CLEANSPARK, INC. - Annual Report: 2021 (Form 10-K)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: N/A

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes [X] No [ ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes [ ] No [X]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes [X] No [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be

submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes [X] No [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. [ ]

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of

the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).

Yes [ ] No [X]

The aggregate market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates as of March 31, 2021 (the last business day of the registrants most recently completed second fiscal quarter), was approximately $702,832,610 based on the per share closing price as of March 31, 2021 quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market for the registrant’s common stock, which was $23.89.

As of December 14, 2021, there were 41,447,776 shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Certain portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be delivered to its shareholders in connection with the registrant’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such definitive proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

CLEANSPARK, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended

September 30, 2021

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains certain statements that are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). These forward-looking statements may include terminology such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “positioned,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and other similar expressions that are predictions of or indicate future events and future trends, or the negative of these terms or comparable terminations. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future operating results, potential risks pertaining to these future operating results, future plans or prospects, anticipated benefits of proposed (or future) acquisitions, dispositions and new facilities, growth, the capabilities and capacities of business operations, any financial or other guidance, expected capital expenditures and all statements that are not based on historical fact, but rather reflect our current expectations concerning future results and events. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate, as well as the economy, trends and other future conditions, and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and are subject to changes based on various factors, some of which are beyond our control. Therefore, we can give no assurance that the results implied by these forward-looking statements will be realized. Furthermore, the inclusion of forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that future events, plans or expectations contemplated by the Company will be achieved. The following important factors, among others, could affect future results and events, causing those results and events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements:

For a further list and description of various risks, factors and uncertainties that could cause future results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements, see the Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections contained in this document, and any subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, and other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Given these risks and uncertainties, the reader should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are made only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or correct any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that subsequently occur, or of which we hereafter become aware. You should read this document completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or events may be materially different from what we expect. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

Information regarding market and industry statistics contained in this report is included based on information available to us that we believe is accurate. It is generally based on industry and other publications that are not produced for purposes of securities filings or economic analysis. Forecasts and other forward-looking information obtained from these sources are subject to the same qualifications and the additional uncertainties accompanying any estimates of future market size, revenue and market acceptance of products and services. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. As a result, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

PART I

Item 1. Business

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” “CleanSpark, Inc.” and “CleanSpark” mean CleanSpark, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated.

Overview 

CleanSpark, Inc. is a leading bitcoin mining and diversified energy company incorporated in Nevada, whose common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We sustainably mine bitcoin; we also provide advanced energy technology solutions to commercial and residential customers to solve modern energy challenges. The Company, through itself and its wholly owned subsidiaries, has operated in the digital currency mining sector since December 2020, and in the alternative energy sector since March 2014.

We are currently working with industry leaders and other advisors in developing a long-term sustainability and clean energy plan. We are also using all available clean and renewable energy resources that we currently have reasonable access to in all of our bitcoin mining locations in order to further support our sustainability efforts.

Lines of Business  

Digital Currency Mining Segment

Through our wholly owned subsidiaries, ATL Data Centers LLC (“ATL”) and CleanBlok, Inc. (“CleanBlok”), we mine bitcoin. We entered the bitcoin mining industry through our acquisition of ATL in December 2020. We acquired a second data center in August 2021 and have had a co-location agreement with New York-based Coinmint in place since July 2021. Bitcoin mining has now become our principal revenue generating business activity. We currently intend to continue to acquire additional facilities, equipment and infrastructure capacity to continue to expand our bitcoin mining operations.

Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 with the goal of serving as a digital means of exchanging and storing value. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that depends upon a consensus-based network and a public ledger called a “blockchain,” which contains a record of every bitcoin transaction ever processed. The bitcoin network is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network, powered by users participating in the consensus protocol, with no central authority or middlemen, that has wide network participation. The authenticity of each bitcoin transaction is protected through digital signatures that correspond with addresses of users that send and receive bitcoin. Users have full control over remitting bitcoin from their own sending addresses. All transactions on the bitcoin blockchain are transparent, allowing those running the appropriate software to confirm the validity of each transaction. To be recorded on the blockchain, each bitcoin transaction is validated through a proof-of-work consensus method, which entails solving complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and post them on the blockchain. This process is called mining. Miners are rewarded with bitcoins, both in the form of newly-created bitcoins and fees in bitcoin, for successfully solving the mathematical problems and providing computing power to the network.

Factors such as access to computer processing capacity, interconnectivity, electricity cost, environmental factors (such as cooling capacity) and location play important roles in mining. As of the date of this filing, our mining units are currently capable of producing over 1.3 exahash/s (“EH”) in hash rate capacity. In cryptocurrency mining, “hash rate” is a measure of the processing capacity and speed by which a mining computer mines and processes transactions on the bitcoin network. Our activities in this area are complemented by our energy background and planning is underway to deploy our portfolio of energy technologies to advance our bitcoin mining business, with the goal of maximizing energy savings, increasing total power capacity, providing resilient electricity, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are expanding our bitcoin mining business with the goal of reaching 2.0 EH/s in hashrate capacity at or near the end of December 31, 2021. We expect to exceed 3 EH/s in capacity by mid-to-late 2022. Hash rate capacity is one of the most important metrics for evaluating bitcoin mining companies.

We obtain bitcoin as a result of our mining operations; while we retain a significant portion of the bitcoin, we have sold, and intend to sell bitcoin from time to time, to support our operations and strategic growth. We do not currently plan to engage in regular trading of bitcoin (other than as necessary to convert our bitcoin to U.S. dollars) or to engage in hedging activities related to our holding of bitcoin; however, our decisions to hold or sell bitcoin at any given time may be impacted by the bitcoin market, which has been historically characterized by significant volatility. Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell bitcoin that we hold, or the number of bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell bitcoins are currently determined by analyzing forecasts and monitoring the market in real time.

Through our recently formed wholly owned subsidiaries, CSRE Properties, LLC, CSRE Property Management Company LLC, and CSRE Properties Norcross, LLC, we maintain real property holdings for ATL and CleanBlok.

Energy Segment

We provide energy solutions through our wholly-owned subsidiaries CleanSpark, LLC, CleanSpark Critical Power Systems, Inc., GridFabric, LLC, and Solar Watt Solutions, Inc. These solutions consist of engineering, design and software solutions, custom hardware solutions, Open Automated Demand response (“OpenADR”), solar, energy storage for microgrid and distributed energy systems to military, commercial and residential customers in Southern California and through the world.

Our solutions are supported by our proprietary suite of software platforms (collectively, the “Platforms”) that include microgrid energy modeling, energy market communications and energy management solutions as summarized below:

The Platforms were developed to enable the designing, building, and operating of distributed energy systems and microgrids which efficiently manage energy assets. These strategies are generally targeted to achieve resiliency and economic optimization.

We also own patented gasification energy technologies. Our technology converts organic material into synthesis gas, which can be used as fuel for a variety of applications and as feedstock for the generation of DME (Di-Methyl Ether). As previously disclosed, we currently plan to continue to focus on our other offerings.

Other business activities

Through p2kLabs, Inc., we provide design, software development, and other technology-based consulting services. The services provided are generally hourly or fixed-fee project-based arrangements.

Through ATL, we also provide traditional data center services, such as providing customers with rack space, power and equipment, and offer several cloud services including virtual services, virtual storage, and data backup services.

Markets, Geography and Major Customers 

Digital Currency Mining Segment

Bitcoin is a global store and exchange of value used by people across the world as an asset and to conduct daily transactions. Mining bitcoin supports the global bitcoin blockchain and the millions of people that depend on it for economic security and other benefits. Strictly speaking, there is no customer market for mining bitcoin but we consider our mining pool operators as customers because they compensate us for providing processing power to the mining pool (see Item 1A. Risk Factors for more information on our mining pool operators). We own and operate our own facilities and do not lease mining space to other mining companies or private individuals that mine. Our wholly-owned mining operations are located in the State of Georgia in the United States. We also have a relationship with a facility located in New York State that hosts a portion of our miners.

Energy Segment

Around the world, an aging energy infrastructure is becoming unstable and unreliable due to increases in loads and limited new, large-scale generation facilities. This inherent instability is compounded by the push to integrate a growing number and variety of renewable but intermittent energy generation assets and advanced technologies into outdated electrical grid systems. Defense installations, industrial complexes, communities, campuses and other aggregators across the world are turning to microgrids as a means to decrease their reliance on the grid, reduce utility costs, utilize cleaner power, and enhance energy security.

The Company’s products and services predominantly serve the energy markets throughout the Americas in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. Federal, state and local governmental bodies provide incentives to owners and system integrators of solar energy systems to promote renewable energy in the form of rebates, tax credits, and other similar incentives. These incentives help to catalyze customer acceptance of renewable energy systems as an alternative to utility-provided power. Over the most recent year, our energy business operated extensively in California’s residential energy markets by participating in the state’s Self-Generation Incentive Program (“SGIP”).

For the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, 61.2% and 64.8% of our total energy revenues were associated primarily with three customers. A loss or decline in business with these customers could have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We provide our hardware products under manufacturing and distribution agreements. We provide our software and services at customer locations and from our office located in Carlsbad, California. 

Working Capital Items

Digital Currency Mining Segment

The bitcoin mining industry is highly competitive and dependent on specialized mining machines that have few manufacturers. Machine purchases require large down payments and miner deliveries often arrive many months after initial orders are placed.

At the time the Company acquired ATL in December 2020, the Company had approximately 3,471 bitcoin mining units with application-specific integrated circuits (“ASICs”) in operation, which produced approximately 190 petahash/s. Since acquiring ATL, the Company has expanded its operations and purchased additional ASICs. The Company now has 12,900 ASICs (as of the date of this filing) in daily operation, which are producing approximately 1.3 EH/s. In addition to the ASICs in operation, the Company has also entered into futures contracts, pursuant to which it has pre-paid significant down payments to acquire additional mining machines. The majority of miners we operate and expect to operate once received are the latest generation Antminers manufactured by Bitmain, including the S19, S19-Pro, and S19j-Pro. We believe that Bitmain’s miners are the most efficient and productive miners currently on the market, though that may change as new manufacturers enter the market.

In addition to our currently deployed fleet of approximately 12,900 latest-generation miners (as of the date of this filing), we have purchased an additional 26,830 miners that are slated for delivery over the next 12 months. With the full deployment of these miners, our total fleet will consist of approximately 38,610 miners.

Energy Segment

We currently possess a significant amount of inventory, however, our short-term demand currently exceeds our current inventory levels. We are actively working with our current suppliers to satisfy our short-term and anticipated long-term needs. Due to current supply chain dynamics worldwide constraining our ability to secure certain inventory, these constraints have resulting in a significant customer backlog.

Distribution, Marketing and Strategic Relationships

Digital Currency Mining Segment

We have developed strategic relationships with well-established companies in key areas including traditional and renewable energy, infrastructure, and bitcoin mining equipment procurement.

Coinmint

In addition to operating our own mining facilities, we may engage with third-parties to operate mining equipment on behalf of the Company. On July 8, 2021, CleanBlok entered into a services agreement with Coinmint, LLC (“Coinmint”). Pursuant to the agreement, Coinmint has agreed to house and power certain of our cryptocurrency mining equipment in its facilities, and to use commercially reasonable efforts to mine bitcoin on our behalf. All bitcoin mining services performed by Coinmint are conducted using mining equipment owned by the Company. As of the date of this filing, we have received and deployed approximately 6,700 total miners pursuant to the co-location mining services agreement at Coinmint’s facility in New York.

Pursuant to the agreement, as consideration for the services, we pay Coinmint certain services fees, which are based on the operating costs incurred by Coinmint in performing the services, and a variable fee calculated based on the profitability of the bitcoin mined during the relevant payment period, subject to uptime performance commitments. The agreement has an initial term of one year, after which it will renew automatically for three-month periods until terminated in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Energy Segment

We have developed strategic relationships with well-established companies in key areas including distribution and manufacturing. We sell our products worldwide, with a primary focus on Southern California and the Americas, through our direct product sales force, and partner networks.

Materials and Suppliers

Digital Currency Mining Segment

We engage in high efficiency bitcoin mining by using ASICs. These specialized computers, often called mining rigs, have few manufacturers. A majority of the machines we purchased this year were manufactured by Bitmain, a Chinese company and the preeminent manufacturer of bitcoin mining rigs.

In addition to ASICS, mining equipment includes networking equipment, power cords, racking, other specialized storage, transformers, and energy. We rely on utility providers for our power needs. These utilities buy into local energy mixes to source power. We make every effort to establish our facilities in locations serviced by utilities that generate a substantial portion of their energy from clean and renewable sources. We supplement the energy mix provided by our partners with the purchase of renewable energy credits because the precise ratio of renewable energy in local energy mixes is not within our control. We also intend to generate a portion of our own power through renewable solar energy by installing our microgrid solutions at our mining centers.

Historically, we have been able to manage our supply chains effectively, but global supply chains are highly constrained, and we are experiencing substantial increases in shipping costs and unprecedented logistical delays as we make efforts to ensure timely delivery of equipment. There can be no certainty that we will not be affected in the future, and we believe that there is significant risk that equipment supply chains will be affected in 2022. Inflationary pressures may also impact our fiscal year 2022.

