assurance that manufacturers will be able to keep pace with the surge in demand for mining equipment. It is uncertain how manufacturers will respond to this increased global demand. In the event manufacturers are not able to keep pace with demand, we may not be able to purchase miners in sufficient quantities or on the delivery schedules that meet our business needs, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, operations, prospects, operating income, and financial condition, which would likely result in a decrease in the market value of our Common Stock.

We may be unable to obtain additional funding to scale the SCI cryptocurrency business to a larger-scale cryptocurrency mining operation.

We are considering further increasing the processing power of our cryptocurrency mining operations as we seek to leverage our experience and expertise in this area of operations. To do so, however, we will need to raise additional debt and/or equity financing, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. Failure to generate adequate cash from our operations or find sources of funding would require us to scale back or curtail our operations or expansion efforts, including limiting our ability to expand the SCI cryptocurrency business to a larger-scale cryptocurrency mining operation, and would have an adverse impact on our business and financial condition. If we raise additional equity financing, our stockholders may experience significant dilution of their ownership interests, and the per-share value of our Common Stock could decline. Furthermore, if we engage in additional debt financing, the holders of debt likely would have priority over the holders of Common Stock on order of payment preference. We may be required to accept terms that restrict our ability to incur additional indebtedness or take other actions including terms that require us to maintain specified liquidity or other ratios that could otherwise not be in the interests of our stockholders.

Regulatory changes or actions may alter the nature of an investment in us or restrict the use of cryptocurrencies in a manner that adversely affects our business, prospects, or operations and profitability.

As cryptocurrencies have grown in both popularity and market size, governments around the world have reacted, and continue to react, differently to cryptocurrencies; certain governments have deemed them illegal, and others have allowed their use and trade without restriction, while in some jurisdictions, such as in the U.S., cryptocurrencies are subject to extensive, and in some cases overlapping, unclear, and evolving, regulatory requirements. In the United States, Congress and various federal agencies have increased their focus on the cryptocurrency sector during the past year. Increasing regulation and regulatory scrutiny may result in increased costs, management having to devote increased time and attention to regulatory matters, having to change aspects of our cryptocurrency mining business, or result in limits on the use cases of cryptocurrencies, which could decrease their value. Regulatory developments may require us to comply with new regulatory requirements, which would increase our operating costs. In addition, ongoing and future regulatory actions could significantly restrict or eliminate the market for or uses of cryptocurrencies and otherwise materially and adversely impact our ability to continue to operate and to continue as a going concern, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operations and financial condition, as well as on the value and trading prices of our Common Stock.

Security breaches could result in a loss of our cryptocurrencies.

Security breaches including computer hacking or computer malware have been a consistent concern in the cryptocurrency industry. This could involve hacking in which an unauthorized person obtains access to the systems or information and can cause harm by the transmission of virus or the corruption of data. These breaches may occur due to an action by an outside party, or by the error and negligence of an employee. We primarily rely on the Luxor mining pool and SCI’s cryptocurrencies are stored with exchanges such as Coinbase prior to selling them. If any breach were to occur of our security system, operations or third party platforms, the result could cause a loss of our cryptocurrencies, loss of confidential or proprietary information, force the Company to cease operations, or could cause damage to the reputation of the Company. If an actual or perceived attack were to occur, the market perception of the Company may be damaged, which could adversely affect potential and current investments in the Company and reduce demand for our securities and cause a reduction in our share price.

Incorrect or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions may be irreversible.

It is possible that, through computer or human error, theft, or criminal action, our cryptocurrency could be transferred in incorrect amounts or to unauthorized third parties or accounts. In general, cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, and stolen or incorrectly-transferred cryptocurrencies may be irretrievable, and we may have extremely limited or no effective means of recovering any losses as a result of an incorrect transfer or theft. As a result, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

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

Geopolitical crises may motivate large-scale purchases of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which could rapidly increase the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. This may increase the likelihood of a subsequent price decrease as crisis-driven purchasing behavior dissipates, adversely affecting the value of the cryptocurrencies that we mine. 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.

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 investors in our Common Stock. Political or economic crises may motivate large-scale acquisitions or sales of cryptocurrencies either globally or locally. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our strategy at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, or operations and potentially the value of any cryptocurrencies that we mine.

The failure of cryptocurrencies to become widely accepted and/or used as a medium of exchange and method of payment could adversely affect our business, prospects, and financial condition.

The use of cryptocurrencies in the retail and commercial marketplace, despite sporadic adoption, is currently limited. A significant portion of cryptocurrency demand 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. Price volatility, slow processing speeds, and high transaction costs undermine Bitcoin’s and other cryptocurrencies’ ability to be used as a medium of exchange, as retailers are less likely to accept it as a direct form of payment. Large-scale acceptance of cryptocurrencies as a means of payment has not, and may never, occur.

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 a decline in acceptance could have a material adverse effect on the value of the cryptocurrencies that we mine, the viability of cryptocurrency mining as a business, and our ability to continue as a going concern or to pursue our business strategy, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, operations, and financial condition, as well as on the market value of our securities.

Facebook’s proposed development of a cryptocurrency, as well as the eventual likely development of government-backed digital currencies and the development of cryptocurrencies by other tech companies, may adversely affect the value of Bitcoin and other existing, or even future, cryptocurrencies.

