Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
There have been no material changes to the risk factors disclosed in under Part 1, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 24, 2023, except those noted below.
A data breach at the CSPs may result in irreversible losses, which would adversely affect our customers and our business.
The CSPs are responsible for securing the customers’ Cryptocurrency Assets and protecting them from loss or theft.
Access to the Cryptocurrency Assets is controllable only by the possessor of the unique private key(s) relating to the digital wallet in which such Cryptocurrency Assets are held. To the extent any of the CSPs’ private keys are lost, destroyed, unable to be accessed by the CSPs, or otherwise compromised and no backup of such private key(s) is accessible, the CSPs may be unable to access the Cryptocurrency Assets held in the respective wallets. In addition, neither the CSPs nor any cryptocurrency custodian can provide absolute assurance that any or all of the CSPs’ wallets will not be hacked or compromised such that the private keys are obtained by a third-party or otherwise compromised in a manner such that Cryptocurrency Assets are sent to one or more addresses that the CSPs do not control, which could result in the loss of some or all of the Cryptocurrency Assets that the CSPs hold in custody on behalf of our customers.
Eligible customers of IB LLC can enroll to access a digital asset exchange and custody services provided by one or more CSPs to buy, sell and hold Cryptocurrency Assets in an account in the customer’s name at the CSP. IB LLC does not provide execution, custody or safeguarding services for the customers’ Cryptocurrency Assets and does not maintain (or have access to) the cryptographic key information and wallets necessary to access the Cryptocurrency Assets, nor does IB LLC have any legal title or claim to those Cryptocurrency Assets. The agreement the customer signs with IB LLC before the customer is permitted to access the CSP’s services through IB LLC’s platform provides that:
[Customer] acknowledges and agrees that [IB LLC] is not responsible for any trading or other losses (including, without limitation, losses due to theft, fraud, cybersecurity breach, loss of control of private keys, or any other loss arising from trading or holding digital assets with [the CSP]) resulting directly or indirectly from or in connection with [Customer’s] relationship with [the CSP] and/or [Customer’s] trading or holding of digital assets, including activity or holdings in the [CSP] Account.
Eligible customers of IBHK can enroll to trade and hold Cryptocurrency Assets through a relationship IBHK has established with a CSP, which is an SFC-licensed digital asset exchange and custodian. The Cryptocurrency Assets are sub-custodied by the CSP on an omnibus basis for the benefit of the customers of IBHK. IBHK notifies its customers that exchange and sub-custody services are provided by a CSP. IBHK does not maintain (or have access to) the cryptographic key information and wallets necessary to access the Cryptocurrency Assets, nor does IBHK have any beneficial claim to those Cryptocurrency Assets. The CSP is responsible for securing the customers’ Cryptocurrency Assets and protecting them from loss or theft, and the SFC requires the CSP to maintain adequate controls and insurance against the risk of theft or loss of the customers’ Cryptocurrency Assets. The agreement the customer signs with IBHK before the customer is permitted to access digital asset trading provides that:
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable Rules, [IBHK] is not liable to [Customer] for loss arising from or attributable to the insolvency of any [CSP], in the event of hacking or otherwise caused by the default of the [CSP], where [IBHK] has not failed to exercise reasonable care and diligence in the selection, appointment and ongoing monitoring of the [CSP], except (i) such loss arising from the gross negligence, willful default or fraud of [IBHK], or (ii) to the extent prohibited under applicable Rules. Notwithstanding any other provision of these Terms, in the absence of either (a) a failure by [IBHK] to exercise reasonable care and diligence in the selection, appointment and ongoing monitoring of the [CSP], or (b) gross negligence, wilful default or fraud on the part of [IBHK], [IBHK] will only be obliged to return Virtual Assets held for [Customer] with the [CSP] who is insolvent, or which Virtual Assets have otherwise been subjected to loss due to an event of hacking, embezzlement, or theft at the [CSP] or which losses are otherwise caused by the default of the [CSP], solely if and to the extent that those Virtual Assets or equivalent value are recovered by [IBHK] from the [CSP]. Unless otherwise provided under applicable Rules, [Customer] hereby agree[s] not to bring any action against [IBHK] on any claim arising from a loss occurring at the [CSP], in the absence of circumstances
addressed under (a) or (b) above, so long as [IBHK] makes commercially reasonable efforts to assert a claim for recovery against the [CSP].
