Company: HODL
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000930413-25-000995
Chunk: 3

Company: VanEck Bitcoin ETF
Filing Date: 2025-03-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 3
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transactions sequentially into files called “blocks,” which requires performing computational work to solve a cryptographic
puzzle set by the Bitcoin network’s software protocol. Because each solved block contains a reference to the previous block,
they form a chronological “chain” back to the first bitcoin transaction. Copies of the Bitcoin Blockchain are stored
in a decentralized manner on the computers of each individual Bitcoin network full node, i.e., any user who chooses to maintain
on their computer a full copy of the Bitcoin Blockchain as well as related software. Each bitcoin is associated with a set of unique
cryptographic “keys,” in the form of a string of numbers and letters, which allow whoever is in possession of the private
key to assign that bitcoin in a transfer that the Bitcoin network will recognize.

Bitcoin must either be acquired through the process of “mining,”
obtained in a peer-to-peer transaction, or purchased through an online bitcoin trading platform or other intermediary, such as
a broker in the

2

institutional over-the-counter (“OTC”) market. Peer-to-peer
transactions may be difficult to arrange, and involve complex and potentially risky procedures around safekeeping, transferring
and holding the bitcoin.

Alternatively, purchasing bitcoin on a bitcoin trading platform requires
choosing a trading platform, opening an account, and transferring funds to the trading platform in order to purchase the bitcoin.
Transactions on exchanges are not ordinarily recorded on the Bitcoin Blockchain. There are currently a large number of bitcoin
trading platforms from which to choose, the quality and reliability of which varies significantly. The value of bitcoin within
the market is determined, in part, by the supply of and demand for bitcoin in the global bitcoin market, market expectations for
the adoption of bitcoin as a store of value, the number of merchants that accept bitcoin as a form of payment, and the volume of
peer-to-peer transactions, among other factors.

Outside of exchanges, Bitcoin can be traded OTC in transactions that
are not publicly reported. The OTC market is largely institutional in nature, and OTC market participants generally consist of
institutional entities, such as firms that offer two-sided liquidity for bitcoin, investment managers, proprietary trading firms,
high-net-worth individuals that trade bitcoin on a proprietary basis, entities with sizeable bitcoin holdings, and family offices.
The OTC market provides a relatively flexible market in terms of quotes, price, quantity, and other factors, although it tends
to involve large blocks of bitcoin. The OTC market has no formal structure and no open-out