In May 2019, Facebook announced its plans for a cryptocurrency then called Libra, now Diem, which faced significant objections and concerns from governments, legislators and regulators. The massive social network and a number of 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. Further, in the event that government-backed digital currencies, which regulators in several countries are already considering or even developing, are developed and widely adopted, it is likely to have a negative impact on the existing currencies including larger widespread adoption and potentially impacting the market share by non-government digital currency. Additional cryptocurrencies are introduced to the market frequently, and although some have gained popularity as some features have been different than Bitcoin, Bitcoin remains the market leader. As cryptocurrency adoption grows, the likelihood increases that additional cryptocurrencies will be introduced and gain popularity against Bitcoin, potentially negatively impacting the value of Bitcoin and perhaps other cryptocurrencies.

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

Our current mining operation in East Wenatchee, Washington is, and any future mines we establish will be, subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including:

For example, our mine could be rendered inoperable, temporarily or permanently, as a result of a fire or other natural disaster or by a terrorist or other attack on the mine. The security and other measures we take to protect against these risks may not be sufficient. Additionally, our mine could be materially adversely affected by a power outage, loss of access to the electrical grid, or loss by the grid of cost-effective sources of electrical power generating capacity. Given the power requirement, it would not be feasible to run miners on back-up power generators in the event of a power outage. Our insurance covers the replacement cost of any lost or damaged miners, but does 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. The potential impact on our business is currently magnified because we are only operating a single mine.

SCI’s reliance on a third-party mining pool service provider for our mining revenue payouts may have a negative impact on SCI’s operations.

We use a third–party mining pool to receive our mining rewards from the network. Cryptocurrency mining pools allow miners to combine their computing power, increasing their chances of solving a block and getting paid by the network. The rewards are distributed by the pool operator, proportionally to our contribution to the pool’s overall mining power, used to generate each block. Should the pool operator’s system suffer downtime due to a cyber-attack, software malfunction, or similar issues, it will negatively impact our ability to mine and receive revenue. Furthermore, we are dependent on the accuracy of the mining pool operator’s recordkeeping to accurately record the total processing power provided to the pool for a given Bitcoin mining application in order to assess the proportion of that total processing power we provided. While we have internal methods of tracking both our power provided and the total used by the pool, the mining pool operator uses its own recordkeeping to determine our proportion of a given reward. We have little means of recourse against the mining pool operator if we determine that the proportion of the reward that the mining pool operator pays out to us is incorrect, other than leaving the pool. If we are unable to consistently obtain accurate proportionate rewards from our mining pool operator, we may experience reduced reward for our efforts, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Over time, incentives for Bitcoin miners to continue to contribute processing power to the Bitcoin network may transition from a set reward to transaction fees. If the incentives for Bitcoin mining are not sufficiently high, we may not have an adequate incentive to continue to mine.

In general, as the number of Bitcoin rewards awarded for solving a block in a blockchain decreases, our ability to achieve profitability also decreases. Decreased use and demand for Bitcoin rewards may adversely affect our incentive to expend processing power to solve blocks. If the Bitcoin rewards for solving blocks and transaction fees are not sufficiently high, fewer Bitcoin miners will mine. At insufficiently attractive rewards, our costs of operations in total may exceed our revenues from Bitcoin mining.

To incentivize Bitcoin miners to continue to contribute processing power to the Bitcoin network, such network may either formally or informally transition from a set reward to transaction fees earned upon solving a block. This transition could be accomplished either by Bitcoin miners independently electing to record in the blocks they solve only those transactions that include payment of a transaction fee or by the Bitcoin network adopting software upgrades that require the payment of a minimum transaction fee for all transactions. If as a result transaction fees paid for Bitcoin transactions become too high, Bitcoin users may be reluctant to transfer Bitcoin or accept Bitcoin as a means of payment, and existing users may be motivated to hold existing Bitcoin and switch from Bitcoin to another digital asset or back to fiat currency for transactions, diminishing the aggregate amount of available transaction fees for Bitcoin miners. Such reduction would adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

The Bitcoin reward for successfully uncovering a block will halve several times in the future, and Bitcoin value may not adjust to compensate us for the reduction in the rewards we receive from our Bitcoin mining efforts.

Halving is a process designed to control the overall supply and reduce the risk of inflation in cryptocurrencies using a proof of work consensus algorithm. At a predetermined block, the Bitcoin mining reward is cut in half, hence the term “halving.” For Bitcoin, the reward was initially set at 50 Bitcoin currency rewards per block and this was cut in half to 25 on November 28, 2012 at block 210,000, then again to 12.5 on July 9, 2016 at block 420,000. The most recent halving for Bitcoin occurred on May 11, 2020 at block 630,000 and the reward was reduced to 6.25. It is expected that the next halving will likely occur in 2024. This process will reoccur until the total amount of Bitcoin currency rewards issued reaches 21 million, which is expected around the year 2140. While Bitcoin prices have had a history of fluctuations around the halving of its rewards, there is no guarantee that the price change will be favorable or would compensate for the reduction in mining reward. If a corresponding and proportionate increase in the trading prices of Bitcoin or a proportionate decrease in mining difficulty does not follow these anticipated halving events, the revenue we earn from our Bitcoin mining operations could see a corresponding decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

We may not be able to realize the benefits of forks, and forks in a digital asset network may occur in the future which may affect the value of the cryptocurrencies that we mine held by us.