Energy Segment

Although most components essential to our energy business are generally available from multiple sources, we believe there are component suppliers and manufacturing vendors whose loss to us could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition. The Company also currently engages a contract manufacturer, whereby they exclusively manufacture parallel switchgear, automatic transfer switches and related control and circuit protective equipment for us. The Company sources energy storage devices (batteries) from a variety of vendors based on availability, cost, and quality. If we fail to maintain or expand our relationships with our suppliers and manufacturers, or if one or more that we rely upon to meet anticipated demand reduces or ceases production, it may be difficult to quickly identify and qualify alternatives on acceptable terms. In addition, equipment prices may increase in the coming years, or not decrease at the rates we historically have experienced, due to tariffs or other factors.  

In 2021, we experienced periodic supply chain constraints around certain inventory items, most notably battery energy supply systems. Global supply chains are highly constrained, and unprecedented logistical delays have the potential to impact our abilities timely delivery of equipment. There can be no certainty that we will not be affected in the future, and we believe that there is significant risk that equipment supply chains will be affected in 2022. Inflationary pressures may also impact our fiscal year 2022.

Environmental Issues

Digital Currency Mining and Energy Segments

No significant pollution or other types of hazardous emission result from the Company’s direct operations and it is not anticipated that our operations will be materially affected by federal, state or local provisions concerning environmental controls. Our costs of complying with environmental, health and safety requirements have not been material. Starting in the fourth calendar quarter of 2021, we began to voluntarily purchase renewable energy credits to offset a significant portion of our energy usage that is derived from non-renewable sources. The Company has also engaged market professionals to enhance and build a comprehensive environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) strategy.

We do not believe that existing or pending climate change legislation, regulation, or international treaties or accords are reasonably likely to have a material effect in the foreseeable future on our business or markets that we serve, nor on our results of operations, capital expenditures or financial position.  We continue to monitor emerging developments in this area.

Competition 

Digital Currency Mining Segment

Bitcoin mining is a global activity. During our most recent fiscal year, a majority of bitcoin mining occurred in China. After China banned bitcoin mining in May 2021, the center of mining moved to North America. Although bitcoin mining by its nature is not a directly competitive business, all miners compete for bitcoin rewards; based on this, we define competitors as other bitcoin miners. Our competitors include large, publicly-listed mining companies, large private mining companies, and, in some cases, independent, individual miners who pool resources. We believe our principal competitive factors include our energy technology background, a combination of owned, operated, and co-located miners and facilities, our strategic use of the bitcoin we mine to fund growth, and our commitment to sustainable business practices, including sourcing renewable energy. Within North America, our major competitors include:

In addition to the foregoing, we compete with other companies that focus all or a portion of their activities on mining activities at scale. We face significant competition in certain operational aspects of our business, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of new miners, obtaining the lowest cost of electricity, obtaining clean energy sources, obtaining access to energy sites with reliable sources of power, and evaluating new technology developments in the industry.

Energy Segment

The markets we address in our energy operations are characterized by the presence of both new start-ups and well-established product providers. This industry is capital intensive and highly competitive. The ability to compete effectively is determined by product features, scalability, relative price, lifetime operating cost, product durability and reliability, safety, ease of integration, customer support, design innovation, marketing and distribution capability, service and support and corporate reputation.

We offer turnkey energy solutions which include system design, installation and grid integration. Our Platforms are capable of interoperating with the local utility grid to help users optimize power for their homes or businesses. Our solutions are vendor agnostic. Our solutions are ideal for commercial, industrial, mining, defense, campus and community users, both small and large, with an aim to deliver power at or below the customers cost of utility power. These attributes contribute to our ability to compete with larger, more established competitors. Our major competitors include:

Intellectual Property 

Digital Currency Mining Segment

We do not currently own any patents in connection with our existing and planned digital currency mining related operations. We do rely, and expect to continue relying, upon trade secrets, trademarks, service marks, trade names, copyrights and other intellectual property rights.

Energy Segment

In relation to our microgrid business, we own the following patent: Patent No. 9,941,696 B2 “Establishing Communication and Power Sharing Links Between Components of a Distributed Energy System,” awarded April 10, 2018, which addresses our engineering and data-analytics technologies, processes and procedures. The patent covers our ability to receive data from a plurality of sources within a microgrid, which is then analyzed to forecast power needs across the microgrid, or a combination of multiple 'fractal' microgrids, and then determining whether or when to share power with the requesting module.  

In relation to our legacy gasifier business, we own the following patents: Patent No. 9,359,567 “Gasification Method Using Feedstock Comprising Gaseous Fuels;” Patent No. 8,518,133 “Parallel Path, Downdraft Gasifier Apparatus and Method;” Patent No. 8,105,401 “Parallel Path, Downdraft Gasifier Apparatus and Method;” Patent No. 8,347,829 “Electrolytic Reactor and Related Methods for Supplementing the Air Intake of an Internal Combustion Engine.” Another patent, "Parallel Path Downdraft Gasifier Apparatus and Method, US 9,890, 340 B2," awarded February 13, 2018, further enhanced our patent portfolio surrounding our proprietary gasification and waste-to-energy technologies. Our patents begin to expire between 2028 and 2035.

Government Regulation

Digital Currency Mining and Energy Segments

We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations governing environmental quality and pollution control. It is anticipated that, absent the occurrence of an extraordinary event, compliance with existing federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations concerning the protection of the environment and human health will not have a material effect upon us, our capital expenditures, or earnings. We cannot predict the effects of any additional regulation or legislation, enforcement policies thereunder and claims for damages for injuries to property, employees, other persons and the environment resulting from our

operations. Our operations are subject to environmental regulation by state and federal authorities including the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). This regulation has not increased the cost of planning, designing and operating to date. Although we believe that compliance with environmental regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our operations or results of these operations, there can be no assurance that significant costs and liabilities, including criminal or civil penalties, will not be incurred. Moreover, it is possible that other developments, including stricter environmental laws and regulations, and claims for damages for injuries to property or persons resulting from our activities could result in substantial costs and liabilities.

In the conduct of our activities, our operations will be subject to the requirements of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSHA”) and comparable state statutes. The OSHA hazard communication standard, the EPA community right-to-know regulations under Title III of the federal Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act and similar state statutes require us to organize information about hazardous materials used, released or produced in our operations. Certain of this information must be provided to employees, state and local governmental authorities and local citizens. We are also subject to the requirements and reporting set forth in OSHA workplace standards.

Blockchain technologies and digital currencies, including bitcoin, are increasingly becoming subject to governmental regulation, both in the U.S. and internationally. Blockchain technologies and cryptocurrency are under review with a number of U.S. governmental agencies, including, without limitation, the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. State and local regulations also may apply to our digital currency mining. Other governmental or quasi-governmental regulatory bodies have shown an interest in regulating or investigating companies engaged in digital currency related business. For instance, the Cyber-Digital Task Force of the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) published a report entitled “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework” in October 2020. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the possible threats and enforcement challenges the DOJ views as associated with the use and prevalence of digital currencies, amongst other things. Further, in early March 2021, the SEC chairperson nominee expressed an intent to focus on investor protection issues raised by cryptocurrencies.

Presently, we do not believe any U.S. or State regulatory body has taken any action or position adverse to our digital currency mining activities; however, future changes to existing regulations or entirely new regulations may affect our business in ways it is not presently possible for us to predict with any reasonable degree of reliability.

In addition, regulators and the media have expressed concerns related to the potential environmental impacts of bitcoin mining, and its energy-intensive nature in particular. We are not materially impacted by any current regulations targeted toward the digital currency mining industry.

Other than the above regulations and maintaining our good standing in the states in which we operate, complying with applicable local business licensing requirements, complying with all state and federal tax requirements, preparing our periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and complying with other applicable securities laws, rules, and regulations, we do not believe that existing governmental regulations will have a material effect on our operations. Certain governmental and quasi-governmental bodies are considering additional regulations in the bitcoin mining and energy industries; it is not currently known whether any such regulations would have a material impact on our businesses. We do not currently require the approval of any governmental agency or affiliated program for our operations.

In the future we may become subject to new laws and/or regulations, such as further regulation by the SEC and other agencies, which may affect our digital currency mining and other activities. For additional discussion regarding our belief about the potential risks existing and future regulation pose to our business, see the Section entitled “Risk Factors,” below.

Product Development

Digital Currency Mining and Energy Segments

Because the distributed energy and related software industry is still in a relatively early state of adoption, our ability to compete successfully is heavily dependent upon our ability to ensure a continual and timely flow of competitive products, services, and technologies to the marketplace. We continue to enhance our existing products in order to drive further commercialization. We may also expand the range of our product offerings and intellectual property through licensing and/or acquisition of third-party business and technology.

Bitcoin mining by its nature has no products.

Human Capital Resources; Employees; Personnel

Digital Currency Mining and Energy Segments 

We believe that our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel. As of December 1, 2021, we had 87 staff members, 86 of which were full time. Employees participate in equity incentive plans and receive generous compensation in the form of salary and benefits. We continually seek to hire and retain talented professionals, although the competition for such personnel in our segments is significant. None of our employees are represented by a labor union, and we have never experienced a work stoppage.

Company Websites

We maintain a corporate website at: www.cleanspark.com and informational websites for our subsidiaries at www.cleanblok.com, www.gridfabric.io, and www.p2klabs.com.

The contents of these websites are not incorporated in, or otherwise to be regarded as part of, this Annual Report.

We file reports with the SEC, which are available on our website free of charge. These reports include annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, Section 16 filings on Form 3, Form 4, and Form 5, and other related filings, each of which is provided on our website as soon as reasonably practical after we electronically file such materials with or furnish them to the SEC. In addition, the SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including the Company.

Item 1A. Risk Factors 

We are subject to various risks that may materially harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. An investment in our common stock is speculative and involves a high degree of risk. In evaluating an investment in shares of our common stock, you should carefully consider the risks described below, together with the other information included in this Annual Report.

The risks described below are not the only risks we face. If any of the events described in the following risk factors actually occurs, or if additional risks and uncertainties later materialize, that are not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial, then our business, prospects, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in our shares. The risks discussed below include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements.

Risk Factors Summary

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below and should be carefully considered, together with other information included in this Annual Report.

Risks Related to Our Business

Our business has been, and in the future may be, subject to risks arising from pandemic, epidemic, or an outbreak of diseases, such as the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic. Since then, COVID-19 has spread across the globe and is impacting worldwide economic activity, including through quarantines, travel bans and restrictions, shelter-in-place orders, shutdowns of businesses, reductions in business activity, supply chain interruptions and overall economic and financial market instability. These measures have impacted, and may further impact, our workforce and operations, as well as the operations of our customers, our partners and our vendors and suppliers. Our critical business operations, including our headquarters, and many of our key suppliers, are located in regions which have been and continue to be impacted by COVID-19. Our customers and suppliers worldwide have also been affected by COVID-19 and may continue to experience material impacts well beyond the end of the pandemic.

Specifically, the manufacture of components of our products, the final assembly of our products, and other critical operations are concentrated in certain geographic locations that have been impacted by COVID-19 and in which local governments continue to take measures to try to contain the pandemic. There is considerable uncertainty regarding the impact of such measures and potential future measures, including restrictions on manufacturing facilities, on our support operations or workforce, or on our customers, partners, vendors and suppliers. Such measures, as well as restrictions on or disruptions of transportation, such as reduced availability or increased cost of air transport, port closures, and increased border controls or closures, could limit our capacity to meet customer demand and have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

The COVID-19 pandemic and other factors have adversely affected our supply chain, consistent with its effect across many industries, including creating shipping and logistics challenges and placing significant limits on component supplies. These effects on our supply chain have resulted in delayed product availability in our energy business, especially when combined with the demand for our products, and have adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, our ability to meet our energy product demand, result in additional costs, or may otherwise adversely impact our business and results of operations. They have also significantly increased the costs of shipping miners, related components and infrastructure. We expect these impacts, including delayed product availability, to continue for as long as the global supply chain is experiencing these challenges.

The spread of COVID-19 has also caused us to modify our business practices as we comply with state-mandated requirements for safety in the workplace to ensure the health, safety, and welling-being of our employees. While the company has implemented a Vaccination and Testing Policy, we still maintain other measures including personal protective equipment, social distancing, cleanliness of our facilities, and daily monitoring of the health of employees in our facilities, as well as modifying our policies on employee travel and the cancellation of physical participation in meetings,

events, and conferences. We may take further actions in response to the pandemic as may be required by government authorities or that we may determine are in the best interests of our employees, customers, partners, and suppliers. However, we have not developed a specific and comprehensive contingency plan designed to address the challenges and risks presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and, even if and when we do develop such a plan, there can be no assurance that such plan will be effective in mitigating the potential adverse effects on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

In addition, while the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy and our business in particular are difficult to assess or predict, the pandemic has resulted in, and may continue to result in, significant disruption of global financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital or our customers’ ability to pay us for past or future purchases, which could negatively affect our working capital and liquidity. A recession or financial market correction resulting from the lack of containment and spread of COVID-19 could impact overall spending, adversely affecting demand for our products and services, our business, and the value of our common stock.

The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar health epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operational and financial performance, including our ability to execute our business strategies and initiatives in the expected time frame, will depend on future developments, including, but not limited to, the duration and continued spread of the pandemic, its severity, further related restrictions on travel, any reopening plans, the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the disease, including, without limitation, the effectiveness and timing of vaccination initiatives in the United States and worldwide and the duration, timing, and severity of the impact on customer spending, including any recession resulting from the pandemic, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. An extended period of global supply chain and economic disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, even after the pandemic subsides, could have a materially adverse impact on our business, results of operations, access to sources of capital and financial condition, though the full extent and duration of any such impact is also uncertain.

