Company: HODL
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000930413-25-000995
Chunk: 251

Company: VanEck Bitcoin ETF
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 251
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 any termination of the Trust
in response to the changed regulatory circumstances may be at a time that is disadvantageous to the Shareholders.

Additionally, to the extent the Authorized Participant,
Liquidity Provider, the Trust or the Sponsor is found to have operated without appropriate state or federal licenses by any regulator
or court, it may be subject to investigation, administrative or court proceedings, operating restrictions, and civil or criminal
monetary fines and penalties, all of which would harm the reputation of the Authorized Participant, Liquidity Provider, the Trust
or the Sponsor, disrupt their operations, and have a material adverse effect on the price of the Shares. Although Liquidity Providers
represent to the Trust that they have obtained all necessary governmental licenses in the Liquidity Provider agreements, if such
representations prove inaccurate, such Liquidity Providers may suffer adverse consequences and be unable to perform their obligations
or engage in bitcoin transactions with the Trust, or the Trust’s operations could be adversely affected and decreased liquidity for the Shares or losses for Shareholders could
result.

Anonymity, sanctions, and illicit financing risk.

Although transaction details of peer-to-peer transactions
are recorded on the Bitcoin Blockchain, a buyer or seller of digital assets on a peer-to-peer basis directly on the Bitcoin network
may never know to whom the public key belongs or the true identity of the party with whom it is transacting. Public key addresses
are randomized sequences of alphanumeric characters that, standing alone, do not provide sufficient information to identify users.
In addition, certain technologies, such as tumbling or mixing services, may obscure the origin or chain of custody of digital
assets. In August 2022, OFAC banned all U.S. citizens from using Tornado Cash, a digital asset protocol designed to obfuscate
blockchain transactions, by adding certain Ethereum wallet addresses associated with the protocol to its Specially Designated
Nationals list. On October 19, 2023, FinCEN published a proposed rulemaking under authorities in Section 311 of the USA PATRIOT
Act that would impose requirements on financial institutions that engage in CVC transactions that involve CVC mixing within or
involving a jurisdiction outside the United States. FinCEN’s rulemaking states that CVC mixing transactions can play a central
role in facilitating the laundering of CVC derived from a variety of illicit activity, and are frequently used by criminals and
state actors to facilitate a range of illicit activity, including, but not limited to, money laundering, sanctions evasion and