To the extent that a significant majority of users and miners on a cryptocurrency network install software that changes the cryptocurrency network or properties of a cryptocurrency, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new cryptocurrency, the cryptocurrency network would be subject to new protocols and software. If less than a significant majority of users and miners on the cryptocurrency network consent to the proposed modification, however, and the modification is not compatible with the software prior to its modification, a “fork” of the network would occur, with one prong of the network running the pre-modified software and the other running the modified software. The effect of such a fork would be the existence of two versions of the cryptocurrency running in parallel, yet lacking interchangeability and necessitating exchange-type transaction to convert currencies between the two forks. After a fork, it may be unclear which fork represents the original asset and which is the new asset.

If we hold a specific cryptocurrency at the time of a hard fork into two cryptocurrencies, industry standards would dictate that we would be expected to hold an equivalent amount of the old and new assets following the fork. We may not, however, be able to secure or realize the economic benefit of the new asset. Our business may be adversely impacted by forks in an applicable cryptocurrency network.

In addition, historically, speculation over a new “hard fork” in the Bitcoin protocol has resulted in Bitcoin price volatility and future hard forks may occur at any time. A hard fork can lead to a disruption of networks and our information technology systems could be affected by cybersecurity attacks, replay attacks, or security weaknesses, any of which can further lead to temporary or even permanent loss of its assets. Such disruption and loss could cause us to be exposed to liability, even in circumstances where we have no intention of supporting an asset compromised by a hard fork. Additionally, a hard fork may result in a scenario where users running the previous protocol will not recognize blocks created by those running the new protocol, and vice versa. This may render our cryptocurrency mining hardware incompatible with the new protocol. Such changes may have a material effect on our operations, financial position, and financial performance.

As the aggregate amount of computing power, or hash rate, in the Bitcoin network increases, the amount of Bitcoin earned per unit of hash rate decreases; as a result, in order to maintain our market share, we may have to incur significant capital expenditures in order to expand our fleet of miners.

The aggregate computing power of the global Bitcoin network has generally grown over time and we expect it to continue to grow in the future. To the extent the global hash rate continues to increase, the market share of and the amount of Bitcoin rewards paid to any fixed fleet of miners will decrease. Therefore, in order to maintain our market share, we may be required to expand our mining fleet, which may require significant capital expenditures. Such significant capital expenditures could have an adverse effect on our business operations, strategy, and financial performance.

Climate change, and the regulatory and legislative developments related to climate change, may materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.

The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate or in which our third-party providers operate. These may include changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages, changing sea levels, and changing temperatures. The impacts of climate change may materially and adversely impact the cost, production, and financial performance of our operations. Further, any impacts to our business and financial condition as a result of climate change are likely to occur over a sustained period of time and are therefore difficult to quantify with any degree of specificity. For example, extreme weather events may result in adverse physical effects on portions of our infrastructure, which could disrupt our supply chain and ultimately our business operations.

In addition, a number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating legislative and regulatory changes in response to the potential impact of climate change. Given the very significant amount of electrical power required to operate cryptocurrency miners, as well as the environmental impact of mining for the rare earth metals used in the production of mining servers, the cryptocurrency mining industry may become a target for future environmental and energy regulation, and any such regulation may not distinguish between cryptocurrency mining powered by renewable energy, as is SCI’s business, and cryptocurrency mining using traditional (i.e. fossil fuel) sources of energy. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring, and reporting, and other costs to comply with such regulations. Any future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such limitations. Given the political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be addressed, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance, and ability to compete. Any of the foregoing could result in a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, and financial condition.

Our business plan is heavily dependent upon acquisitions and strategic alliances and our ability to identify, acquire or ally on appropriate terms, and successfully integrate and manage any acquired companies or alliances will impact our financial condition and operating results.

Part of our strategy to grow our business is dependent on the acquisition of other entities or businesses in the future that complement our current products, enhance our market coverage or technical capabilities, or offer growth opportunities. We may also need to form strategic alliances or partnerships in order to remain competitive in our market. We may not be able, however, to identify and successfully negotiate suitable acquisitions alliances, obtain any financing necessary for such acquisitions on satisfactory terms, or otherwise complete any such acquisitions or alliances. Further, any acquisition or alliance may require a significant amount of management’s time and financial resources to complete and acquisitions, strategic alliances or partnerships could be difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, and dilute stockholder value.

For example, in January 2020, the Company formed SCI as its wholly-owned subsidiary to pursue a new business line focused on cryptocurrency and the blockchain ecosystem. In October 2021, Soluna Computing became a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCI pursuant to a merger. Prior to the merger, Soluna Computing had assisted us in developing and operating the cryptocurrency mining facility through contractual arrangements. In the future, we may acquire or form strategic alliances or partnerships with other businesses in order to remain competitive or to acquire new technologies. Acquisitions, alliances, and investments involve numerous risks, including:

Our failure to successfully manage our recent acquisition of Soluna Computing or other future acquisitions, strategic alliances, or partnerships could seriously harm our operating results. In addition, our stockholders would be diluted if we finance the future acquisitions, strategic alliances, or partnerships by incurring convertible debt or issuing equity securities.