Supply chain and shipping disruptions have resulted in shipping delays, a significant increase in shipping costs, and could increase product costs and result in lost sales, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

Supply chain disruptions, resulting from factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, labor supply and shipping container shortages, have impacted, and may continue to impact, us and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers. These disruptions have resulted in longer lead times and increased product costs and shipping expenses, including with respect to the delivery of miners that we have purchased. While we have taken steps to minimize the impact of these increased costs by working closely with our suppliers and customers, there can be no assurances that unforeseen events impacting the supply chain will not have a material adverse effect on us in the future. Additionally, the impacts supply chain disruptions have on our third-party manufacturers and suppliers are not within our control. It is not currently possible to predict how long it will take for these supply chain disruptions to cease. Prolonged supply chain disruptions impacting us and our third-party manufacturers and suppliers could interrupt product manufacturing, increased lead times, increased product costs and result in lost sales and bitcoin production, result in a delay in the delivery of miners that we have purchased, and continue to increase shipping costs associated with the delivery of our purchased miners, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

We have a limited operating history and a history of operating losses and negative cash flow, and we may never achieve consistent profitability.

Our limited operating history, including our recent entry into the digital currency mining business, makes it difficult to evaluate our business and predict our future results of operations. Although we have achieved profitable quarters in the past, to date, we have not maintained consistent profitability from period to period, and no assurances can be made that we will achieve consistent profitability in the near future, if ever. From the Company’s inception through September 30, 2021, we sustained $138,392,118 in cumulative net losses, and we had a net loss for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 of $21,812,010. We have generated these losses as we attempt to implement our business plan, including expanding our existing products and customer base. We will not achieve consistent profitability unless and until we can develop a substantial and stable revenue base.

Our future success is difficult to predict because we operate in emerging and evolving industries that are subject to volatile and unpredictable cycles.

The renewable energy, bitcoin mining, microgrid and related industries are emerging and evolving, which may lead to period-to-period variability in our operating results and may make it difficult to evaluate our future prospects. Our energy products and services are based on unique technology that we believe offers significant advantages to our customers, but the markets we serve are in a relatively early stage of development and it is uncertain how rapidly they will develop. It is also uncertain whether our energy products will achieve high levels of demand and acceptance as these markets grow. If companies and customers in the industries we serve do not perceive or value the benefits of our technologies and products, or if they are unwilling to adopt our products as alternatives to traditional power solutions, the market for our products and services may not develop or may develop more slowly than we expect, which could significantly and adversely impact our operating results.

As a supplier to the renewable energy, microgrid and related industries, we may be subject to business cycles, the timing, length, and volatility of which may be difficult to predict. The cyclical nature of our business may be driven by sudden changes in customers’ manufacturing capacity requirements and spending, which depend in part on capacity utilization, demand for customers’ products, inventory levels relative to demand and access to affordable capital. These changes may affect the timing and amounts of customers’ purchases and investments in technology, and affect our orders, net sales, operating expenses, and net income. In addition, we may not be able to respond adequately or quickly to any declines in demand by reducing our costs. To meet rapidly changing demand in each of the industries we serve, we must effectively manage our resources and production capacity. During periods of decreasing demand for our products, we must be able to appropriately align our cost structure with prevailing market conditions, effectively manage our supply chain, and motivate and retain key employees. During periods of increasing demand for our products, we must have sufficient inventory to fulfill customer orders, effectively manage our supply chain, and attract, retain, and motivate a sufficient number of qualified individuals. If we are not able to timely and appropriately adapt to changes in our business environment or to accurately assess where we are positioned within a business cycle, our business, financial condition, or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

The markets in which we participate are highly competitive, and we may be unable to successfully compete.

We compete in the highly competitive market for renewable energy products and microgrid technology and associated services, as well as in certain operational aspects of our digital currency mining business, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of new miners, obtaining the lowest cost of electricity, obtaining clean energy sources, obtaining access to energy sites with reliable sources of power, and evaluating new technology developments in the industry. Evolving industry standards, rapid price changes and product obsolescence impact the market and its various participants, including us. Our competitors include many domestic and foreign companies, many of which have substantially greater financial, marketing, personnel and other resources than we do, which may cause us to be at a competitive disadvantage. Our current competitors or new market entrants could introduce new or enhanced technologies, products or services with features that render our technologies, products or services obsolete, less competitive or less marketable. The success of our energy business will be dependent upon our ability to develop products that are superior to existing products and products introduced in the future, and which are cost effective. In addition, we may be required to continually enhance any products that are developed as well as introduce new products that keep pace with technological change and address the increasingly sophisticated needs of the marketplace. Even if our current technologies prove to be commercially feasible, there is extensive research and development being conducted on alternative energy sources that may render our technologies and protocols obsolete or otherwise non-competitive. The success of our digital currency mining business will be further dependent upon our ability to purchase additional miners, adapt to changes in technology in the industry, and to obtain sufficient energy at reasonable prices, amongst other things.

We may also be unable to keep pace with the technological demands of the marketplace or successfully develop products that will succeed in the marketplace. Since many of our competitors are larger, well-established companies that have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and other resources than us, we are at an inherent competitive disadvantage. We may not have the capital resources available to undertake the research that may be necessary to upgrade our equipment or develop new devices to meet the efficiencies of changing technologies. Our inability to adapt to technological change could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations.

We rely on a variety of intellectual property rights to protect our technology, and enforcing those rights could disrupt our business operation and divert resources that could ultimately harm our future prospects.

We rely on a combination of trade secrets, confidentiality agreements and procedures and patents to protect our proprietary technologies.

Our business primarily relies upon trade secret laws and contractual restrictions, such as confidentiality agreements and work-for-hire provisions, to protect our technology, know-how and other proprietary information. It may be cost prohibitive for us to seek to enforce such rights through the legal-enforcement mechanisms available to us, and, in any case, such laws and contractual restrictions may not provide meaningful protection to us against the possible unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure of such trade secrets.

In relation to our microgrid business, we also own patents that protect our ability to receive data from a plurality of sources within a microgrid, which is then analyzed to forecast power needs across the microgrid, or a combination of multiple ‘fractal’ microgrids, and then determine whether or when to share power with the requesting module. The claims contained in those and any other patents we own may not provide adequate protection for our products and technology. In the absence of patent protection, our competitors may attempt to copy our products or gain access to our trade secrets and know-how. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to our technology to the same extent as the laws of the U.S.

In addition, our ongoing expansion of our business, including, in particular, through the development of products, may result in claims of intellectual property infringement, regardless of merit. If an infringement claim or other dispute arises concerning our technology, we could become involved in litigation that might involve substantial cost. Litigation could divert substantial management attention away from our operations and into efforts to enforce our patents, protect our trade secrets or know-how or determine the scope of the proprietary rights of others. If a proceeding resulted in adverse findings, we could be subject to significant liabilities to third parties, and we might also be required to seek licenses from third parties to manufacture or sell our products. Our ability to manufacture and sell our products may also be adversely affected by other unforeseen factors relating to any such proceeding or its outcome.

A significant part of our success will depend on our ability to manage our suppliers and contract manufacturers, and any failure to do so could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and relations with our customers.

We rely upon a limited number of suppliers to provide the components necessary to build our energy products and contract manufacturers to procure components and assemble our products. In addition, we rely on a limited number of suppliers for the purchase and delivery of our miners to support our digital currency mining operations. There can be no assurance that such key suppliers and contract manufacturers will provide components, products or miners in a timely and cost-efficient manner or otherwise meet our needs and expectations. Any disruption in such key suppliers’ or contract manufacturers could delay our ability to provide our products to our customers or to expand our digital currency mining operations. Our ability to manage such relationships and timely replace suppliers and contract manufacturers, if necessary, is critical to our success. Our failure to timely replace our contract manufacturers and suppliers, should that become necessary, could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and relations with our customers. For example, we depend on Bitmain for the majority of our mining rigs and Pioneer Custom Electrical Products Corp. as a sole source contract manufacturer of our switchgear product lines, and any change in their ability to manufacture and deliver these products could have a significant impact on our results of operations.

Our success is dependent upon our relationships with certain key customers.

In the past, we have derived a significant portion of our revenues from a relatively limited number of customers. Our dependence on a limited number of customers may continue in the future. The loss of any one of our major customers or decrease in demand by those customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, our results of operations and our cash flows.

We have limited experience selling our distributed energy focused products and solutions for use in residential markets, and our increased efforts in this regard may not be as successful as we expect or at all.

As a result of our recent acquisition of Solar Watt, we now are providing solar and alternative energy solutions for homeowners, as well as commercial businesses, and have developed a proprietary platform to enable integration and optimization of solar, energy storage and back-up solutions for residential applications. Historically, however, our products and solutions have been primarily sold into commercial and governmental markets. We have limited experience pursuing the residential markets, and there are unique challenges associated with sales to homeowners and others in the residential market. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in growing profitably (or at all) sales of our residential market focused products and solutions or otherwise achieving success in our efforts in this regard. Further, the success of these efforts will depend on part on expansion of homeowner use of solar energy. To date, solar energy has only achieved limited market acceptance (particularly in regions outside of Southern California, in which regions we intend to expand our services and capabilities), and its continued market acceptance and growth may depend on continued support in the form of performance-based incentives, rebates, tax credits and other incentives from federal, state, local and foreign governments. Additionally, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully develop our planned proprietary platform to enable integration and optimization of solar, energy storage and back-up generators for residential applications.

Our solar energy business is concentrated in Southern California, putting us at risk of region-specific disruptions.

Our solar energy customer base is currently concentrated in Southern California, and we expect many of our future solar energy installations to be in California, which could further concentrate our solar energy customer base and operational infrastructure. Accordingly, our business and results of operations are particularly susceptible to adverse economic, regulatory, political, weather and other conditions in California, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and any legislative changes related to grid operations.

If we are the subject of future product defect or liability suits, or our products are subject to a recall, our business and our reputation could be adversely affected.

In the course of our planned operations, we may become subject to legal actions based on a claim that our energy products are defective in workmanship or have caused personal or other injuries. We may also be subject to lawsuits and other claims in the future if our products malfunction, including, for example, if any of our solar service offerings (such as our racking systems, photovoltaic modules, batteries, inverters, or other products) causes injuries. Because solar energy systems and many of our other current and anticipated products are electricity-producing devices, it is possible that customers or their property could be injured or damaged by our products, whether due to product malfunctions, defects, improper installation or other causes. Further, since our products are used in systems that are made up of components sourced from third party manufacturers, we may be subject to product liability claims even if our products do not malfunction. Additionally, any of our products could be subject to recalls due to product malfunctions or defects.

The successful assertion of product liability claims against us could result in potentially significant monetary damages that could require us to make significant payments, as well as subject us to adverse publicity, damage our reputation and competitive position and adversely affect sales of our systems and other products. We rely on third-party manufacturing warranties, warranties provided by our manufacturing partners and our general liability insurance to cover product liability claims and have not obtained separate product liability insurance. Such warranties and insurance coverage may not be adequate to cover all potential claims. Moreover, even if such warranties and insurance coverage are sufficient, any successful claim could significantly harm our business, reputation, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, product liability claims, injuries, defects or other problems experienced by other companies in the industries in which we operate could lead to unfavorable market conditions for the industry as a whole, and may have an adverse effect on our ability to attract customers and thereby have an adverse effect our growth and financial performance.

We rely heavily on our management team, whose continued service and performance is critical to our future success. Any failure by management to properly manage growth, including hiring and retaining competent and skilled management and other personnel, could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition.

We currently have four executive officers — our Chief Executive Officer and President, Zachary Bradford, our Chief Financial Officer, Lori Love, our Chief Revenue Officer, Amer Tadayon, and S. Matthew Schulz, our Executive Chairman — who are responsible for our management functions and are responsible for strategic development, financing and other critical functions. Some of the members of our management team and our board of directors may not have prior experience in the energy or cryptocurrency mining industries. This lack of experience may impair our management teams’ and directors’ ability to evaluate and make well-informed decisions involving our current operations and any future projects we may undertake in the industries in which we operate. Such impairment and lack of experience could adversely affect our business, financial condition and future operations.

Our future success depends significantly on the continued service and performance of our existing management team. The departure, death, disability or other extended loss of services of any member of our management team, particularly with little or no notice, could cause delays on projects, frustrate our growth prospects and could have an adverse impact on our client and industry relationships, our project exploration and development programs, other aspects of our business and our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and prospects.

Our success, growth prospects, and ability to capitalize on market opportunities also depend to a significant extent on our ability to identify, hire, motivate and retain qualified managerial personnel, including additional senior members of management. Our growth may be constrained by resource limitations as competitors and customers compete for increasingly scarce human capital resources. The demand for trained software engineers, electrical engineers, professionals familiar with cryptocurrency mining and other skilled workers is currently high. Our competitors may be able to offer a work environment with higher compensation or more opportunities than we can. Any new personnel we hire may not be or become as productive as we expect, as we may face challenges in adequately or appropriately integrating them into our workforce and culture. If we are unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of skilled personnel, our ability to successfully implement our business plan, grow our company and maintain or expand our product offerings may be adversely affected, and the costs of doing so may increase, which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our expansion could also place significant demands on our management, operations, systems, accounting, internal controls and financial resources. If we experience difficulties in any of these areas, we may not be able to expand our business successfully or effectively manage our growth. Any failure by management to manage growth and to respond to changes in our business could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have engaged in, and in the future may engage in, strategic acquisitions and other arrangements that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders, reduce our financial resources and harm our operating results.