The CSPs’ failure to safeguard the Cryptocurrency Assets may result in losses to our customers which could have adverse effects on our customers’ confidence in our cryptocurrency offering through CSPs and on our business.
A loss event incurred by a CSP may adversely impact our operating results.
In March 2022, the SEC published Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (“SAB 121”), which provides interpretive accounting and disclosure guidance to entities that have obligations to safeguard crypto-assets held for their platform users, whether directly or through an agent or another third party acting on its behalf. SAB 121 requires an entity to recognize a liability to reflect its obligation to safeguard the crypto-assets held for its platform users and a corresponding safeguarding asset on its balance sheet, even when the entity does not control the crypto-assets.
Even though we are not responsible for the safeguarding of crypto-assets at the CSPs, our customers’ crypto-assets held at the CSPs are deemed to be in scope of SAB 121.
Pursuant to SAB 121, we measure the crypto-asset safeguarding liability and the corresponding safeguarding asset at the fair value of the crypto-assets held by the CSPs for our customers. Because, under the guidance, the measurement of the safeguarding asset shall take into account any potential loss events, if a CSP were to suffer a loss event that impacted our customers’ crypto-assets held by that CSP, then (subject to consultation with the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant) we may be required to recognize a reduction in the value of the safeguarding asset at the time of the CSP’s loss event, without recognizing a corresponding reduction in the value of the safeguarding liability, even though we have no legal obligation to our customers with respect to the crypto-assets held by the CSPs. The recognition of such loss event could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
The summary of the Company’s stock repurchase activity for the three months ended June 30, 2023, is as follows:
| Total Number | Maximum | |||||||
| of Shares | Number of Shares that | |||||||
| Total Number of | Average | Purchased as Part of | May yet be Purchased | |||||
| Shares | Price Paid | Publicly Announced | Under the | |||||
| Period | Purchased | per Share | Plans or Programs | Plans or Programs | ||||
| May 1 - May 31 | Employee Transactions (1) | 436,545 | $77.99 | N/A | N/A |
(1)All shares were repurchased from employees who elected to have shares withheld to satisfy their tax withholding obligations related to the May 9, 2023 vesting of the amended 2007 Stock Incentive Plan. The Company facilitated the sale of these shares in open market transactions. See Note 10 to the condensed consolidated financial statements in Item 1, Part 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for more information regarding the amended 2007 Stock Incentive Plan.
The Company provides employees with two options to pay for their withholding tax obligations which become due when restricted stock units vest: either (1) reimburse the Company via cash payment, or (2) elect to have IBG LLC withhold a portion of the vesting shares. In the case of employees who elect to have the IBG LLC withhold shares to cover their tax obligations, those shares are transferred to IBG LLC, which in turn, sells those shares in open market transactions to recover the amount paid to the tax authorities on the employees’ behalf. During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company sold 436,545 shares of its Class A common stock (with a fair value of $34 million) in open market transactions. The proceeds were used to reimburse the Company for withholding taxes paid by the Company on the employees’ behalf.
On October 13, 2015, the Company filed a Post-Effective Amendment to multiple Registration Statements filed under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended on Form S-8 that registered shares of the Company’s Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, for issuance under the Company’s amended 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). As per General Instruction C of Form S-8, the sale of the shares described above constitutes a resale or reoffer of the Company’s Class A common stock. The Post-Effective Amendment, contains a reoffer prospectus that registers 6,400,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The reoffer prospectus allows for future sales by IBG LLC, on a continuous or delayed basis, to the public without restriction.
ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES
None
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