We cannot offer any assurance that we will be able to identify, complete, or successfully integrate any suitable acquisitions or suitable alliances. Even if successfully negotiated and closed, any acquisitions or alliances may not yield expected synergies, may not advance our business strategy as expected, may fall short of expected return-on-investment targets, or may otherwise fail to achieve their objectives or perform as contemplated and not prove successful. Companies that we acquire may operate with different cost and margin structures, which could further cause fluctuations in our operating results and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In connection with the ground leases for our new cryptocurrency mining operations, we rely on the landlord to sell us the power required for our operations, and any failure of the landlord to supply such power, whether as a result of its failure to pay the TVA or otherwise, would materially impact our operations.

In May 2021, EcoChain Block, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCI, entered into two ground leases (the “Ground Leases”) for a building located in the Southeast region of the United States that will be SCI’s second cryptocurrency mining facility, which includes surrounding land for potential additional capacity. The Ground Leases will not be effective until certain conditions set forth therein are met. In addition, EcoChain Block and the landlord entered into a power supply agreement whereby EcoChain Block will purchase the power for its cryptocurrency mining operations from the landlord, who purchases power directly from the TVA. The rates payable by EcoChain Block to the landlord will be at the same pre-negotiated rates paid by landlord, which are less than SCI could obtain directly from the TVA. The landlord’s failure to provide power to SCI, as a result of the termination of such power supply to the landlord by the TVA, as a result of the landlord’s failure to pay the TVA for such power, or otherwise, would, in all likelihood, result in our inability to obtain the power we need for our cryptocurrency mining operations, unless and until we were able to obtain such power directly from the TVA, which would result in a significant interruption to our business. We may also incur significant costs associated with negotiating and entering into a new agreement with the TVA to supply power to EcoChain Block’s cryptocurrency mining facilities, and with setting up corresponding infrastructure to receive such power directly. Further, there can be no assurance that EcoChain Block will be able to negotiate a power supply agreement with the TVA on equally favorable terms as the landlord, if at all.

The properties on which certain of our ground leases are located are subject to possible forfeiture to the U.S. government, and, if seized, would, in all likelihood, require us to spend significant funds to maintain our cryptocurrency mining rights.

In August 2020, the United States Department of Justice’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section (“DOJ”), together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, filed civil asset forfeiture complaints against parties related to the landlord (the “Landlord Owners”) in connection with certain real properties, including the real properties that are the subject of the Ground Leases (the “Subject Properties”). The complaints, all of which are currently pending before a federal judge, alleged that the funds used by Landlord Owners to purchase the Subject Properties were traceable to the proceeds of a bank fraud purportedly committed internationally in Ukraine by the Landlord Owners. Though the DOJ has not filed a civil forfeiture action against the Subject Properties, the complaint the government submitted in support of its asset forfeiture requests against certain properties, including the Subject Properties, included a description of the Ukrainian bank fraud and the various properties located in the United States that the DOJ believes were purchased with the proceeds of that international bank fraud, including the Subject Properties. In the event that the Subject Properties are seized by the U.S. government, EcoChain Block may be required to negotiate with the U.S. government for the supply of power that SCI was receiving from the landlord pursuant to the Power Supply Agreement. Additionally, the U.S. government, in all likelihood, would place the Subject Properties for sale at an auction, or otherwise, and we would likely be required to purchase the Subject Properties to assure the continuation of our cryptocurrency mining operations at such facility, all of which would require our expenditure of significant funds and could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations.

If federal or state legislatures or agencies initiate or release tax determinations that change the classification of cryptocurrencies as property for tax purposes (in the context of when such cryptocurrencies are held as an investment), such determination could have a negative tax consequence on us.

Current Internal Revenue Service guidance indicates that digital assets such as Bitcoin should be treated and taxed as property, and that transactions involving the payment of bitcoin for goods and services should be treated as barter transactions. While this treatment creates a potential tax reporting requirement for any circumstance where the ownership of a cryptocurrency passes from one person to another, it preserves the right to apply capital gains treatment to those transactions which may adversely affect our results of operations.

Risks Relating to our MTI Instruments Business

Our MTI Instruments business depends on a small number of customers including the U.S. Air Force.

Historically, we have had a small number of customers representing a large percentage of our total revenue. Although we endeavor to maintain and further expand our customer base, we expect that sales to a limited number of customers will continue to account for a high percentage of our revenues in any given period for the foreseeable future, and the loss of even just a couple of customers, or a significant reduction in sales to our existing customer base, could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, our revenues are largely dependent upon the ability of our customers to continue to grow or need services or to develop and sell products that incorporate our services and products. We also depend on purchases by the U.S. Air Force for a significant portion of our revenues and the loss of the U.S. Air Force as a customer or a delay or decline in funding of our existing or future contracts with them could decrease our backlog or adversely affect our business and prospects, sales, cash flows, and our ability to fund our continued product development and growth.

We do not have long-term purchase commitments from our customers, and our customers are also able to cancel, reduce, or delay orders for our products.

We generally do not obtain firm, long-term purchase commitments from our customers, and frequently do not have visibility as to their future demand for our products and services. Customers also cancel, change or delay design, production or aftermarket service quantities and schedules, or fail to meet their forecasts for a number of reasons beyond our control. Customer expectations can also change rapidly, requiring us to take on additional commitments or risks, and requiring that we provide rapid product turnaround and respond to short lead times. A variety of conditions, both specific to individual customers and generally affecting the demand for original equipment manufacturers’ products, may cause customers to cancel, reduce, or delay orders. Conversely, if our customers unexpectedly and significantly increase product orders, we may be required to rapidly increase production, which could strain our resources and reduce our margins. We typically plan production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which can be highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially, leading to excess inventory write-downs and resulting negative impacts on gross margin and net income. Additionally, and as a result, our revenues may be volatile from period to period, we may not achieve the anticipated revenues from these efforts, or these efforts may result in non-recoverable costs.