We have previously engaged in strategic transactions, including acquisitions of companies, product lines, technologies and personnel, such as our recent acquisitions of ATL in December 2020 and Solar Watt in February 2021, and, as part of our growth strategy, in the future, we may seek additional opportunities to expand our product offerings or the markets we serve by pursuing strategic transactions. Our ability to grow through future acquisitions will depend on the availability of, and our ability to identify, suitable acquisition and investment opportunities at an acceptable cost, our ability to compete effectively to attract those opportunities and the availability of financing to complete acquisitions. Future acquisitions may require us to issue common stock that would dilute our current stockholders’ percentage ownership, assume or otherwise be subject to liabilities of an acquired company, record goodwill and non-amortizable intangible assets that will be subject to impairment testing on a regular basis and potential periodic impairment charges,

incur amortization expenses related to certain intangible assets, incur large acquisition and integration costs, immediate write-offs, and restructuring and other related expenses, and become subject to litigation. The benefits of an acquisition may also take considerable time to develop, and we cannot be certain that any particular acquisition will produce the intended benefits in a timely manner or to the extent anticipated or at all. We may experience difficulties integrating the operations, technologies, products, and personnel of an acquired company or be subjected to liability for the target’s pre-acquisition activities or operations as a successor in interest. Such integration may divert management’s attention from normal daily operations of our business. Future acquisitions may also expose us to potential risks, including risks associated with entering markets in which we have no or limited prior experience (such as our acquisition of our ATL subsidiary, in light of its cryptocurrency mining operations), especially when competitors in such markets have stronger market positions, the possibility of insufficient revenues to offset the expenses we incur in connection with an acquisition and potential loss of, or harm to, our relationships with employees, customers, consumers and suppliers as a result of integration of new businesses.

Our energy business is substantially dependent on utility rate structures and government incentive programs that encourage the use of alternative energy sources. The reduction or elimination of government subsidies and economic incentives for energy-related technologies would harm our business.

We believe that near-term growth of energy-related technologies, including power conversion and solar energy technology, relies partly on the availability and size of government and economic incentives and grants (including, but not limited to, the U.S. Investment Tax Credit and various state and local incentive programs). These incentive programs could be challenged by utility companies, or for other reasons found to be unconstitutional, or could be reduced or discontinued for other reasons, all of which are outside of our control. The reduction, elimination, or expiration of government subsidies and economic incentives could harm our business.

A combination of utility rate structures and government subsidies that encourage the use of alternative energy sources is a primary driver of demand for our energy products. For example, public utilities are often allowed to collect demand charges on commercial and industrial customers in addition to traditional usage charges. In addition, the federal government and many states encourage the use of alternative energy sources through a combination of direct subsidies and tariff incentives such as net metering for users that use alternative energy sources such as solar power. California also encourages alternative energy technology through its Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP, which offers rebates for businesses and consumers who adopt certain new technologies. Other states have similar incentives and mandates which encourage the adoption of alternative energy sources. Notwithstanding the adoption of other incentive programs, we expect that California will be the most significant market for the sale of our energy products in the near term. Should California or another state in which we derive a substantial portion of our product revenues in the future change its utility rate structure or eliminate or significantly reduce its incentive programs, demand for our products could be substantially affected, which would adversely affect our business prospects, financial condition and operating results.

In the future, we may require additional financing to sustain and expand our operations, and we may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and prospects.

Our ability to operate profitably and to grow our business is dependent upon, among other things, generating sufficient revenue from our operations and, when and if needed, obtaining financing. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenues to operate and/or expand our business, we will be required to raise additional capital to fund operating deficits (if applicable) and growth of our business, pursue our business plans and to finance our operating activities, including through equity or debt financings, which may not be available to us on favorable terms, or at all.

To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, stockholder ownership interest in the Company may be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect rights as a stockholder. Debt and equity financings, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as redeeming our shares of common stock, making investments, incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.

We maintain our cash at financial institutions, which at times, exceed federally insured limits.

The majority of our cash is held in accounts at U.S. banking institutions that we believe are of high quality. Cash held in non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations.

If we fail to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the market may have reduced confidence in our

reported financial information.

We must continue to document, test, monitor and enhance our internal control over financial reporting in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We will continue to perform the documentation and evaluations needed to comply with Section 404. If during this process our management identifies one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal controls are effective, which may cause market participants to have reduced confidence in our reported financial condition.

Risks Related to Our Cryptocurrency Mining Operations

Through our acquisition of ATL in December 2020, we expanded our business to include bitcoin mining, and we are actively trying to grow our bitcoin mining infrastructure, equipment and capacity. Bitcoin mining is a significant portion of our business and revenues and is expected to continue to be the source of a majority of our revenues in the future. Our bitcoin mining activities, both now and in the future, may subject us to inherent risks, including the risks described below and elsewhere in this Annual Report.

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

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

To the extent that our cryptocurrency activities cause us to be deemed a “money transmitter” ​(an “MT”) or be given an equivalent designation, under state law in any state in which we operate, we may be required to seek a license or otherwise register with a state regulator and comply with state regulations that may include the implementation of anti-money laundering programs, maintenance of certain records and other operational requirements. Currently, the New York State Department of Financial Services maintains a comprehensive “BitLicense” framework for businesses that conduct “virtual currency business activity.” In July 2020, Louisiana enacted the Virtual Currency Businesses Act, becoming the second state after New York to enact a stand-alone virtual currency law. We will continue to monitor for developments in state-level legislation, guidance or regulations applicable to us.

Such additional federal or state regulatory obligations in the United States or obligations that could arise under the regulatory frameworks of other countries may cause us to incur significant expenses, possibly affecting its business and financial condition in a material and adverse manner. Furthermore, we and our service providers may not be capable of complying with certain federal or state regulatory obligations applicable to MSBs and MTs or similar obligations in other countries. If we are deemed to be subject to such additional regulatory and registration or licensing requirements, we may be required to substantially alter our bitcoin mining activities and possibly cease engaging in such activities. Any such action may adversely affect our business operations and financial condition and an investment in our company.

Current regulation regarding the exchange of bitcoins under the CEA by the CFTC is unclear; to the extent we become subject to regulation by the CFTC in connection with our exchange of bitcoin, we may incur additional compliance costs, which may be significant.

The Commodity Exchange Act, as amended (the “CEA”), does not currently impose any direct obligations on us related to the mining or exchange of bitcoins. Generally, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”), the federal agency that administers the CEA, regards bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as commodities. This position has been supported by decisions of federal courts.

However, the CEA imposes requirements relative to certain transactions involving bitcoin and other digital assets that constitute a contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery (or an option on such a contract), a swap, or a transaction involving margin, financing or leverage that does not result in actual delivery of the commodity within 28 days to persons not defined as “eligible contract participants” or “eligible commercial entities” under the CEA (e.g., retail persons). Changes in the CEA or the regulations promulgated by the CFTC thereunder, as well as interpretations thereof and official promulgations by the CFTC, may impact the classification of bitcoins and, therefore, may subject them to additional regulatory oversight by the agency. Although to date the CFTC has not enacted regulations governing non-derivative or non-financed, margined or leveraged transactions in bitcoin, it has authority to commence enforcement actions against persons who violate certain prohibitions under the CEA related to transactions in any contract of sale of any commodity, including bitcoin, in interstate commerce (e.g., manipulation and engaging in certain deceptive practices).

We cannot be certain as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of bitcoins under the law. Any requirements imposed by the CFTC related to our mining activities or our transactions in bitcoin could cause us to incur additional extraordinary, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company. In addition, changes in the classification of bitcoins could subject us, as a result of our bitcoin mining operations, to additional regulatory oversight by the agency. Although to date the CFTC has not enacted regulations governing non-derivative or non-financed, margined or leveraged transactions in bitcoin, it has authority to commence enforcement actions against persons who violate certain prohibitions under the CEA related to transactions in any contract of sale of any commodity, including bitcoin, in interstate commerce (e.g., manipulation and engaging in certain deceptive practices).

Moreover, if our mining activities or transactions in bitcoin were deemed by the CFTC to constitute a collective investment in derivatives for our shareholders, we may be required to register as a commodity pool operator with the CFTC through the National Futures Association. Such additional registrations may result in extraordinary, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company. If we determine not to comply with such additional regulatory and registration requirements, we may seek to cease certain of our operations. Any such action may adversely affect an investment in the Company.

While no provision of the CEA, or CFTC rules, orders or rulings (except as noted herein) appears to be currently applicable to our business, this is subject to change.

If the SEC or another regulatory body considers bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency that we may mine in the future to be a security under U.S. securities laws, we may be required to comply with significant SEC registration and/or other requirements.

In general, novel or unique assets such as bitcoin and other digital assets may be classified as securities if they meet the definition of investment contracts under U.S. law. In recent years, the offer and sale of digital assets other than bitcoin, most notably Kik Interactive Inc.’s Kin tokens and Telegram Group Inc.’s TON tokens, have been deemed to be investment contracts by the SEC. While we believe that bitcoin is unlikely to be considered an investment contract, and thus a security under the investment contract definition, we cannot provide any assurances that digital assets that we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, including bitcoin, will never be classified as securities under U.S. law.

To the extent that any digital asset we have already mined or will mine is deemed a security, we may be obligated to comply with registration and/or other requirements by the SEC. This would cause us to incur significant, non-recurring expenses, thereby materially and adversely impacting an investment in the Company.

If regulations or interpretations change and regulation of bitcoin under the U.S. securities laws or otherwise is promulgated, we may be classified as an investment company.

Current and future legislation and the SEC’s rulemaking and other regulatory developments, including interpretations released by a regulatory authority, may impact the manner in which bitcoin is treated for classification and clearing purposes. The SEC’s July 25, 2017 Report expressed its view that digital assets may be securities depending on the facts and circumstances. As of the date of this Annual Report, we are not aware of any rules that have been proposed to regulate bitcoin as a security, and SEC staff have publicly suggested that bitcoin is not a security for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), because current purchasers of bitcoin are not relying on the essential managerial and entrepreneurial efforts of others to produce a profit. We cannot be certain, however, as to how future regulatory developments will impact the treatment of bitcoin under the law.

For example, in the event that the bitcoin (or, in the future, any digital assets) held by us, whether as a result of our cryptocurrency mining business or otherwise (including by acquisition), are determined to constitute securities under the U.S. securities laws and such assets exceed 40% of our total assets, exclusive of cash, we would inadvertently become an investment company under the 1940 Act. Classification as an investment company under the 1940 Act requires registration with the SEC. If an investment company fails to register, it would have to stop doing almost all business, and its contracts would become voidable. Registration is time-consuming and restrictive and may require a restructuring of our operations, and we would be very constrained in the kind of business we could engage in as a registered investment company. Further, we would become subject to substantial regulation concerning management, operations, transactions with affiliated persons and portfolio composition, and would need to file reports under the 1940 Act. The cost of compliance with the 1940 Act and any other regulations applicable to our crypto mining business would result in our incurring substantial additional expenses, and the failure to properly register with the SEC or otherwise if required would have a materially adverse impact to conduct our operations.

It may be illegal now, or in the future, to mine, acquire, own, hold, sell or use bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, participate in blockchains or utilize similar cryptocurrency assets in one or more countries, the ruling of which could adversely affect us.

Although currently cryptocurrencies generally are not regulated or are lightly regulated in most countries, several countries, such as China, India and Russia, may continue taking regulatory actions in the future that could severely restrict the right to mine, acquire, own, hold, sell or use these cryptocurrency assets or to exchange for local currency. For example, in China and Russia (India is currently proposing new legislation), it is illegal to accept payment in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for consumer transactions and banking institutions are barred from accepting deposits of cryptocurrencies. In addition, in March 2021, the governmental authorities for the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia banned bitcoin mining in the province due to the industry’s intense electrical power demands and its negative environmental impacts. If other countries, including the U.S., implement similar restrictions, such restrictions may adversely affect us. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and thus harm investors.

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.

Many of the competitors in our industry have also been purchasing mining equipment at scale, which has caused a world-wide shortage of mining equipment and extended the corresponding delivery schedules for new miner purchases. There are no assurances that Bitmain, or any other 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 and whether they can deliver on the schedules promised to all of their customers. In the event Bitmain or other manufacturers, are not able to keep pace with demand, we may not be able to purchase additional miners in sufficient quantities, on the delivery schedules that meet our business needs, or at favorable prices.

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

Geopolitical crises may trigger large-scale purchases of bitcoin, which could rapidly increase their prices. This may, however, also increase the likelihood of a subsequent price swing in the opposite direction as crisis-driven purchasing behavior dissipates, ultimately decreasing the value of bitcoins or any other digital asset in our possession. Such risks are similar to the risks of purchasing commodities in generally uncertain times, such as the risk of purchasing, holding or selling gold.

