Company: HODL
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000930413-25-000995
Chunk: 121

Company: VanEck Bitcoin ETF
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 121
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 could seek to do so.

The opaque nature of the market poses asset verification
challenges for market participants, regulators and auditors and gives rise to an increased risk of manipulation and fraud, including
the potential for Ponzi schemes, bucket shops and pump and dump schemes. Digital assets have been used to facilitate illicit activities.
If a digital asset was used to facilitate illicit activities, businesses that facilitate transactions in such digital assets could
be at increased risk of potential criminal or civil lawsuits, or of having banking or other services cut off, and such digital
asset could be removed from digital asset exchanges. Any of the aforementioned occurrences could adversely affect the price of
the relevant digital asset, the attractiveness of the respective blockchain network and an investment in the Shares. If the Trust
or the Sponsor or the Trustee were to transact with a sanctioned entity, the Trust, the Sponsor or the Trustee would be at risk
of potential criminal or civil lawsuits or liability.

The Trust takes measures with the objective of reducing
illicit financing risks in connection with the Trust’s activities. However, illicit financing risks are present in the digital
asset markets, including markets for bitcoin. There can be no assurance that the measures employed by the Trust will prove successful
in reducing illicit financing risks, and the Trust is subject to the complex illicit financing risks and vulnerabilities present
in the digital asset markets. If such risks eventuate, the Trust or the Sponsor or their affiliates could face civil or criminal
liability, fines, penalties, or other punishments, be subject to investigation, have their assets frozen, lose access to banking
services or services provided by other service providers, or suffer disruptions to their operations, any of which could negatively
affect the Trust’s ability to operate or cause losses in value of the Shares.

67

The Sponsor and the Trust have
adopted and implemented policies and procedures that are designed to comply with applicable anti-money laundering and
sanctions laws and regulations including applicable KYC laws and regulations. The Sponsor and the Trust will only interact
with known third party service providers with respect to whom it has engaged in a due diligence process to ensure a thorough
KYC process, such as the Authorized Participants, Liquidity Providers, the Bitcoin Custodian and the Additional Bitcoin
Custodian. Authorized Participants, as broker-dealers, and the Bitcoin Custodian, as a limited purpose trust company subject
to New York Banking Law, are subject to the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (as amended) (“BSA”) and