Our annual and quarterly operating results may experience significant fluctuations, which could adversely impact our operations and financial results.

In addition to the variability resulting from the short-term nature of our customers’ commitments, other factors contribute to significant periodic fluctuations in our results of operations. These factors include:

The price of our securities could decline substantially in the event that any of these risks result in our financial performance being below the expectations of analysts and investors, which are based on historical and predictive models that are not necessarily accurate representations of the future.

We may not be able to keep pace with technological innovations or develop new product solutions in a timely manner.

The electronic, semiconductor, solar, automotive, and general industrial segments are subject to constant technological change. MTI Instruments’ future success will depend on our ability to respond appropriately to changing technologies and changes in product function and quality. If we rely on products and technologies that are not attractive to end users, we may not be successful in capturing or retaining market share. Technological advances, the introduction of new products, and new design techniques could adversely affect our business prospects unless we are able to adapt to the changing conditions. Technological advances could render our products obsolete, and we may not be able to respond effectively to the technological requirements of evolving markets. As a result, we will be required to expend substantial funds for and commit significant resources to:

Our business could be harmed if we are unable to develop and utilize new technologies that address the needs of our customers, or our competitors do so more effectively than we do.

Our efforts to continue to develop new products and technologies may not result in commercial success, which could cause a decline in our revenue and otherwise harm our business.

Our research and development efforts with respect to our products and technologies may not result in customer or market acceptance. Some or all of such products and technologies may not successfully make the transition from the research and development lab to cost-effective production as a result of technology problems, competitive cost issues, yield problems, and other factors. Even when we successfully complete a research and development effort with respect to a particular product or technology, our customers may decide not to introduce or may discontinue products utilizing the product or technology for a variety of reasons, including the following:

The nature of MTI Instruments’ business will require us to make continuing investments to develop new products and technologies. Significant expenses relating to one or more new products or technologies that ultimately prove to be unsuccessful for any reason could have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, any investments or acquisitions made to enhance our products and technologies may prove to be unsuccessful. If our efforts are unsuccessful, our business could be harmed. Moreover, when we announce our development of new products, sales of current products may decrease as customers delay making purchases until such new products are available, which could adversely affect our business, revenues, and results of operations.

The cyclical nature of the industries of many of MTI Instruments’ existing and target customers may result in fluctuations in our operating results.

Demand for our products and services in our target markets is cyclical, and revenues from the sale of our products and services can vary significantly from one period to the next as a result. We may sell a significant amount of our products to one or a few customers for various short term projects in one period, and then have markedly decreased sales in following periods as these projects end or customers have the products they require for the foreseeable future.

The electronics and military industries in particular have experienced significant economic downturns at various times. These downturns are characterized by diminished product demand, accelerated erosion of average selling prices, and production overcapacity. We may seek to reduce our exposure to industry downturns by providing design and production services for leading companies in rapidly expanding industry segments. We may, however, experience substantial period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results because of general industry conditions or events occurring in the general economy.

International sales risks could adversely affect our operating results. Furthermore, our operating results could be adversely affected by changes to U.S. policy and fluctuations in the value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies.

Sales outside of the United States accounted for approximately 33.1% of our total revenue during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, 25.9% of our total revenue in 2020, and 35.3% of our total revenue in 2019. Our international business may be adversely affected by changing political and economic conditions in foreign countries. Having a worldwide distribution network for our products exposes us to various economic, political, and other risks that could adversely affect our operations and operating results, including the following:

These risks or any combination of them could increase our costs, lengthen our sales cycle, and require significant management attention and could otherwise negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, we transact our business in U.S. dollars and bill and collect our sales in U.S. dollars. It is possible that U.S. policy changes and uncertainty about policy could increase market volatility and currency exchange rate fluctuations. Market volatility and currency exchange rate fluctuations could impact our results of operations and financial condition related to transactions denominated in a foreign currency. A weakening of the dollar could cause our overseas vendors to require renegotiation of either the prices or currency we pay for their goods and services. Similarly, a strengthening of the dollar could cause our products to be more expensive for our international customers, which could impact price and margins and/or cause the demand for our products, and thus our revenue, to decline.

In the future, customers may negotiate pricing and make payments in non-U.S. currencies. If our overseas vendors or customers require us to transact business in non-U.S. currencies, fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could affect our cost of goods, operating expenses, and operating margins and could result in exchange losses. In addition, currency devaluation can result in a loss to us if we hold deposits of that currency. Hedging foreign currencies can be difficult, especially if the currency is not freely traded. We cannot predict the impact that future exchange rate fluctuations may have on our operating results.

MTI Instruments’ business operations, financial performance, and liquidity are occasionally reliant on a single supplier or vendor or a limited group of suppliers and vendors.

We depend on a limited number of suppliers and vendors for products and services relating to our MTI Instruments business. Specifically, for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020, Spinnaker Contract Manufacturing, Inc. supplied 9% and 15%, respectively, of the PC boards used by almost all MTI Instrument products, and SYNNEX Corporation supplied 2% and 26%, respectively, of the military computers used by MTI Instruments. In the event it becomes necessary to seek alternative suppliers and vendors, we may be unable to obtain satisfactory replacement supplies or services on economically attractive terms, on a timely basis, or at all, which could increase costs or cause disruptions in the manufacturing of our products or delivery of our services.