Alternatively, global crises and economic downturns may discourage investment in bitcoin and digital assets in general as investors shift their investments towards less volatile asset classes. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

The value of bitcoin may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings. Because we do not currently hedge our investment in bitcoin and do not intend to for the foreseeable future, we may be directly exposed to bitcoin’s price volatility and surrounding risks.

While bitcoin prices are determined primarily using data from various exchanges, over-the-counter markets and derivative platforms, they have historically been volatile and are impacted by a variety of factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the worldwide growth in the adoption and use of bitcoins, the maintenance and development of the software protocol of the bitcoin network, changes in consumer demographics and public tastes, fraudulent or illegitimate actors, real or perceived scarcity, and political, economic, regulatory or other conditions. Furthermore, pricing may be the result of, and may continue to result in, speculation regarding future appreciation in the value of bitcoin, or our share price, making prices more volatile or creating “bubble” type risks.

Currently, we do not use a formula or specific methodology to determine whether or when we will sell bitcoin that we hold, or the number of bitcoins we will sell. Rather, decisions to hold or sell bitcoins are currently determined by analyzing forecasts and monitoring the market in real time. Such decisions, however well-informed, may result in untimely sales and even losses, adversely affecting an investment in us. At this time, we do not anticipate engaging in any hedging activities related to our holding of bitcoin; this could expose us to substantial decreases in the price of bitcoin.

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

The development and acceptance of competing blockchain platforms or technologies may cause consumers to abandon bitcoin. As we exclusively mine, and expect to exclusively mine bitcoin, we could face difficulty adapting to emergent digital ledgers, blockchains, or alternatives thereto. This could prevent us from realizing the anticipated profits from our investments. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account and harm investors.

Bitcoin faces significant challenges with scaling which, if not overcome, may lead to high fees or slow transaction settlement times.

Bitcoin is presently limited with respect to how many transactions can occur per second. Developers and contributors in the bitcoin ecosystem debate potential solutions to increasing the average number of transactions per second that networks can handle. Some have implemented mechanisms or are researching ways to increase scale, such as increasing the allowable sizes of blocks, and therefore the number of transactions per block, which would increase the number of transactions that could occur per second. However, it is uncertain how long those mechanisms being explored to increase the scale of settlement of bitcoin transactions will take to become effective, if at all. Any failure to improve bitcoin settlement times could materially affect the price of bitcoin and, as a result, adversely affect an investment in us.

Bitcoin is subject to halving; the reward for successfully solving a block will halve several times in the future and its value may not adjust to compensate us for the reduction in the rewards we receive from our 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. In an event referred to as bitcoin “halving,” the bitcoin reward for mining any block is cut in half. For example, the mining reward for bitcoin declined from 12.5 to 6.25 bitcoin on May 11, 2020. This process is scheduled to occur once every 210,000 blocks, or roughly four years, until the total amount of bitcoin rewards issued reaches 21 million, which is expected to occur around 2140. Once 21 million bitcoin are generated, the network will stop producing more. Currently, there are more than 18 million bitcoin in circulation. While bitcoin prices have had a history of price fluctuations around halving events, 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 price of bitcoin does not follow these anticipated halving events, the revenue from our mining operations would decrease, and we may not have an adequate incentive to continue mining and may cease mining operations altogether, which may adversely affect an investment in us.

Furthermore, such reductions in bitcoin rewards for uncovering blocks may result in a reduction in the aggregate hash rate of the bitcoin network as the incentive for miners decreases. Miners ceasing operations would reduce the collective processing power on the network, which would adversely affect the confirmation process for transactions and make the bitcoin network more vulnerable to malicious actors or botnets obtaining control in excess of 50 % of the processing power active on the blockchain. Such events may adversely affect our activities and an investment in us.

If a malicious actor or botnet obtains control of more than 50% of the processing power on the bitcoin network, such actor or botnet could manipulate the network to adversely affect us, which would adversely affect an investment in us.

If a malicious actor or botnet, a collection of computers controlled by networked software coordinating the actions of the computers, obtains over 50% of the processing power dedicated to mining bitcoin, such actor may be able to construct fraudulent blocks or prevent certain transactions from completing in a timely manner, or at all. The malicious actor or botnet could control, exclude or modify the order of transactions, though it could not generate new units or transactions using such control. The malicious actor could also “double-spend,” or spend the same bitcoin in more than one transaction, or it could prevent transactions from being validated. In certain instances, reversing any fraudulent or malicious changes made to the bitcoin blockchain may not be possible.

Although there are no known reports of malicious activity or control of blockchains achieved through controlling over 50% of the processing power on the bitcoin network, it is believed that certain mining pools may have exceeded, and could exceed, the 50% threshold on the bitcoin network. This possibility creates a greater risk that a single mining pool could exert authority over the validation of bitcoin transactions. To the extent that the bitcoin ecosystem, and the administrators of mining pools, do not have adequate controls and responses in place, the risk of a malicious actor obtaining control of the processing power may increase. If such an event were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account and harm investors.

Our reliance on a third-party mining pool service provider for our mining revenue payouts may adversely affect an investment in us.

We currently rely on Foundry Digital and Antpool (“pools” or “Cryptocurrency Customers”), open access mining pools that support cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, to receive our mining rewards and fees from the network. Our pools have the sole discretion to modify the terms of our agreement at any time, and, therefore, our future rights and relationship with our pools may change. In general, mining pools allow miners to combine their computing and processing power, increasing their chances of solving a block and getting paid by the bitcoin network. The rewards, distributed proportionally to our contribution to the pool’s overall mining power, are distributed by the pool operator. Should our pools’ operator systems suffer downtime due to a cyber-attack, software malfunction or other similar issues, it will negatively impact our ability to mine and receive revenue. Furthermore, while we receive daily reports from our pools detailing the total processing power provided to the pools and the proportion of that total processing power, we provided to determine the distribution of

rewards to us, we are dependent on the accuracy of our pool’s record keeping. Therefore, we have little means of recourse against our pools’ operators if we determine the proportion of the reward paid out to us by the mining pool operator is incorrect, other than leaving the pools. If we are unable to consistently obtain accurate proportionate rewards from our pools, we may experience reduced rewards for our efforts, which would have an adverse effect on our business and operations.

Bitcoins and other digital assets we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access.

There is a risk that some or all of our bitcoins could be lost or stolen. Bitcoins are stored in and accessed by cryptocurrency sites commonly referred to as “wallets.” A hot wallet refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is connected to the Internet. Generally, hot wallets are easier to set up and access than wallets in cold storage, but they are also more susceptible to hackers and other technical vulnerabilities. Cold storage refers to any cryptocurrency wallet that is not connected to the Internet. Cold storage is generally more secure than hot storage, but is not ideal for quick or regular transactions. When we keep our bitcoin in cold storage, we may experience lag time in our ability to respond to market fluctuations in the price of our cryptocurrency assets.

We currently mine bitcoin by contributing to and benefiting from our pools’ processing power. Our share of bitcoins mined from our pools are initially received by us in wallets we control, which are maintained by Coinbase Inc., a U.S. based digital assets exchange. We maintain the majority of our bitcoin in cold storage with a minority allocation kept in hot wallets for working capital purposes. Bitcoins we mine or hold for our own account may be subject to loss, theft or restriction on access. Hackers or malicious actors may launch attacks to steal, compromise or secure bitcoins, such as by attacking the bitcoin network source code, exchange miners, third-party platforms (including Coinbase), cold and hot storage locations or software, or by other means. We may be in control and possession of substantial holdings of bitcoin, and as we increase in size, we may become a more appealing target of hackers, malware, cyber-attacks or other security threats. Any of these events may adversely affect our operations and, consequently, our investments and profitability.

The loss or destruction of private keys required to access our bitcoins may be irreversible. Our loss of access to our private keys or our experience of a data loss relating to our bitcoins could adversely affect an investment in us.

Bitcoins may only be controlled by the possessor of both the unique public and private keys relating to the local or online digital wallet in which they are held. We publish the public key relating to digital wallets in use when we verify the receipt or transfers of bitcoins to and from our wallets and disseminate such information into the network on an anonymous basis, but we safeguard the private keys relating to such digital wallets. Digital asset exchanges, such as Coinbase, where we hold our bitcoin, engage in similar practices. To the extent such private keys are lost, destroyed or otherwise compromised, we will be unable to access our bitcoins and such private keys may not be capable of being restored by any network. Any loss of private keys relating to digital wallets used to store our bitcoins whether by us or digital asset exchanges where we hold our bitcoin, could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

Incorrect or fraudulent bitcoin transactions may be irreversible.

Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and stolen or incorrectly transferred bitcoins may thus be irretrievable. While we exchange our bitcoins directly for U.S. dollars on Coinbase and do not presently use, or expect to use, our bitcoins for any other transactions, any incorrectly executed or fraudulent cryptocurrency transactions may still adversely affect our investments and assets.

Forks in the bitcoin network may occur in the future, which may affect the value of bitcoins held by us.

A small group of contributors can propose refinements or improvements to the bitcoin network’s source code that alter the protocols and software that govern the bitcoin network and the properties of bitcoin, including the irreversibility of transactions and limitations on the mining of new bitcoin. This is known as a “fork.” In the event a developer or group of developers proposes modifications to the bitcoin network that are not accepted by a majority of miners and users, but that is nonetheless accepted by a substantial plurality of miners and users, two or more competing and incompatible blockchain implementations could result. This is known as a “hard fork.”

The value of bitcoin after the creation of a fork is subject to many factors, including, but not limited to, the value of the fork product, market reaction to the creation of the fork product, and the occurrence of forks in the future. As such, existing forks, such as Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold, and future forks may have a negative effect on bitcoin’s value and may adversely affect an investment in us.

The open-source structure of the bitcoin network protocol means that the contributors to the protocol are generally not directly compensated for their contributions in maintaining and developing the protocol. A failure to properly monitor and upgrade the protocol could damage the bitcoin network and an investment in us.

As an open-source project, bitcoin does not generate revenues for its contributors, and contributors are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the bitcoin network protocol. The lack of guaranteed financial incentives for contributors to maintain or develop the bitcoin network and the lack of guaranteed resources to adequately address emerging issues with the bitcoin network may reduce incentives to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner. To the extent that contributors may fail to adequately update and maintain the bitcoin network protocol, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

Banks and financial institutions may not provide banking services, or may cut off services, to businesses that engage in cryptocurrency-related activities.

A number of companies that engage in bitcoin and/or other cryptocurrency-related activities have been unable to find banks or financial institutions that are willing to provide them with bank accounts and other services. Similarly, a number of companies and individuals or businesses associated with cryptocurrencies may have had and may continue to have their existing bank accounts closed or services discontinued with financial institutions. To the extent that such events may happen to us, they could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

Our interactions with the bitcoin network may expose us to SDN or blocked persons or cause us to violate provisions of law that did not contemplate distributed ledger technology.

The Office of Financial Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the US Department of Treasury requires us to comply with its sanction program and not conduct business with persons named on its specially designated nationals (“SDN”) list. However, because of the pseudonymous nature of blockchain transactions, we may inadvertently and without our knowledge engage in transactions with persons named on OFAC’s SDN list. We also may not be adequately capable of determining the ultimate identity of the persons with whom we transact.

The digital asset exchanges on which cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, trade are relatively new and largely unregulated, and thus may be exposed to fraud and failure. Such failures may result in a reduction in the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and can adversely affect an investment in us.

Digital asset exchanges on which cryptocurrencies trade are relatively new and, in most cases, largely unregulated. Many digital exchanges do not provide the public with significant information regarding their ownership structure, management teams, corporate practices or regulatory compliance. As a result, the marketplace may lose confidence in, or may experience problems relating to, cryptocurrency exchanges, including prominent exchanges handling a significant portion of the volume of digital asset trading.

A lack of stability in the digital asset exchange market and the closure or temporary shutdown of digital asset exchanges due to fraud, business failure, hackers or malware, or government-mandated regulation may reduce confidence in digital asset networks and result in greater volatility in cryptocurrency values. These potential consequences of a digital asset exchange’s failure could adversely affect an investment in us.

We may not have adequate sources of recovery if our digital assets are lost, stolen or destroyed.

We rely on Coinbase to facilitate the custody of our bitcoins. If our bitcoins are lost, stolen or destroyed under circumstances rendering a party, including Coinbase, liable to us, the responsible party may not have the financial resources sufficient to satisfy our claim. For example, as to a particular event of loss, the only source of recovery for us might be limited, to the extent identifiable, to other responsible third parties (e.g., a thief or terrorist), any of which may not have the financial resources (including liability insurance coverage) to satisfy a valid claim of ours.

Bitcoins held by us are not subject to FDIC or SIPC protections.

We do not hold our bitcoins with a banking institution or a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”), and, therefore, our bitcoins are not subject to the protections enjoyed by depositors with FDIC or SIPC member institutions. As a result, we may suffer a loss with respect to our bitcoins that is not covered by insurance, and we may not be able to recover any of our carried value in these bitcoins if they are lost or stolen or suffer significant and sustained reduction in conversion spot price. If we are not otherwise able to recover damages from a malicious actor in connection with these losses, our business and results of operations may suffer, which may have a material negative impact on our stock price.

The limited rights of legal recourse available to us expose us and our investors to the risk of loss of our bitcoins for which no person is liable.

