The source code of many digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, is public and may be downloaded and viewed by anyone. As with all code, there may be a bug in the respective code which is yet to be found and repaired and can ultimately jeopardize the integrity and security of one or more of these networks.

Should miners for reasons yet unknown cease to register completed transactions within blocks which have been detached from the block chain, the confidence in the protocol and network will be reduced, which will reduce the value of the digital currency associated with that protocol, and the ETP payable balances that are valued with reference to the respective digital asset.

Protocols for most digital assets or cryptocurrencies are public open-source software, they could be particularly vulnerable to hacker attacks, which could be damaging for the digital currency market and may be the cause for investors to choose other currencies or assets to invest in.

Rather than the actual cryptocurrency (which are “stored” on the blockchain), a cryptocurrency wallet stores the information necessary to transact the cryptocurrency. Those digital credentials are needed so one can access and spend the underlying digital assets. Some use public-key cryptography in which two cryptographic keys, one public and one private, are generated and stored in a wallet. There are several types of wallets:

The legal status of digital currencies, inter alia Bitcoin varies between different countries. The lack of consensus concerning the regulation of digital currencies and how such currencies shall be handled tax wise causes insecurity regarding their legal status. As all digital currencies remain largely unregulated assets, there is a risk that politics and future regulations may negatively impact the market of digital currencies and companies operating in such market. It is impossible to estimate how politics and future regulations may affect the market. However, future regulations and changes in the legal status of the digital currencies is a political risk which may affect the price development of the tracked digital currencies.

The perception (and the extent to which it is held) that there is significant usage of the digital assets in connection with criminal or other illicit purposes, could materially influence the development and regulation of digital assets (potentially by curtailing the same).

As technological change occurs, the security threats to the Company’s cryptocurrencies, DeFi protocol tokens and other digital assets will likely adapt and previously unknown threats may emerge. The Company’s ability to adopt technology in response to changing security needs or trends may pose a challenge to the safekeeping of the Company’s cryptocurrencies, DeFi protocol tokens and other digital assets. To the extent that the Company is unable to identify and mitigate or stop new security threats, the Company’s cryptocurrencies, DeFi protocol tokens and other digital assets may be subject to theft, loss, destruction or other attack.