Risks Related to our Company Generally

Our confidentiality agreements with employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosure of our trade secrets and other proprietary information, which could limit our ability to compete.

While we are currently in the process of applying for patents with respect to SCI’s business, presently we rely on trade secrets to protect our proprietary technology and processes. Despite such protection, however, it is possible that a third party may copy or otherwise obtain and use our U.S. Patent and Trademark Office-registered or other proprietary information without our authorization, and trade secrets can be difficult to protect. Policing unauthorized use of our intellectual property and trade secrets is difficult, particularly in light of the global nature of the Internet and because the laws of other countries may afford us little or no effective protection of our intellectual property. Potentially expensive litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Additionally, we enter into confidentiality and intellectual property assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, and other advisors. These agreements generally require that the other party keep confidential and not disclose to third parties confidential information developed by the party under such agreements or made known to the party by us during the course of the party’s relationship with us. Our employees, consultants, and other advisors, however, may not honor these agreements and enforcing a claim that a party illegally obtained and is using our trade secrets is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. Our failure to obtain and maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive position.

We rely on highly-skilled personnel and the continuing efforts of our executive officers and, if we are unable to retain, motivate, or hire qualified personnel, our business may be severely disrupted. In addition, increased labor costs and the unavailability of skilled workers could hurt our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Our performance largely depends on the talents, knowledge, skills, know-how and efforts of highly skilled individuals and in particular, the expertise held by our Chief Executive Officer, Michael Toporek. His absence, were it to occur, would materially and adversely impact development and implementation of our projects and businesses. Our future success depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel for all areas of our organization. Our continued ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to attract, among others, new technology developers and to retain and motivate our existing contractors. If one or more of our executive officers or other key personnel are unable or unwilling to continue in their present positions, we may not be able to replace them readily, if at all. In such case, our business may be severely disrupted, and we may incur additional expenses to recruit and retain new officers or other key personnel. In addition, if any of our executives or key personnel joins a competitor or forms a competing company, we may lose customers.

In addition, we compete with other businesses in our industries and other similar employers to attract and retain qualified personnel with the technical skills and experience required to successfully operate our businesses. The demand for skilled workers is high and the supply is limited, and a shortage in the labor pool of skilled workers or other general inflationary pressures or changes in applicable laws and regulations could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain personnel and could require us to enhance our wage and benefits packages, which could increase our operating costs.

Brookstone XXIV’s ownership of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock gives it a controlling interest in the Company.

As of December 10, 2021, Brookstone XXIV owned approximately 28.7% of the Company’s outstanding shares of Common Stock, and has designated two directors that sit on our ten-member Board. Accordingly, Brookstone XXIV has the ability to exert a significant degree of influence or actual control over our management and affairs and, as a practical matter, will control corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, irrespective of how our other stockholders may vote, including the election of directors, amendments to our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and the approval of mergers and other significant corporate transactions, including a sale of substantially all of our assets, and Brookstone XXIV may vote its shares in a manner that is adverse to the interests of our minority stockholders. This concentration of voting control could deprive holders of our Common Stock of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares of our Common Stock as part of a sale of the Company. Further, Brookstone XXIV’s control position might adversely affect the market price of our securities to the extent investors perceive disadvantages in owning shares of a company with a controlling stockholder.

Brookstone XXIV and its director designees may acquire interests and positions that could present potential conflicts with our and our stockholders’ interests.

Brookstone XXIV and its director designees may make investments in companies and may, from time to time, acquire and hold interests in businesses that compete directly or indirectly with us. Brookstone XXIV and its director designees may also pursue, for their own accounts, acquisition opportunities that may be complementary to our business, and as a result, those acquisition opportunities might not be available to us. As part of our sale of 3,750,000 shares of our Common Stock to Brookstone XXIV in October 2016 and as required by Brookstone XXIV as a condition to purchasing the shares, our Board renounced, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company’s expectancy with respect to being offered an opportunity to participate in any business opportunity that is discovered by or presented to a director designee (a “Business Opportunity”), whether in such director designee’s capacity as a director of the Company or otherwise. Accordingly, the interests of Brookstone XXIV and the designated directors with respect to a Business Opportunity may supersede ours, and Brookstone XXIV or its affiliates or the Brookstone XXIV-designated directors may be involved with businesses that compete with us and may pursue opportunities for the sole benefit of Brookstone XXIV and its affiliates without our involvement, for which we have limited recourse. Such actions on the part of Brookstone XXIV or its director designees could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, Michael Toporek, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, serves as the Managing General Partner of Brookstone XXIV. As a result of the potential conflicts inherent in his serving in both roles, it is possible that Mr. Toporek could make decisions that benefit Brookstone XXIV at the expense of the Company.

Insiders continue to have substantial control over the Company.

As of December 10, 2021, the Company’s directors and executive officers held the current right to vote approximately 34.6% of the Company’s outstanding voting stock. Of this total, 28.7% was owned or controlled by Brookstone XXIV, for which Michael Toporek, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, also serves as Managing General Partner. In addition, the Company’s directors and executive officers have the right to acquire additional shares of our Common Stock by exercising their equity awards under our equity compensation plans, which could increase their voting percentage significantly. As a result, Mr. Toporek acting alone, and/or many of the Company’s officers and directors acting together, may have the ability to exert significant control over the Company’s decisions and control the management and affairs of the Company, and also to determine the outcome of matters submitted to stockholders for approval, including the election or removal of a director, and any merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may harm the future market price of our securities by:

We are subject to complex environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations that may expose us to significant liabilities for penalties, damages, or costs of remediation or compliance.

We are subject to various federal, state, local and foreign environmental, health, and safety laws and regulations. These laws and regulations govern matters such as: the emission and discharge of hazardous materials into the ground, air, or water; the generation, use, storage, handling, treatment, packaging, transportation, exposure to, and disposal of hazardous and biological materials, including recordkeeping, reporting, and registration requirements; and the health and safety of our employees. We may incur significant additional costs beyond those currently contemplated to comply with these regulatory requirements. Further, if we fail to comply with these requirements we may be exposed to fines, penalties, and/or interruptions in our operations that could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Certain environmental laws may impose strict, joint, and several liability for costs required to clean up and restore sites where hazardous substances have been disposed or otherwise released into the environment, even under circumstances where the hazardous substances were released by prior owners or operators or the activities conducted and from which a release emanated complied with applicable law.

Further, existing regulations, particularly in the environmental area, could be revised or reinterpreted, or new laws and regulations could be adopted or become applicable to us or our facilities, and future changes in environmental laws and regulations could occur, including potential regulatory and enforcement developments related to air emissions, any of which could result in significant additional costs. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

Risks Related to the Recent Acquisition of Soluna Computing

We may fail to realize all of the anticipated benefits of our recent acquisition of Soluna Computing.

The success of the recent Soluna Computing acquisition will depend, in part, on the Company’s and Soluna Computing’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits and cost savings from combining the businesses of Soluna Computing and SCI. To realize these anticipated benefits and cost savings, however, we must successfully combine the businesses of Soluna Computing and SCI. If we are unable to successfully combine the businesses of Soluna Computing and SCI, the anticipated benefits and cost savings of the transaction may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer to realize than expected.

Until very recently, Soluna Computing and SCI operated independently, and we have just begun to integrate the companies’ operations. It is possible that the integration process could result in the loss of key employees and the disruption of the merged company’s ongoing business, which could have a negative impact on our ability to achieve the anticipated benefits of the merger. Integration efforts between the two companies may, to some extent, also divert management’s attention and resources. These integration matters could have an adverse effect on each SHI and SCI during the current transition period.

Our operating results will suffer if SHI and SCI do not effectively manage the increased scale of SCI’s operations and the optimization and expansion opportunities.

Following its acquisition of Soluna Computing, SCI is larger and more diverse than it was prior to the acquisition transaction. Its future success will depend, in part, upon its ability to manage its optimization and expansion opportunities, which may pose substantial challenges for SCI to integrate new operations into its existing business in an efficient and timely manner, and upon its ability to successfully monitor its operations, costs, and regulatory compliance, and to maintain other necessary internal controls. There is no assurance that SCI’s optimization and expansion opportunities will be successful, or that it will realize its expected operating efficiencies, cost savings, revenue enhancements, synergies, or other expected benefits of its acquisition of Soluna Computing.

General Risk Factors

We are heavily dependent on our senior management, and a loss of a member of our senior management team could cause our stock price to suffer.

If we lose the services of Michael Toporek, our Chief Executive Officer and a member of our board of directors, Jessica L. Thomas, our Chief Financial Officer, David C. Michaels, our Chairman of the Board, and/or certain key employees, we may not be able to find appropriate replacements on a timely basis, and our business could be adversely affected. We do not currently maintain key life insurance policies on these officers or key employees. Our existing operations and continued future development depend to a significant extent upon the performance and active participation of these individuals and certain key employees. We may not be successful in retaining the services of these individuals, and if we were to lose any of these individuals, we may not be able to find appropriate replacements on a timely basis and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

We may incur losses and liabilities in the course of business that could prove costly to defend or resolve.

Companies that operate in one or more of the businesses that we operate face significant legal risks. There is a risk that we could become involved in litigation wherein an adverse result could have a material adverse effect on our business and our financial condition. There is a risk of litigation generally in conducting a commercial business, and we are, at times, involved in commercial disputes with third parties, such as customers, distributors, and vendors. These risks often may be difficult to assess or quantify and their existence and magnitude often remain unknown for substantial periods of time. We may incur significant legal expenses in defending against litigation.

We may become subject to claims of infringement or misappropriation of the intellectual property rights of others, which could prohibit us from selling our products, require us to obtain licenses from third parties or to develop non-infringing alternatives, and subject us to substantial monetary damages and injunctive relief.

We may receive notices from third parties that the manufacture, use, or sale of any products we develop infringes upon one or more claims of their patents. Moreover, because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending applications, unknown to us, that may later result in issued patents that materially and adversely affect our business. Third parties could also assert infringement or misappropriation claims against us with respect to our future product offerings, if any. We cannot be certain that we have not infringed the intellectual property rights of any third parties. Any infringement or misappropriation claim could result in significant costs, substantial damages, and our inability to manufacture, market, or sell any of our product offerings that are found to infringe another person’s patent. Even if we were to prevail in any such action, the litigation could result in substantial cost and diversion of resources that could materially and adversely affect our business. If a court determined, or if we independently discovered, that our product offerings violated third-party proprietary rights, there can be no assurance that we would be able to re-engineer our product offerings to avoid those rights or obtain a license under those rights on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. As a result, we could be prohibited from selling products that are found to infringe upon the rights of others. Even if obtaining a license were feasible, it may be costly and time-consuming. A court could also enter orders that temporarily, preliminarily, or permanently enjoin us from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing our products that are found to infringe on third parties’ intellectual property rights, or could enter orders mandating that we undertake certain remedial actions. Further, a court could order us to pay compensatory damages for any such infringement, plus prejudgment interest, and could in addition treble the compensatory damages and award attorneys’ fees. Any such payments could materially and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

If we are unable to protect our information systems against service interruption or failure, misappropriation of data or breaches of security, our operations could be disrupted, we could be subject to costly government enforcement actions and private litigation and our reputation may be damaged.

Our business involves the collection, storage and transmission of personal, financial or other information that is entrusted to us by our customers and employees. Our information systems also contain the Company’s proprietary and other confidential information related to our business. Our efforts to protect such information may be unsuccessful due to the actions of third parties, computer viruses, physical or electronic break-ins, catastrophic events, employee error or malfeasance or other attempts to harm our systems. As the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service, or sabotage systems, change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or timely implement adequate preventative measures. We could also experience a loss of critical data and delays or interruptions in our ability to manage inventories or process transactions. Some of our commercial partners, such as those that help us maintain our website, may receive or store information provided by us or our users through our website. If these third parties fail to adopt or adhere to adequate information security practices, or fail to comply with our policies in this regard, or in the event of a breach of their networks, our customers’ or employees’ information may be improperly accessed, used or disclosed.

If our systems are harmed or fail to function properly, we may need to expend significant financial resources to repair or replace systems or to otherwise protect against security breaches or to address problems caused by breaches. If we experience a significant security breach or fail to detect and appropriately respond to a significant security breach, we could be exposed to costly legal actions against us in connection with such incidents, which could result in orders or judgments forcing us to pay damages or fines or to take certain actions with respect to our information systems. Any incidents involving unauthorized access to or improper use of user information, or incidents that are a violation of our online privacy policies, could harm our brand reputation and diminish our competitive position. Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation or financial results. Our insurance policies carry coverage limits, which may not be adequate to reimburse us for losses caused by security breaches.

Our risk management process may not identify all risks that we are subject to and will not eliminate all risk.

Our Enterprise Risk Management (“ERM”) process seeks to identify and address significant risks. Our ERM process uses the most recent integrated risk framework in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission to assess, manage, and monitor risks. We believe that risk-taking is an inherent aspect of the pursuit of our growth and performance strategy. Our goals are to proactively manage risks in a structured approach in conjunction with strategic planning, with the intent to preserve and enhance shareowner value, and to manage prudently, rather than wholly avoiding, risks. We can mitigate risks and their impact on the Company, however, only to a limited extent, and no ERM process can identify all risks that we may face. Therefore, there may be risks that we are currently unaware of, that may develop in the future or that we currently consider immaterial. Further, our management of risks may prove inadequate. The emergence of risks of which we were unaware or are unable to manage could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

The Company’s officers and directors are indemnified against certain conduct that may prove costly to defend.

Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws generally provide broad indemnification to our officers and directors against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement, and expenses, including attorneys’ fees actually incurred in connection with most actions or proceedings to which they are or are threatened to be made a party that relates to their service as an officer or director, except as limited as set forth therein. We are also obligated to advance expenses as they are incurred by a director or officer in defending an action or proceeding prior to final disposition upon receipt of an undertaking by the applicable person to repay such advanced amount if the advancement is ultimately found to not be permitted by law or otherwise.

In addition, the Nevada Revised Statutes (the “NRS”) provides that no director or officer is individually liable for damages as a result of an act or failure to act in his or her capacity as a director or officer except if (i) the presumption that such director or officer acted in good faith, on an informed basis and with a view to the interests of the Company is rebutted, and (ii) it is proven that such director’s or officer’s act or failure to act constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties as a director or officer, and such breach involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law.. Consequently, subject to the applicable provisions of the NRS and to certain limited exceptions in the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, the Company’s officers and directors will not be liable to the Company or to its stockholders for monetary damages resulting from their conduct as an officer or director. As a result, we may have to spend significant resources indemnifying our officers and directors or paying for damages caused by their conduct.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors,” contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21(E) of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements regarding proposed new products or services; statements concerning litigation or other matters; statements concerning projections, predictions, expectations, estimates, or forecasts for our business, financial and operating results and future economic performance; statements of management’s goals and objectives; statements concerning our competitive environment, availability of resources and regulation; trends affecting our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects; our financing plans or growth strategies; and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “could”, “would”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “future”, “intends”, “plans”, “believes” and “estimates,” and variations of such terms or similar expressions, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. 

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from what is expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. The section in this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and the sections in our periodic reports, including the sections entitled “Business” in our recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports filed with the SEC, as well as other sections in this prospectus and the documents or reports incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, discuss some of the factors that could contribute to these differences.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Investors should review our subsequent reports filed with the SEC described in the sections entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” of this prospectus and incorporated by reference into this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and the documents that we reference herein and therein and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, all of which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.