At this time, there is no specifically enumerated U.S. or foreign governmental, regulatory, investigative or prosecutorial authority or mechanism through which to bring an action or complaint regarding missing or stolen cryptocurrency. To the extent that we are unable to recover our losses from such action, error or theft, such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations of and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

The sale of our bitcoins to pay for expenses at a time of low bitcoin prices could adversely affect an investment in us.

We may sell our bitcoins to pay for expenses on an as-needed basis, irrespective of then-current prices. Consequently, we may sell our bitcoins at a time when bitcoin prices are low, which could adversely affect an investment in us. At this time, we do not mitigate against the potential for decreasing price by engaging in hedging activities related to our bitcoin holdings. See the above risk factor entitled, “The value of bitcoin may be subject to pricing risk and has historically been subject to wide swings. Because we do not currently hedge our investment in bitcoin and do not intend to for the foreseeable future, we may be directly exposed to bitcoin’s price volatility and surrounding risks”.

Demand for bitcoin is driven, in part, by its status as a prominent and secure cryptocurrency. It is possible that a cryptocurrency other than bitcoin could have features that make it more desirable to a material portion of the digital asset user base, resulting in a reduction in demand for bitcoins.

Bitcoin holds a “first-to-market” advantage over other cryptocurrencies. This first-to-market advantage is driven in large part by having the largest user base and, more importantly, the largest combined mining power in use. Nonetheless, another form of cryptocurrency could become materially popular due to either a perceived or exposed shortcoming of the bitcoin network or a perceived advantage of another form of digital currency. If another form of digital currency obtains significant market share, this could reduce the interest in, and value of, bitcoin and the profitability of our bitcoin operations.

Our mining costs may be in excess of our mining revenues, which could seriously harm our business and adversely impact an investment in us.

Mining operations are costly and our expenses may increase in the future. Increases in mining expenses may not be offset by corresponding increases in revenue. Our expenses may become greater than we anticipate, and our investments to make our business more cost-efficient may not succeed. Increases in our costs without corresponding increases in our revenue would adversely affect our profitability and could seriously harm our business and an investment in us.

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

Our current mining locations and any future sites we establish will be subject to a variety of risks relating to physical condition and operation, including but not limited to:

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Although our mining sites are equipped with standard security measures normally associated with a traditional data center, our mining sites could still be rendered inoperable, temporarily or permanently, as a result of a fire or other natural disaster or by a terrorist or other events outside of our control. The measures we take to prevent and insure against these risks may not be sufficient or effective.

We are subject to risks associated with our need for significant electrical power.

The operation of a bitcoin mining facility can require massive amounts of electrical power. Any mining site we currently operate or establish in the future can only be successful if we can continue to obtain sufficient electrical power for that site on a cost-effective basis. To the extent that we establish multiple sites, there may be significant competition for suitable locations, and government regulators may potentially restrict the ability of electricity suppliers to provide electricity to mining operations in times of electricity shortage or may otherwise potentially restrict or prohibit the provision or electricity to mining operations.

Additionally, our facilities could be adversely affected by a power outage. Although we maintain limited backup power at certain sites, it would not be feasible to run miners on back-up power generators in the event of a government restriction on electricity or a power outage. To the extent we are unable to receive adequate power supply and are forced to reduce or cease our operations due to the availability or cost of electrical power, our business would be adversely affected.

Our operations and profitability may be adversely affected by competition from other methods of investing in cryptocurrencies.

We compete with other users and/or companies that are mining cryptocurrencies and other potential financial vehicles, including securities backed by or linked to cryptocurrencies. Market and financial conditions, and other conditions beyond our control, may make it more attractive to invest in other financial vehicles, or to invest in cryptocurrencies directly, which could limit the market for our shares and reduce their liquidity. The emergence of other financial vehicles and exchange-traded funds have increased scrutiny on cryptocurrencies, and such scrutiny could be applicable to us and impact our ability to successfully establish or maintain a public market for our securities. Such circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.

To the extent that the profit margins of bitcoin mining operations are not high, operators of bitcoin mining operations are more likely to immediately sell bitcoin rewards earned by mining in the market, thereby constraining the growth of the price of bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining operations have evolved from individual users mining with computer processors, graphics processing units and first-generation ASIC servers. Currently, new processing power is predominantly added by incorporated and unincorporated professionalized mining operations. Professionalized mining operations may use proprietary hardware or sophisticated ASIC machines acquired from ASIC manufacturers. They require the investment of significant capital for the acquisition of this specialized hardware, the leasing of operating space (often in data centers or warehousing facilities), incurring of electricity costs and the employment of technicians to operate the mining farms. As a result, professionalized mining operations are of a greater scale than those prior and have more defined and regular expenses and liabilities. These regular expenses and liabilities require professionalized mining operations to maintain profit margins on the sale of bitcoin. To the extent the price of bitcoin declines and such profit margin decreases, professionalized miners will be pressured to immediately sell bitcoin earned from mining operations, whereas it is believed that smaller, individual operations in past years were more likely to hold newly mined bitcoin for lengthier periods. The immediate selling of newly mined bitcoin greatly increases the trading volume of bitcoin, creating downward pressure on the market price of bitcoin.

There are risks related to technological obsolescence, the vulnerability of the global supply chain for cryptocurrency hardware disruption, and difficulty in obtaining new hardware which may have a negative effect on our business.

Our mining operations can only be successful and ultimately profitable if the costs, including hardware and electricity costs, associated with mining bitcoin are lower than the price of a single bitcoin. As our mining facility operates, our miners experience ordinary wear and tear, and may also face more significant malfunctions caused by a number of extraneous factors beyond our control. The degradation of our miners will require us to, over time, replace those miners which are no longer functional. Additionally, as the technology evolves, we may be required to acquire newer models of miners to remain competitive in the market. This upgrading process requires substantial capital investment, and we may face challenges in doing so on a timely and cost-effective basis.

Further, the global supply of miners is unpredictable and presently heavily dependent on manufacturers based in China, which was severely affected by the emergence of the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic. We currently utilize several types of ASIC miners as part of our mining operation, including Bitmain Antminers, Avalon miners and MicroBT WhatsMiners, which are all produced in China, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Geopolitical matters, including the U.S. relationship with China, may impact our ability to import ASIC miners. As a result, we may not be able to obtain adequate replacement parts for our existing miners or obtain additional miners from manufacturers on a timely basis. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account, and harm investors.

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

Proof of stake is an alternative method in validating cryptocurrency transactions. Should the bitcoin mining algorithm shift from a proof of work validation method to a proof of stake method, mining would require less energy and may render any company that maintains advantages in the current climate (for example, from lower priced electricity, processing, real estate, or hosting) less competitive. As a result of our efforts to optimize and improve the efficiency of our bitcoin mining operations, we may be exposed to the risk in the future of losing the benefit of our capital investments and the competitive advantage we hope to gain and may be negatively impacted if a switch to proof of stake validation were to occur. Such events could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects or operations and potentially the value of any bitcoin we mine or otherwise acquire or hold for our own account.

We may face risks of Internet disruptions, which could have an adverse effect on not only the price of bitcoin but our ability to mine bitcoin.

A disruption of the Internet may adversely affect the mining and use of cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Generally, cryptocurrencies and our business of mining bitcoin is dependent upon the Internet. A significant disruption in Internet connectivity could disrupt bitcoin’s network operations until the disruption is resolved and have an adverse effect on the price of bitcoin and our ability to mine bitcoin.

Since there has been limited precedent set for financial accounting of digital assets, including bitcoin, it is unclear how we will be required to account for transactions involving digital assets.

Because there has been limited precedent set for the financial accounting of cryptocurrencies and related revenue recognition and no official guidance has yet been provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or the SEC, it is unclear how companies may in the future be required to account for cryptocurrency transactions and assets and related revenue recognition. A change in regulatory or financial accounting standards or interpretation by the SEC could result in changes in our accounting treatment and the necessity to restate our financial statements. Such a restatement could adversely impact the accounting for the bitcoins we hold and bitcoin transactions and, more generally, negatively impact our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

Future developments regarding the treatment of digital assets for U.S. federal income and applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax purposes could adversely impact our business.

Due to the new and evolving nature of digital assets and the absence of comprehensive legal guidance with respect to digital assets and related transactions, many significant aspects of the U.S. federal income and applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax treatment of transactions involving digital assets, such as the purchase and sale of bitcoin and the receipt of staking rewards and other digital asset incentives and rewards products, are uncertain, and it is unclear what guidance may be issued in the future with respect to the tax treatment of digital assets and related transactions.

Current IRS guidance indicates that for U.S. federal income tax purposes digital assets such as bitcoins should be treated and taxed as property, and that transactions involving the payment of bitcoins for goods and services should be treated in effect as barter transactions. The IRS has also released guidance to the effect that, under certain circumstances, hard forks of digital currencies are taxable events giving rise to taxable income and guidance with respect to the determination of the tax basis of digital currency. However, current IRS guidance does not address other significant aspects of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of digital assets and related transactions. Moreover, although current IRS guidance addresses the treatment of certain forks, there continues to be uncertainty with respect to the timing and amount of income inclusions for various crypto asset transactions, including, but not limited to, staking rewards and other crypto asset incentives and rewards products. While current IRS guidance creates a potential tax reporting requirement for any circumstance where the ownership of a bitcoin passes from one person to another, it preserves the right to apply capital gains treatment to those transactions, which is generally favorable for investors in bitcoin.

There can be no assurance that the IRS will not alter its existing position with respect to digital assets in the future or that other state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities or courts will follow the approach of the IRS with respect to the treatment of digital assets such as bitcoins for income tax and sales tax purposes. Any such alteration of existing guidance or issuance of new or different guidance may have negative consequences including the imposition of a greater tax burden on investors in bitcoin or imposing a greater cost on the acquisition and disposition of bitcoin, generally; in either case potentially having a negative effect on the trading price of bitcoin or otherwise negatively impacting our business. In addition, future technological and operational developments that may arise with respect to digital currencies may increase the uncertainty with respect to the treatment of digital currencies for U.S. federal income and applicable state, local and non-U.S. tax purposes.

Risks Related to Our Securities

The price of our common stock may be volatile and could fluctuate widely, which could result in substantial losses for investors.

The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, without limitation:

In addition, the securities markets have from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These market fluctuations may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We have the right to designate and issue additional shares of preferred stock. If we were to designate and/or issue additional preferred stock, it is likely to have rights, preferences and privileges that may adversely affect the common stock.

We are authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of blank-check Preferred Stock, with such rights, preferences and privileges as may be determined from time to time by our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue Preferred Stock in one or more series, and to fix for any series the dividend rights, dissolution or liquidation preferences, redemption prices, conversion rights, voting rights, and other rights, preferences and privileges for the Preferred Stock. Currently, 2,000,000 shares are designated as Series A Preferred Stock, of which 1,750,000 shares are outstanding, the features of which are discussed elsewhere in this Annual Report.

The issuance of shares of Preferred Stock, depending on the rights, preferences and privileges attributable to the Preferred Stock, could reduce the voting rights and powers of the common stock and the portion of our assets allocated for distribution to common stockholders in a liquidation event, and could also result in dilution in the book value per share of the common stock. The preferred stock could also be utilized, under certain circumstances, as a method for raising additional capital or discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company, to the detriment of the investors in the common stock offered hereby. We cannot assure that we will not, under certain circumstances, issue shares of our Preferred Stock.

We have not paid dividends on shares of our common stock in the past and have no immediate plans to pay do so in the future.

We have not paid, and do not plan to pay, any cash dividends with respect to our common stock in the immediate future. We plan to reinvest all of our earnings, to the extent we have earnings, in order to market our products and to cover operating costs and to otherwise become and remain competitive. We cannot assure stockholders that we would, at any time, generate sufficient surplus cash that would be available for distribution to the holders of our common stock as a dividend. Therefore, stockholders should not expect to receive cash dividends on our common stock.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or do not continue to publish research or reports about our business, or if they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who cover us now or in the future issue an adverse opinion regarding our stock, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Provisions in the Nevada Revised Statutes and our Bylaws could make it very difficult for an investor to bring any legal actions against our directors or officers for violations of their fiduciary duties or could require us to pay any amounts incurred by our directors or officers in any such actions.

Members of our Board of Directors and our officers will have no liability for breaches of their fiduciary duty of care as a director or officer, except in limited circumstances, pursuant to provisions in the Nevada Revised Statutes and our Bylaws as authorized by the Nevada Revised Statutes. Specifically, Section 78.138 of the Nevada Revised Statutes provides that a director or officer is not individually liable to the company or its shareholders or creditors for any damages as a result of any act or failure to act in his or her capacity as a director or officer unless it is proven that (1) the directors or officers act or failure to act constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties as a director or officer and (2) his or her breach of those duties involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law. This provision is intended to afford directors and officers protection against and to limit their potential liability for monetary damages resulting from suits alleging a breach of the duty of care by a director or officer.

Accordingly, stockholders may be unable to prevail in a legal action against our directors or officers even if they have breached their fiduciary duty of care. In addition, our Bylaws allow us to indemnify our directors and officers from and against any and all costs, charges and expenses resulting from their acting in such capacities with us. This means that if one were able to enforce an action against our directors or officers, in all likelihood, we would be required to pay any expenses they incurred in defending the lawsuit and any judgment or settlement they otherwise would be required to pay. Accordingly, our indemnification obligations could divert needed financial resources and may adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

On August 6, 2021, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary CSRE Properties Norcross, LLC, closed on the purchase of real property located at 5295 Brook Hollow Parkway, Norcross, Georgia, 30071 (the “Norcross Property”). The total purchase price was $6,550,000 and the seller conveyed fee simple title by limited warranty deed. The Norcross Property consists of an office building of approximately 86,000 square feet on approximately 7 acres of land. The Norcross Property is utilized by CleanBlok to conduct cryptocurrency mining activities.

On May 20, 2021, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary ATL, closed on the purchase of real property located at 2380 Godby Road, College Park, Georgia, 30349 (the “Godby Road Property”), which it had been leasing prior to the purchase. The total purchase price was $4,711,799 and the seller conveyed fee simple title by limited warranty deed. The Godby Road Property consists of an office/warehouse building of approximately 41,387 square feet on approximately 6 acres of land. The Godby Road Property is utilized by ATL and CleanBlok to conduct cryptocurrency mining activities.

On June 15, 2021, the Company entered into a lease for warehouse and office space at 2042 Corte Del Nogal, Suite C, Carlsbad, California, 92011. The 5-year lease is for an approximately 12,704 square foot industrial unit and part of a larger 47,744 square foot multi-tenant industrial flex building and requires monthly base rent payments of $11,307. The leased property is utilized by our energy segment.

On August 26, 2021, the Company entered into a lease for office space at 2370 Corporate Circle, Suite 160, Henderson, Nevada, 89074. The 65-month lease is for 4,552 rentable square feet an initial base rent of $10,925 and increases 3% each year. The Corporate Circle space will be utilized as the CleanSpark corporate and executive headquarters. Until the Corporate Circle location is move-in ready, we sublease offices located at 8475 S. Eastern Ave., Suite 200, Las Vegas, Nevada. We are currently on a year-to-year lease agreement that calls for us to make payments of $1,525 per month.

We also have an office located at 1185 S. 1800 W, Suite 3, Woods Cross Utah 84087. We are currently on a year-to-year lease agreement that calls for us to make payments of $2,300 per month. This property is utilized by corporate employees.

The Company believes its existing facilities and equipment are in good operating condition and are suitable for the conduct of its business.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are subject to litigation, claims, investigations and audits arising from time to time in the ordinary course of our business.

For a description of our material pending legal proceedings, please see footnote 15 pertaining to commitments and contingencies included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrants Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “CLSK.”

Holders of Our Common Stock

As of December 14, 2021, we had 185 registered holders of record of our common stock, with others in street name.

The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive rights and no right to convert their common stock into any other securities. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock.

Dividends

There are no restrictions in our articles of incorporation or bylaws that prevent us from declaring dividends. The Nevada Revised Statutes, however, do prohibit us from declaring dividends where after giving effect to the distribution of the dividend:

We have never declared any dividends on shares of our common stock, and we do not plan to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities

As of December 10, 2021, we issued an aggregate of 8,404 unregistered shares of our common stock to the Sellers of Gridfabric in accordance with the Membership Interest Purchase Agreement entered into on August 31, 2020, based upon the achievement of certain milestones. The shares had an aggregate value of $150,000.

The shares of common stock were issued in a transaction not involving a public offering in reliance upon an exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act, and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, there were no other unregistered sales of our securities that were not reported in a Current Report on Form 8-K or our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Repurchases

The Company has not made any repurchases of shares or other units of any class of the Company’s equity securities during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report.

Item 6. [Reserved]

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Forward-Looking Statements

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements that are included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our discussion includes forward-looking statements based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors. We use words such as anticipate, estimate, plan, project, continuing, ongoing, expect, believe, intend, may, will, should, could, and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements.

Results of Operations for the Year Ended September 30, 2021 and 2020

Revenues

We earned $49,438,115 in revenues during the year ended September 30, 2021, as compared with $10,028,701 in revenues for the year ended September 30, 2020.

For the year ended September 30, 2021, our revenue was derived from cryptocurrency mining revenues, the sale of equipment, solar panels, batteries, design, engineering, and services revenue. Income from our mining segment is a result of bitcoin mining activities in the United States. Income from our Energy segment is the result of contracts to sell switchgear equipment, perform engineering design, and provide software for distributed energy and microgrid systems. For the year ended September 30, 2021, we also generated services revenue from p2kLabs. We hope to generate more significant revenue from customers through the sale and licensing of our Software platforms and services in the future. However, we are unable to estimate with any degree of certainty the amount of future revenues, from existing or future software contracts. Also, we do not anticipate earning significant revenues from our Gasifier business until such time that we have fully developed our technology and are able to market our products.

Costs and Expenses

We had costs and expenses of $78,015,168 for the year ended September 30, 2021, as compared with $25,171,817 for the year ended September 30, 2020.

Our cost of revenues were $13,964,711 for the year ended September 30, 2021, as compared with cost of revenues of $7,907,849 for the year ended September 30, 2020. 

Our cost of revenues in 2021 was mainly the result of mining energy costs, hosting fees, contract manufacturing expenses, and hardware materials. Our cost of revenues in 2020 was mainly the result of contract manufacturing expenses and hardware materials.

Mining expenses incurred during the year ended September 30, 2021 is $4,889,996. It consisted mainly of energy costs and hosting fees paid to Coinmint.

Contract manufacturing expenses decreased to $3,926,060   for the year ended September 30, 2021, from $6,704,075   for the year ended 2020. Our manufacturing expense consisted of the cost of contract manufacturing of switchgear equipment.

Hardware material purchases increased to $3,205,547 for the year ended September 30, 2021, from $824,665   in hardware expenses for the year ended September 30, 2020. Our materials expense for the years ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 consisted mainly of the cost of energy storage and solar panels.

Professional fees increased to $8,272,966 for the year ended September 30, 2021 from $6,521,016 for the same period ended September 30, 2020. Our professional fees expenses for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted mainly of legal fees of $4,570,216, accounting and tax fees of $1,070,174 consulting fees of $818,741, investor relations and external marketing consulting fees of $959,717, director fees of $177,084, recruitment and conference fees of $251,183, subcontract fees of $185,980 and audit and review fees of $214,100.

Our professional fees expenses for the year ended September 30, 2020 consisted mainly of consulting fees of $607,392 paid to management of the Company, stock-based compensation for consulting of $2,265,194, sales consulting of $278,547, legal fees of $1,472,421, investor relations and external marketing consulting of $725,347, director fees of $442,000, consulting for software and engineering of $82,031, accounting and tax fees of $186,969 and audit and review fees of $135,060.

Payroll expenses increased to $25,355,684 for the year ended September 30, 2021 from $6,813,641 for the same period ended September 30, 2020. Our payroll expenses for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted mainly of salary and wages expense of $17,624,078 and employee and officer stock-based compensation and related bonuses of $7,731,605. Our payroll expenses for the year ended September 30, 2020 consisted mainly of salary and wages expense of $4,293,559 and employee and officer stock-based compensation of $2,520,083.

General and administrative fees increased to $5,291,652 for the year ended September 30, 2021 from $1,093,062 for the same period ended September 30, 2020. Our general and administrative expenses for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted mainly of marketing related expenses of $1,488,933, travel expenses of $367,632, rent expenses of $445,944, insurance expenses of $720,053, dues and subscriptions of $1,129,963, repairs and maintenance of $174,192, supplies of $134,163, utilities of $184,232 and bad debt expense of $246,453. Our general and administrative expenses for the year ended September 30, 2020 consisted mainly of travel expenses of $82,407, rent expenses of $117,223, insurance expenses of $232,043, dues and subscriptions of $362,887, marketing related expenses of $153,091, and bad debt expense of $36,924.

Depreciation and amortization expense increased to $12,244,368 for the year ended September 30, 2021, from $2,836,249 for the same period ended September 30, 2020.

Impairment expenses were recorded for the year ended September 30, 2021 for $12,885,776, and no impairment expenses were recorded for the same period ended September 30, 2020. Impairment expense for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted primarily of bitcoin impairment of $6,608,076, goodwill impairment of $5,723,388 and software impairment of $554,322, which represents a write down of our GridFabric product line of $250,000 and our mVSO platform of $304,322.

Other Income/Expenses

We had net other income of $6,765,043 for the year ended September 30, 2021, compared with other expenses of $8,203,027 for the year ended September 30, 2020. Other income for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted mainly of other income of $544,778, change in fair value of contingent consideration of $84,198, gains on derivative assets of $2,790,387, realized gains on the sale of digital currency of $3,104,378, realized gains on the sale of equity securities  of $179,046, interest income of $221,488 and interest expense of $154,079. Our other income/expenses for the year ended September 30, 2020 consisted mainly of other income of $20,000, unrealized gains on equity security and derivative security of $116,868 and $2,115,269 respectively, interest income of $308,804, and interest expense of $10,758,750.

Net Loss

Net loss for the year ended September 30, 2021 was $21,812,010 compared to net loss of $23,346,143 for the year ended September 30, 2020.

Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS is not a measurement of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of equity instruments that can impact a company's non-cash operating expenses, CleanSpark management believes that providing a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes non-cash and non-recurring expenses allows for meaningful comparisons between the Company's core business operating results and those of other companies, as well as providing the Company with an important tool for financial and operational decision making and for evaluating its own core business operating results over different periods of time.

The Company's adjusted EBITDA measure may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in its industry, as other companies in its industry may calculate non-GAAP financial results differently, particularly related to non-recurring, unusual items. The Company's adjusted EBITDA is not a measurement of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to operating income or as an indication of operating performance or any other measure of performance derived in accordance with GAAP. Our management does not consider adjusted EBITDA to be a substitute for, or superior to, the information provided by GAAP financial results.

We are providing supplemental financial measures for (i) non-GAAP adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or (“adjusted EBITDA”) that excludes the impact of interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, our share-based compensation expense, and impairment of assets, unrealized gains/losses on securities, certain financing costs, other non-cash items, certain non-recurring expenses, and impacts related to discontinued operations; and (ii) non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP earnings per share that excludes the impact of interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, our share-based compensation expense, and impairment of assets, unrealized gains/losses on securities, certain financing costs, other non-cash items, and impacts related to discontinued operations. These supplemental financial measures are not measurements of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) and, as a result, these supplemental financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to help understand, manage, and evaluate our business performance and to help make operating decisions.

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are also useful to investors and analysts in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis. The first supplemental financial measure excludes (i) impacts of interest, taxes, and depreciation; (ii) significant non-cash expenses such as our share-based compensation expense, unrealized gains/losses on securities, certain financing costs, other non-cash items that we believe are not reflective of our general business performance, and for which the accounting requires management judgment, and the resulting expenses could vary significantly in comparison to other companies; (iii) significant impairment losses related to long-lived and digital assets, which include our bitcoin for which the accounting requires significant estimates and judgment, and the resulting expenses could vary significantly in comparison to other companies; and (iv) and impacts related to discontinued operations that would not be applicable to our future business activities.

Non-GAAP financial measures are subject to material limitations as they are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, measurements prepared in accordance with GAAP. For example, we expect that share-based compensation expense, which is excluded from the first two non-GAAP financial measures, will continue to be a significant recurring expense over the coming years and is an important part of the compensation provided to certain employees, officers, and directors.

We have also excluded impairment losses on assets, including impairments of our digital currency our non-GAAP financial measures, which may continue to occur in future periods as a result of our continued holdings of significant amounts of bitcoin. Our non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation and should be read only in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. We rely primarily on such Consolidated Financial Statements to understand, manage, and evaluate our business performance and use the non-GAAP financial measures only supplementally.

The following is a reconciliation of our non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable financial measure stated in accordance with GAAP, which excludes the impact of (i) interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization; (ii) our share-based compensation expense; (iii) impairment expense; (iv) unrealized gains/losses on securities; (v) and (vi) impacts related to discontinued operations, to its most directly comparable GAAP measures for the periods indicated:

The following is a reconciliation of our non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA earnings per share, in each case excluding the impact of (i) interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization; (ii) our share-based compensation expense; (iii) impairment expense; (iv) unrealized gains/losses on securities; (v) certain financing costs and other non-cash items; (vi) certain non-recurring expenses; and (vii) impacts related to discontinued operations:

The following is a reconciliation of fair market value of our digital currency holdings to the current carrying value at September 30, 2021. We did not hold any digital currency as of September 30, 2020:

(1) Value per coin is the average book value per coin determined by the number of coins held as of the balance sheet date divided by the carrying value.

(2) Value per coin is the quoted market price as of the balance sheet date.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

For the year ended September 30, 2021, our primary sources of liquidity came from existing cash and proceeds from share offerings. On March 18, 2021, the Company consummated a fully underwritten public offering of shares of its common stock, which resulted in net proceeds to the Company of approximately $187,200,000. On June 3, 2021, the Company entered into an At the Market Offering Agreement (the “ATM”) with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC (“HCW”), pursuant to which it may, from time to time, offer and sell up to an aggregate of $500,000,000 of shares of its common stock to or through HCW. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Company issued an aggregate of 3,443,379 shares of the Company’s common stock under the ATM for net proceeds of $46.4 million. The shares were sold pursuant to a prospectus dated March 15, 2021 and a prospectus supplement dated June 3, 2021 filed with the SEC. Based on our current plans and business conditions, we believe that existing cash, cash generated from operations and our ATM will be sufficient to satisfy our anticipated cash requirements until we reach profitability, and we are not aware of any trends or demands, commitments, events or uncertainties that are reasonably likely to result in a decrease in liquidity of our assets. However, our future capital requirements will depend on many factors including our growth rate, the timing and extent of spending to support development efforts, the expansion of our sales and marketing, the timing of new product introductions and the continuing market acceptance of our products and services. If cash generated from operations is insufficient to satisfy our capital requirements, we may open a revolving line of credit with a bank, or we may have to sell additional equity or debt securities or obtain credit facilities. In the event such financing is needed in the future, there can be no assurance that such financing will be available to us, or, if available, that it will be in amounts and on terms acceptable to us. If cash flows from operations became insufficient to continue operations at the current level, and if no additional financing was obtained, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected.

As of September 30, 2021, we had total current assets of $57,726,321, consisting of cash, accounts receivable, inventory, digital currency, investments, prepaid expenses and other current assets, and total assets in the amount of $317,473,121. Our total current liabilities as of September 30, 2021 were $10,063,022. We had a working capital surplus of $47,663,299 as of September 30, 2021.

Operating activities used $35,429,342 in cash for the year ended September 30, 2021, as compared with $6,642,734 for the same period ended September 30, 2020. Our net loss of $21,812,010 was the main component of our negative operating cash flow for the year ended September 30, 2021, offset mainly by stock-based compensation of $8,546,712, impairment expense of $12,885,786 and depreciation and amortization of $12,244,368. Our net loss of $23,346,143 was the main component of our negative operating cash flow for the year ended September 30, 2020, offset mainly by amortization of debt discount of $9,010,547, depreciation and amortization of $2,672,331, shares issued as interest of $2,050,000, amortization of capitalized software of $163,918 and stock-based compensation of $2,053,232. 

Cash flows used by investing activities during the year ended September 30, 2021 was $217,714,926, as compared with $2,383,623 for the year ended September 30, 2020. Our acquisitions of Solar watt Solutions for  $1,000,136, purchase of fixed assets of $139,234,948, and deposits on mining equipment of $87,959,910 were the main components of our negative investing cash flow for the year ended September 30, 2021. The negative cash flow from investing activities is offset by sale of digital currencies of $11,443,132, acquisition of ATL  Data Center, net of cash received of $45,783 and sale of equity securities of $373,121.

For the year ended September 30, 2020, our investment in the capitalized software of $84,924, acquisition of P2K Labs of $1,141,990, acquisition of Grid Fabric of $371,812, purchase of fixed assets of $34,897, and investment in equity and debt security of $750,000 were the main components of our negative investing cash flow.

Cash flows provided by financing activities during the year ended September 30, 2021 amounted to $268,058,393, as compared with $4,313,702 for the year ended September 30, 2020. Our positive cash flows from financing activities for the year ended September 30, 2021 consisted of $270,656,118 in proceeds from offerings, $3,750,932 in proceeds from the exercise of warrants  and options offset by repayments of $5,882,553 on promissory notes and $288,602 in finance leases. Our positive cash flows from financing activities for the year ended September 30, 2020 consisted of $4,000,000 in proceeds from the sale of common stock, $531,169 in proceeds from promissory notes offset by repayments of $217,467 on promissory notes.

Contractual Obligations

The Company has purchase commitments for approximately $203.6 million related to purchase of miners as of September 30, 2021, and the Company has paid $144.7   million towards these commitments as of the end of this period.

The Company has purchase commitments for infrastructure assets and other mining equipment of approximately $6,512,000 as of September 30, 2021 and the Company has paid $4,576,000 towards these commitments during  this period.  

The following table sets forth certain information concerning our obligations to make contractual future payments towards our agreements as of September 30, 2021:

Contingent consideration

GridFabric: On August 31, 2020, the Company acquired GridFabric, LLC. Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, additional shares of the Company’s common stock valued at up to $750,000 were issuable if GridFabric achieves certain revenue and product release milestones. On September 30, 2021, the contingent consideration was re-measured to $500,000.

Subsequent to September 30, 2021, the Company settled all contingent consideration due to GridFabric resulting in the issuance of 8,404 shares of Company common stock valued at $150,000.

Solar Watt Solutions: On February 24, 2021, the Company acquired Solar Watt Solutions, Inc. Pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement, additional cash consideration of up to $2,500,000 and up to 310,018 shares of the Company’s common stock may be payable if Solar Watt Solutions achieves certain revenue milestones. As of September 30 2021, none of the contingent consideration had been earned.

Known Trends or Uncertainties

Although we have not seen any significant reduction in revenues to date, we have seen some consolidation in our industry during economic downturns. These consolidations have not had a negative effect on our total sales; however, should consolidations and downsizing in the industry continue to occur, those events could adversely impact our revenues and earnings going forward.

As discussed in the Risk Factors section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the world has been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Until the pandemic has passed, there remains uncertainty as to the effect of COVID-19 on our business in both the short and long-term.

We believe that the need for improved productivity in the research and development activities directed toward developing new products and/or software will continue to result in increasing adoption of energy solution tools such as those we produce. New product and/or software developments in the energy business segment could result in increased revenues and earnings if they are accepted by our markets; however, there can be no assurances that new products and/or software will result in significant improvements to revenues or earnings. For competitive reasons, we do not disclose all of our new product development activities.

Our continued quest for acquisitions could result in a significant change to revenues and earnings if one or more such acquisitions are completed.

The potential for growth in new markets is uncertain. We will continue to explore these opportunities until such time as we either generate sales or determine that resources would be more efficiently used elsewhere.

Inflation

We have not been affected materially by inflation during the periods presented, and no material effect is expected in the near future.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements   

In October 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities from Contracts with Customers, which requires contract assets and contract liabilities acquired in a business combination to be recognized and measured by the acquirer on the acquisition date in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, as if it had originated the contracts. Under the current business combinations guidance, such assets and liabilities are recognized by the acquirer at fair value on the acquisition date. This new guidance is effective for the Company for its fiscal year beginning February 1, 2023 and interim periods within that fiscal year, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is evaluating its potential impact but does not expect the new standard to have a material impact on the Company's results of operations or cash flows. 

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting and issued subsequent amendments to the initial guidance (collectively, “Topic 848”). Topic 848 became effective immediately and expires on December 21, 2022. Topic 848 allows eligible contracts that are modified to be accounted for as a continuation of those contracts, permits companies to preserve their hedging accounting during the transition period and enables companies to make a one-time election to transfer or sell held-to-maturity debt securities that are affected by rate reform. Topic 848 provides optional expedients and exceptions for contracts, hedging relationships and other transactions that reference the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The adoption of ASU 2020-04 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements or disclosures.

The Company adopted ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments on October 1, 2020 (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 requires entities to use a new forward-looking “expected loss” model that reflects expected credit losses, including credit losses related to trade receivables, and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates, which generally will result in the earlier recognition of allowances for losses. As the Company was a Smaller Reporting Company at the time of issuance of the ASU, the Company expects to adopt the ASU effective October 1, 2023, including the interim periods within the fiscal year. In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU2020-06, “Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (subtopic 815-40),” which reduces the number of accounting models in ASC 470-20 that require separate accounting for embedded conversion features. As a result, a convertible debt instrument will be accounted for as a single liability measured at its amortized cost as long as no other features require bifurcation and recognition as derivatives. By removing those separation models, the effective interest rate of convertible debt instruments will be closer to the coupon interest rate. Further, the diluted net income per share calculation for convertible instruments will require the Company to use the if-converted method. The treasury stock method should no longer be used to calculate diluted net income per share for convertible instruments. The amendment will be effective for the Company with annual periods beginning January 1, 2022 and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements or disclosures.

In August 2020, the FASB issued Account Standard Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, “Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (subtopic 815-40),” which reduces the number of accounting models in ASC 470-20 that require separate accounting for embedded conversion features. As a result, a convertible debt instrument will be accounted for as a single liability measured at its amortized cost as long as no other features require bifurcation and recognition as derivatives. By removing those separation models, the effective interest rate of convertible debt instruments will be closer to the coupon interest rate. Further, the diluted net income per share calculation for convertible instruments will require the Company to use the if-converted method. The treasury stock method should no longer be used to calculate diluted net income per share for convertible instruments. The amendment will be effective for the Company with annual periods beginning January 1, 2022 and early adoption is permitted. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements or disclosures.

The Company has evaluated all other recent accounting pronouncements and believes that none of them will have a material effect on the Company's financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Critical Accounting Policies

In December 2001, the SEC requested that all registrants list their most critical accounting policies in the Management Discussion and Analysis. The SEC indicated that a critical accounting policy is one which is both important to the portrayal of a Company’s financial condition and results, and requires managements most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.

Our accounting policies are discussed in detail in the footnotes to our financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021 however we consider our critical accounting policies to be those related to revenue recognition, long-lived assets, accounts receivable, fair value of financial instruments, cash and cash equivalents, digital currency and stock-based compensation.

Our significant estimates include estimates used to review the Company’s goodwill and digital currency impairment, intangible assets acquired, impairments and estimations of long-lived assets, revenue recognition on percentage of completion type contracts, revenue recognition from digital currency mining, valuation of derivative assets and liabilities, available-for-sale investments, allowances for uncollectible accounts, valuation of digital currencies, valuation of contingent consideration, warranty, and the valuations of share based awards.  The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable in the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions including, but not limited to, the ultimate impact that COVID-19 may have on the Company’s operations.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

As of September 30, 2021, there were no off-balance sheet arrangements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

As a first time large accelerated filer, we are not required to provide the information required by this Item until the first quarter after the fiscal year in which it is first determined that we have become a large accelerated filer.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Index to Financial Statements Required by Article 8 of Regulation S-X:

Audited Consolidated Financial Statements:

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

CleanSpark, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of CleanSpark, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended September 30, 2021, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of September 30, 2021 and 2020, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended September 30, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We also have audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) and our report dated December 14, 2021 expressed an adverse opinion.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements and an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that responds to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate.

Evaluation of the Accounting for and Disclosure of Digital Currency Held

As disclosed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s digital currency held as of September 30, 2021, which mainly consist of Bitcoin, are accounted for as indefinite-lived intangible assets, and have been included in current assets on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company’s digital currency as of September 30, 2021 amounted to approximately $23,603,000. We identified the accounting for and disclosure of the digital currency held as a critical audit matter because, currently, no specific definitive guidance exists for the accounting for and disclosure of digital currencies held in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). The Company’s management has exercised significant judgment in their determination of how existing GAAP should be applied to the accounting for its digital currency held, the associated financial statement presentation and accompanying footnote disclosures.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included the following:

Evaluation of the Accounting for and Disclosure of Digital Currency Mining Revenue Recognized

As disclosed in Note 2, the Company recognizes revenue in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Company provides computing power to the mining pools and in exchange for providing such computing power, the Company is entitled to a fractional share of the fixed cryptocurrency award the pool operator receives for successfully adding a block to the blockchain, plus a fractional share of the transaction fees attached to that block. The Company’s fractional share is based on the proportion of computing power the Company contributed to the mining pool operator to the total computing power contributed by all mining pool participants in solving the current algorithm. During the year ended September 30, 2021, the Company recognized net digital currency mining revenue of approximately $38,846,000. We identified the accounting for and disclosure of digital currency mining revenue recognized as a critical audit matter because, currently, no specific definitive guidance exists for the accounting for and disclosure of digital currency mining revenue recognized in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s management has exercised significant judgment in their determination of how existing GAAP should be applied to the accounting for and disclosure of digital currency mining revenue recognized.

The primary procedures we performed to address this critical audit matter included the following:

/s/ MaloneBailey, LLP

www.malonebailey.com

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2018.

Houston, Texas

December 14, 2021

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of

CleanSpark, Inc.

Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of CleanSpark, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) as of September 30, 2021 based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). In our opinion, because of the effect of the material weaknesses described below on the achievement of the objectives of the control criteria, the Company did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.

We do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on management’s statements referring to any corrective actions taken by the Company after the date of management’s assessment.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of September 30, 2021 and 2020 and for the years then ended and our report dated December 14, 2021 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

The Company acquired ATL Data Centers LLC and Solar Watt Solutions, Inc. (collectively, the “Acquired Businesses”) during the year ended September 30, 2021, and management excluded from its assessment of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2021, the Acquired Businesses’ internal control over financial reporting associated with total assets of $267.3 million (of which $27.3 million represents goodwill and intangibles included within the scope of the assessment), and total revenues of $43.2 million included in the consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the year ended September 30, 2021. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting of the Company also excluded an evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting of the Acquired Businesses.

Basis for Opinion

The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting (“Management’s Report”). Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The following material weaknesses have been identified and included in management’s assessment: (1) the Company did not adequately implement or properly maintain controls over its financial close and reporting process, its process over the recording of energy and other services revenue and its process over the accounting and valuation of certain aspects of business combinations involving significant estimates and (2) the Company did not adequately design and maintain effective general information technology controls over third-party information systems and applications that are relevant to the preparation of the Company’s financial statements. These material weaknesses were considered in determining the nature, timing, and extent of audit tests applied in our audit of the 2021 consolidated financial statements, and this report does not affect our report on those financial statements.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

/s/ MaloneBailey, LLP

www.malonebailey.com

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2018.

Houston, Texas

December 14, 2021

CLEANSPARK, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CLEANSPARK, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

CLEANSPARK, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY