MARA Holdings Inc (MARA) 2017 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Marathon Patent Group's Investor Update Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，感謝您的支持。歡迎參加馬拉松專利集團投資人更新電話會議。（操作員指示）

At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Jason Assad, Investor Relations with Marathon Patent Group. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給馬拉松專利集團投資者關係部門的 Jason Assad。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good afternoon, and welcome to Marathon Patent Group's Investor Update Conference Call. With us today are Marathon's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Doug Croxall; and Chief Financial Officer, Frank Knuettel. In addition, Charles Allen, Director of Global Bit Ventures, will be joining us for the Q&A portion of this call.

謝謝您，接線生。下午好，歡迎參加馬拉松專利集團投資人更新電話會議。今天與我們一起出席的還有 Marathon 的創始人兼執行長 Doug Croxall 和財務長 Frank Knuettel。此外，Global Bit Ventures 總監 Charles Allen 也將參加本次電話會議的問答環節。

Before I turn the call over to management, please remember that certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contained in this release relate to, among other things, the effect of the global economic downturn on technology companies; the ability to successfully develop licensing programs and attract new business; rapid technological change in relevant markets; changes in demand for current and future intellectual property rights; legislative, regulatory and competitive developments addressing licensing, enforcement of patents and/or intellectual property in general; and general economic conditions.

在我將電話轉給管理階層之前，請記住，本新聞稿中包含的某些聲明屬於 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所定義的前瞻性聲明。本新聞稿中包含的前瞻性陳述涉及全球經濟衰退對科技公司的影響；成功制定許可計劃和吸引新業務的能力；相關市場的快速技術變革；對當前和未來知識產權的需求變化；涉及許可、專利執行和/或知識產權的立法、監管和競爭發展；以及總體經濟狀況。

They're generally identified by words such as believes, may, expects, anticipates, should and similar expressions. Readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are based upon the company's beliefs and assumptions as of the date of this release. The company's actual results could differ materially due to risk factors and other items described in more detail in the Risk Factors section of the company's filings and reports with the Securities Exchange Commission, copies of which may be obtained at www.sec.gov. Subsequent events and developments may cause these forward-looking statements to change. The company specifically disclaims any obligation or intention to update or revise these forward-looking statements as a result of changed events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release, except as required by applicable law.

它們通常用相信、可能、預期、預期、應該等類似的字眼來表示。讀者不應過度依賴此類前瞻性陳述，這些陳述基於本公司截至本新聞稿發布之日的信念和假設。由於風險因素以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件和報告中「風險因素」部分更詳細描述的其他項目，公司的實際業績可能存在重大差異，該文件和報告的副本可在 www.sec.gov 上取得。後續事件和發展可能會導致這些前瞻性陳述發生變化。本公司明確表示不承擔因本新聞稿發布日期後發生的事件或情況變化而更新或修改這些前瞻性陳述的任何義務或意圖，除非適用法律要求。

Finally, this conference call is being webcast. The webcast link is available on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.marathonpg.com.

最後，本次電話會議正在網路直播。網路直播連結可在我們網站 www.marathonpg.com 的投資者關係部分找到。

With that, I'd like to now turn the call over to Marathon CEO, Doug Croxall. Doug?

現在，我想將電話轉給 Marathon 執行長 Doug Croxall。道格？

Thanks, Jason, and thank you, everyone, for joining us this afternoon to discuss Marathon Patent Group's Investor Update Conference Call.

謝謝傑森，也謝謝大家今天下午加入我們討論馬拉松專利集團的投資人更新電話會議。

We'll be handling this call a little differently than those in the past. Because of the recent announcement in which Marathon had disclosed that it had entered into agreements, which are intended to lead to the acquisition of Global Bit Ventures Inc. following satisfaction of a number of conditions, including shareholder approval to acquire 100% ownership of Global Bit Ventures Inc., a digital asset company that secures the blockchain by mining cryptocurrencies, we want to allow appropriate time to answer questions.

我們處理這次通話的方式與過去略有不同。由於 Marathon 最近發佈公告稱已達成協議，旨在收購 Global Bit Ventures Inc.。在滿足一系列條件之後，包括股東批准收購 Global Bit Ventures Inc. 的 100% 所有權，這是一家透過挖掘加密貨幣來保護區塊鏈的數位資產公司，我們希望留出適當的時間來回答問題。

While today, we're clearly somewhat limited in discussing certain specific anticipated aspects of the contemplated transaction of Global Bit Ventures, we will do our best to try to accommodate. For this reason, Charles Allen will be joining us during the Q&A part of the call to answer general questions about the digital asset mining market.

雖然今天我們在討論 Global Bit Ventures 預期交易的某些具體方面時顯然受到一定限制，但我們會盡力滿足。因此，查爾斯艾倫 (Charles Allen) 將在電話會議的問答環節加入我們，回答有關數位資產挖掘市場的一般問題。

With the increasing difficulty landscape facing the patent monetization market, we previously expressed our intent to review alternative business directions with the goal of enhancing shareholder value. To position the company to be able to pursue other alternative business opportunities required considerable work to be accomplished to reduce the company's existing debt obligations. As such, Marathon entered into an agreement with DBD Credit Funding, which resulted in the retirement of 100% of our long-term debt as well as provided an arrangement with DBD for 3 of our patent portfolios.

隨著專利貨幣化市場面臨的困難日益增加，我們先前曾表示有意審查替代業務方向，以提高股東價值。為了使公司能夠尋求其他替代商業機會，需要完成大量工作來減少公司現有的債務。因此，Marathon 與 DBD Credit Funding 達成了一項協議，該協議導致我們 100% 的長期債務被免除，並且與 DBD 就我們的 3 項專利組合達成了協議。

Under the restructuring agreement, Marathon's existing debt obligation of approximately $16 million was assumed by a newly formed entity controlled by DBD. Marathon was released from further obligation for the debt as well as the funding of all actions related to the transferred portfolios. The transaction was approved by a vote of our shareholders, and the elimination of debt on our balance sheet is expected to be reflected in our annual report since the transaction closed in the fourth quarter.

根據重組協議，馬拉松現有的約 1,600 萬美元債務將由 DBD 控制的新成立的實體承擔。馬拉松不再承擔債務義務以及與轉移投資組合相關的所有行動的資金義務。該交易已獲得我們股東投票批准，自第四季度交易完成以來，我們資產負債表上債務的消除預計將反映在我們的年度報告中。

The restructuring agreement not only allowed for the elimination of the DBD debt but also provides the possibility, under certain circumstances, that Marathon may receive a 30% net revenue share once DBD recovers its costs, certain management fees, repayment of debt amounts and premiums, among other things. The 3 portfolios transferred were Magnus IP, Traverse Technologies and Dynamic Advances. The company retains ownership of its remaining portfolios but has reduced outlays associated with enforcing many of these portfolios in recognition of the changing patent landscape.

重組協議不僅允許消除 DBD 債務，而且還提供了這樣一種可能性：在某些情況下，一旦 DBD 收回其成本、某些管理費、償還債務金額和保費等，Marathon 可能會獲得 30% 的淨收入份額。轉移的 3 個投資組合分別是 Magnus IP、Traverse Technologies 和 Dynamic Advances。該公司保留了剩餘專利組合的所有權，但考慮到專利格局的變化，已減少了執行這些專利組合的相關支出。

Separately, the company entered into an agreement with investors for $5.5 million of convertible debt financing to help fund strategic alternatives and other business pursuits, closing on which is subject to several conditions. The company received approximately $5.5 million in proceeds from its recent offering of securities, of which approximately $3.4 million remains in escrow pending satisfaction of a number of conditions, including approval of the investors to release the funds.

另外，該公司還與投資者達成了一項 550 萬美元可轉換債務融資協議，以幫助資助戰略替代方案和其他業務活動，但該協議的達成需滿足若干條件。該公司從最近發行的證券中獲得了約 550 萬美元的收益，其中約 340 萬美元仍處於託管狀態，等待滿足一些條件，包括投資者批准釋放資金。

The result of the aforementioned agreement with DBD, the reduced operating cash burn, combined with the new investment, resulted in a strengthened balance sheet with fresh capital, positioning Marathon to consummate the recently announced transaction involving Global Bit Ventures. Additional information on the aforementioned events is available in the company's previous Form 8-K and other filings.

上述與 DBD 達成的協議的結果是，營運現金消耗的減少，加上新的投資，導致資產負債表得到加強並獲得新資本，從而使 Marathon 能夠完成最近宣布的涉及 Global Bit Ventures 的交易。有關上述事件的更多信息，請參閱公司之前的 8-K 表格和其他文件。

We believe taking advantage of new technologies spurring a potential evolution in digital transactions conducted on blockchains is a desirable pursuit for the company that has the potential of enhancing shareholder value. Recent reports indicate that the cryptocurrency market as of 2017 is over $242 billion, up from $17 billion in recent years. The primary drivers of this growth include increased worldwide demand for accumulation of digital assets, large new funds entering the market and, to a degree, expected adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency financial and other industry transactions.

我們相信，利用新技術推動區塊鏈數位交易的潛在發展，對於有潛力提升股東價值的公司來說是一項理想的追求。最近的報告顯示，截至 2017 年，加密貨幣市場規模已超過 2,420 億美元，高於近年來的 170 億美元。這一增長的主要驅動力包括全球對數位資產累積的需求增加、大量新資金進入市場以及在一定程度上預期區塊鏈和加密貨幣金融和其他行業交易的採用。

On November 2 of this year, Marathon announced that it had entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire 100% ownership of Global Bit Ventures Inc. Global Bit Ventures currently owns 1,000 GPU mining servers capable of 250 gigahash per second of mining power for the mining of ether on the ethereum blockchain. Over the past few weeks, 700 servers were installed. Of those servers, 300 servers are running and producing revenue while the remaining 400 servers are expected to be generating revenue imminently. The final 300 servers will be assembled and installed and are anticipated to come online shortly.

今年 11 月 2 日，Marathon 宣布已達成最終購買協議，收購 Global Bit Ventures Inc. 100% 的所有權。Global Bit Ventures 目前擁有 1,000 台 GPU 挖礦伺服器，可提供每秒 250 千兆哈希的挖礦能力，用於在以太坊區塊鏈上進行以太幣挖礦。過去幾週內，已安裝了 700 台伺服器。其中，300台伺服器正在運作並產生收入，其餘400台伺服器預計即將產生收入。最後 300 台伺服器將組裝和安裝，預計很快上線。

In addition to the 1,000 servers capable of mining ether, Global Bit Ventures plans to add 14 petahash per second of ASIC hashing servers for the mining of bitcoin. Global Bit Ventures operates in a robust and low-cost data center infrastructure with significant capability for expansion.

除了 1,000 台能夠挖掘以太幣的伺服器外，Global Bit Ventures 還計劃增加每秒 14 千萬億次的 ASIC 哈希伺服器，用於挖掘比特幣。Global Bit Ventures 在強大且低成本的資料中心基礎架構中運營，具有強大的擴展能力。

The contemplated combination, upon completion, would represent one of the only NASDAQ-listed publicly traded pure plays. Specific highlights of the transaction include: robust infrastructure in place, including 1,000 servers with 250 gigahash per second of processing power capable of mining ethereum with a significant capability for expansion; planned addition of 1,300 Bitmain ASIC mining servers capable of mining 14 petahash per second; state-of-the-art cryptocurrency mining facility located in Canada with a cool climate, stable jurisdiction and low energy costs; and accretive transaction expected to result in cash flow positive with gross margins initially expected but subject to market forces of approximately 80%. A balance sheet with no debt and cash flow will be used to purchase additional mining servers and grow operations. We look forward to the closing of the acquisition of Global Bit Ventures in the next few months.

此次擬議的合併完成後將成為納斯達克唯一一家上市的公開交易純企業。此交易的具體亮點包括：現有的強大基礎設施，包括 1,000 台伺服器，處理能力為每秒 250 千兆哈希，能夠挖掘以太坊，並具有顯著的擴展能力；計劃增加 1,300 台比特大陸 ASIC 挖礦伺服器，能夠每秒挖掘 14千萬億哈希；位於加拿大的最先進的加密貨幣挖礦設施，氣候涼爽，司法穩定，能源成本低；增值交易預計將帶來正現金流，毛利率最初預計達到但受市場力量影響約為 80%。沒有債務和現金流的資產負債表將用於購買額外的採礦伺服器和擴大業務。我們期待在未來幾個月內完成對 Global Bit Ventures 的收購。

That concludes my prepared remarks. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Frank, our CFO, for a brief overview of our 2017 third quarter financial results. Immediately after, we will open up the call for an extended Q&A section. Frank?

我的準備好的發言到此結束。現在，我想將電話轉給我們的財務長弗蘭克，讓他簡要介紹我們 2017 年第三季的財務表現。隨後，我們將立即開啟延長的問答環節。坦率？

Thanks, Doug. Looking back at our recently announced third quarter results, we booked approximately $163,000 in revenues for the 3 months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to approximately $610,000 in revenues for the 3 months ended September 30, 2016. We generated the revenue for the third quarter with considerably lower cost of revenues and other operating expenses, which totaled approximately $4.1 million for the 3 months ended September 30, 2017, as compared to approximately $10.3 million for the 3 months ended September 30, 2016.

謝謝，道格。回顧我們最近公佈的第三季業績，截至 2017 年 9 月 30 日的三個月，我們的收入約為 163,000 美元，而截至 2016 年 9 月 30 日的三個月，我們的收入約為 610,000 美元。我們第三季的收入成本和其他營運費用大幅降低，截至 2017 年 9 月 30 日的三個月總計約為 410 萬美元，而截至 2016 年 9 月 30 日的三個月總計約為 1,030 萬美元。

More important than the financial results to the most recent quarter, however, we instituted a number of major initiatives to reduce expenses and outstanding indebtedness. Included in this is the reduction in staff and compensation, cancellation of the DBD indebtedness, cancellation of the remaining convertible debt associated with the October 2014 debt issuance, cancellation of the oil and gas portfolio indebtedness and the buyout of a significant amount of our accounts payable at a discount.

然而，比最近一個季度的財務表現更重要的是，我們採取了一系列重大舉措來削減開支和未償債務。其中包括減少員工和薪酬、取消 DBD 債務、取消與 2014 年 10 月債務發行相關的剩餘可轉換債務、取消石油和天然氣組合債務以及以折扣價收購大量應付帳款。

Cancellation of the DBD indebtedness was the most meaningful of these initiatives and involve the cancellation of approximately $16 million of outstanding debt as well as all revenue share obligations. In return, the company assigned the DBD 3 of the company's portfolios and received the revenue share payable to Marathon from those 3 portfolios after certain future revenue and cost thresholds are met.

取消 DBD 債務是這些舉措中最有意義的一項，涉及取消約 1,600 萬美元的未償債務以及所有收入分成義務。作為回報，該公司分配了公司投資組合的 DBD 3，並在達到某些未來收入和成本門檻後從這 3 個投資組合中獲得應付給 Marathon 的收入份額。

As a result of the debt reduction efforts, we were able to remove all of the historical financing debt from our balance sheet with the only remaining debt being the convertible note we entered into in August of this year in the amount of $5.5 million. At the same time, operating costs have been reduced considerably with such costs being phased in during the fourth quarter of this year. We ended the third quarter of 2017 with unrestricted cash totaling $0.1 million and restricted cash totaling $3.9 million as compared to unrestricted cash of $5 million as of December 31, 2016.

透過減債努力，我們能夠從資產負債表中刪除所有歷史融資債務，唯一剩餘的債務是我們在今年 8 月簽訂的 550 萬美元的可轉換票據。同時，營運成本也大幅降低，並將在今年第四季分階段降低。截至 2017 年第三季度，我們的非限制現金總額為 10 萬美元，限制現金總額為 390 萬美元，而截至 2016 年 12 月 31 日的非限制現金為 500 萬美元。

Turning to capitalization. As of September 30, 2017, we had approximately 7.8 million weighted average basic shares outstanding versus approximately 4.6 million weighted average basic and diluted shares outstanding as of December 31, 2016. Looking forward to the announced merger with GBV, we expect to issue approximately 127 million shares of common stock pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, whereby Marathon's existing shareholders will own 19% of the fully diluted ownership of the combined entity.

轉向大寫。截至 2017 年 9 月 30 日，我們已發行約 780 萬股加權平均基本股份，而截至 2016 年 12 月 31 日，已發行約 460 萬股加權平均基本股份及稀釋股份。展望與 GBV 宣布的合併，我們預計將根據合併協議條款發行約 1.27 億股普通股，其中 Marathon 現有股東將擁有合併後實體 19% 的完全稀釋所有權。

In addition, we expect to be filing a Form S-4 pursuant to proxy filing and shareholder meeting. We expect the shareholder meeting to occur during the first quarter of 2018, at which time Marathon shareholders will, among other standard proxy items included in annual meeting, have the right to vote on the merger agreement with GBV.

此外，我們預計將根據代理備案和股東大會提交 S-4 表格。我們預計股東大會將於 2018 年第一季舉行，屆時馬拉松股東除年度會議中包含的其他標準代理事項外，還將有權對與 GBV 的合併協議進行投票。

Thank you all for your attention. Operator, you may now open the call for questions.

謝謝大家的關注。接線員，您現在可以開始提問了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from [Phil Koprowski], TCS.

（操作員指示）我們的第一個問題來自 TCS 的 [Phil Koprowski]。

(inaudible) deals you worked, the divesting of the debt and the proposed deal you're working with GBV, are you able to give us any kind of guidance on what type of a revenue forecast or when you might be able to break even on the deal with GBV assuming it goes through as planned?

（聽不清楚）您進行的交易、債務剝離以及您與 GBV 合作的擬議交易，您能否給我們任何有關收入預測類型的指導，或者假設交易按計劃進行，您何時可以實現與 GBV 交易的收支平衡？

Phil, this is Doug Croxall. We'd love to give you that guidance, but we simply cannot do that at this time.

菲爾，這是道格·克羅克索爾。我們很樂意為您提供指導，但目前我們無法做到這一點。

Our next question is from [Scott Norrison], who's an investor.

我們的下一個問題來自投資者[Scott Norrison]。

Can you inform us how many employees Marathon currently employs total, full time and part time?

您能告訴我們 Marathon 目前總共僱用了多少名員工（全職和兼職）嗎？

We have 3 current employees with Marathon at this time.

目前，Marathon 共有 3 名員工。

Our next question is from Andrew Pipa, ZMP Trading.

我們的下一個問題來自 ZMP Trading 的 Andrew Pipa。

My question is I'm looking at your press release regarding your Global Bit Ventures acquisition, and I see that you're going to transfer 126 million shares of your current company to purchase this company. My question is the following. I'm doing the math and seeing that the stock trades near $6.5, and you're then effectively paying over $700 million for Global Bit Ventures. I'm wondering, and I know on the call you didn't provide any guidance as far as cash flow except that you would be cash flow positive, but $725 million worth of stock sounds to me like a very large sum of money, and if you could further elaborate on why you're spending so much money acquiring this company.

我的問題是，我正在查看您關於收購 Global Bit Ventures 的新聞稿，我發現您將轉讓您現有公司的 1.26 億股股票來收購這家公司。我的問題如下。我算了一下，發現股票交易價格接近 6.5 美元，而你實際上為 Global Bit Ventures 支付了超過 7 億美元。我很好奇，我知道在電話會議上您沒有提供任何有關現金流的指導，只是說您的現金流為正，但價值 7.25 億美元的股票對我來說是一筆很大的錢，您是否可以進一步解釋一下為什麼要花這麼多錢收購這家公司。

Andrew, this is Doug Croxall. So we can't really get into the discussions of projected revenue and breakeven and cash flow and earnings potential. We're going to be filing the S-4 relatively soon, and I think things will start to be transparent as to the value that we're -- that Marathon is getting in the GBV transaction. But at this point, it's just we're -- we really kind of hands -- our hands are really tied about what we can say to that effect.

安德魯，這是道格·克羅克索爾。所以我們無法真正討論預期收入、損益兩平、現金流和獲利潛力。我們很快就會提交 S-4 表格，我認為 Marathon 在 GBV 交易中獲得的價值將會開始變得透明。但目前，我們真的無能為力，不知道該說什麼。

Can I give a follow-up?

我可以進行後續跟進嗎？

Yes, go ahead.

是的，請繼續。

So you say currently 300 servers are up and running, and you're going to be a pure play. I'm still trying to wrap my hands around the fact that you're going to be paying this exorbitant sum of money. And I know you can't give any revenue guidance or cash flow guidance or anything of that sort, but as a shareholder of the company, I'm scratching my head as to trying to see where the value is really going to be. And if you can provide any guidance whatsoever just -- it's just -- it's hard for me to comprehend.

所以你說目前有 300 台伺服器正在運行，你將成為一個純粹的遊戲。我仍在努力接受你將要支付這筆巨額金錢的事實。我知道你不能給出任何收入指導或現金流指導或任何此類指導，但作為公司的股東，我正在絞盡腦汁試圖了解其真正的價值。如果您能提供任何指導，對我來說很難理解。

And then -- and I see when the announcement was made back in November, the stock was roughly $1 a share, and now it's moved to $6.5. So I'm wondering if there's a possibility of rethinking the amount of shares that you're going to use.

然後——我看到當 11 月宣布這一消息時，股價約為每股 1 美元，而現在已經漲到了 6.5 美元。所以我想知道是否有可能重新考慮您要使用的股份數量。

Yes. No, we're not -- so thank you for the follow-up. We're -- number one, we're not going to comment on what the share price was then, what the share price is now or why the share price may have moved or why it had moved so late after the announcement. And again, I'll just reiterate that we see tremendous value in what we're buying and what the market has to offer going forward, and I think that'll become apparent to the shareholders when the S-4 is filed.

是的。不，我們不是——所以感謝您的跟進。首先，我們不會評論當時的股價是多少、現在的股價是多少、股價為何會變動、或為何在公告發布後這麼晚才變動。我再次重申，我們看到了我們所購買的產品和市場未來提供的產品的巨大價值，我認為當 S-4 提交時，股東們就會明白這一點。

Our next question is from [Navid Darabi], who is an investor.

我們的下一個問題來自投資者[Navid Darabi]。

So our next question comes from [Janelle Smith], [Destined Glam Beauty].

我們的下一個問題來自 [Destined Glam Beauty] 的 [Janelle Smith]。

I basically just wanted to get -- I'm just investing my money into the stock. I read up on it, but I just wanted to just get a description of what it is exactly that the company does and what it has to offer. And when I did read on it, I did see something about patents. So I just want to -- just to get a little bit more confident in what I'm putting my money towards.

我基本上只是想得到——我只是把我的錢投資到股票上。我讀過相關內容，但我只是想了解該公司到底在做什麼以及能提供什麼。當我閱讀它時，我確實看到了一些有關專利的內容。所以我只是想——對我的資金投入更有信心一點。

Janelle, this is Doug. So I would strongly encourage you to read our SEC filings and our investor presentations that are available on our website. Marathon Patent Group has traditionally been in the business of patent licensing. The company that we're buying, Global Bit Ventures, is in a different business, and that is the business of digital assets and cryptocurrency mining. They're very different businesses with very different risk and reward profiles. And so I would encourage you to do a bit of reading to continue to learn about Marathon and Global Bit Ventures.

珍妮爾，這是道格。因此，我強烈建議您閱讀我們網站上的美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件和投資者簡報。馬拉松專利集團傳統上一直從事專利授權業務。我們收購的公司 Global Bit Ventures 從事不同的業務，即數位資產和加密貨幣挖礦業務。它們是非常不同的業務，具有非常不同的風險和回報狀況。因此，我鼓勵您閱讀一些資料來繼續了解 Marathon 和 Global Bit Ventures。

Our next question comes from Brett Reiss with Janney Montgomery Scott.

我們的下一個問題來自詹妮·蒙哥馬利·斯科特 (Janney Montgomery Scott) 的布雷特·賴斯 (Brett Reiss)。

The companies that are doing similar things to the Global Bit Ventures, how many GPUs do they have?

與 Global Bit Ventures 做類似事情的公司有多少 GPU？

So this is Doug. I've got Charles Allen on the line with me as well. I don't know if, though, that information has been made available. I'm not sure what other companies you're referring to. Charles, do you have any knowledge about some of the competitors and what GPUs power they have?

這就是道格。查爾斯艾倫 (Charles Allen) 也和我通了電話。但我不知道該資訊是否已經公開。我不確定您指的是哪些其他公司。查爾斯，你了解一些競爭對手以及他們擁有的 GPU 效能嗎？

There are obviously a lot of other competitors in the space. With respect to public companies, where that information is available for us to research, it's limited. There's one company in Canada -- listed in Canada on the TSX. The ticker is HIVE. I don't recall off the top of my head what the -- what their current number of servers they have and processing power. I could go look it up, but I don't think they're online with a lot of their equipment. So a lot of it is just plans.

顯然，該領域還有很多其他競爭對手。對於上市公司而言，我們能夠研究的資訊是有限的。加拿大有一家公司在加拿大多倫多證券交易所上市。股票代碼為 HIVE。我記不清他們目前有多少台伺服器以及處理能力是多少。我可以去查一下，但我認為他們的許多設備都沒有在線。所以很多都只是計劃而已。

On the private side, companies that own the business just typically do not disclose their operations. So we don't really have color on who are the major players in the private market. They don't make it -- they tend not to make themselves available.

在私人方面，擁有該業務的公司通常不會透露其營運情況。所以我們確實不知道誰是私人市場的主要參與者。他們沒有做到這一點——他們往往不願意讓自己有空。

Mr. Allen, are you going to be mining bitcoin as your cryptocurrency or another cryptocurrency that will compete with bitcoin?

艾倫先生，您打算挖掘比特幣作為您的加密貨幣還是挖掘其他與比特幣競爭的加密貨幣？

So we are currently running 300 servers that are online. We have 700 installed. As Doug mentioned, those servers are GPU-based servers. So they're currently mining ethereum or ether, which is the token on ethereum's blockchain. We plan to add 14 petahash of ASIC servers, application specific-integrated circuits, which could mine on bitcoin's blockchain. Both of those are ASIC and GPU-based servers, can also mine on other digital asset blockchains in addition to bitcoin and ethereum. So those are possibilities as well.

因此，我們目前正在運行 300 台線上伺服器。我們已經安裝了 700 個。正如 Doug 所提到的，這些伺服器是基於 GPU 的伺服器。所以他們目前正在挖掘以太坊或以太幣，這是以太坊區塊鏈上的代幣。我們計劃增加 14 petahash 的 ASIC 伺服器，即專用積體電路，可以在比特幣的區塊鏈上進行挖掘。兩者都是基於 ASIC 和 GPU 的伺服器，除了比特幣和以太坊之外，還可以挖掘其他數位資產區塊鏈。所以這些也都是有可能的。

Right, right. Now do you purchase these servers? Do you lease them? What -- how does that work?

對，對。現在您購買這些伺服器嗎？您租賃它們嗎？什麼——這是如何運作的？

So we purchase the servers, and we have -- on the GPU side, we are having them custom-assembled. The servers that mine bitcoin's blockchain or ASIC servers are typically off the shelf. There's one major company in the space called Bitmain, which is the major supplier of ASIC servers right now. The GPU-based ones you have to basically custom build and configure software yourself.

因此，我們購買了伺服器，並且在 GPU 方面，我們對它們進行了客製化組裝。挖掘比特幣區塊鏈的伺服器或 ASIC 伺服器通常都是現成的。該領域有一家大型公司叫做比特大陸，它目前是 ASIC 伺服器的主要供應商。對於基於 GPU 的軟體，您基本上必須自行自訂建置和設定軟體。

Right. Mr. Allen, how long the company were attempting to -- your company were attempting to purchase, how long have you been doing this? How long has the company been in existence?

正確的。艾倫先生，貴公司嘗試收購多久了，您這樣做多久了？該公司成立多久了？

Doug, I don't -- can we answer that? I don't know if that's been publicly disclosed.

道格，我不知道──我們可以回答這個問題嗎？我不知道這是否已公開披露。

Yes. Brett, I think that information is kind of specific to GBV, and I think we'll want to wait for the S-4 to come out. It'll all be in the S-4. I mean, Charles, if you want to talk about your history, your bio, I think that's fine. But specific to GBV, I'd prefer that, that information be disclosed through the S-4 SEC.

是的。布雷特，我認為這些資訊是針對 GBV 的，我想我們需要等待 S-4 的發布。一切都將在 S-4 中完成。我的意思是，查爾斯，如果你想談論你的歷史、你的傳記，我認為那很好。但具體到 GBV，我更希望透過 S-4 SEC 披露這些資訊。

All right. Tell us a little about yourself, Mr. Allen.

好的。請簡單介紹一下您自己，艾倫先生。

So I've been in the mining business starting in late 2014. I'm the CEO of BTCS, the first public company in the space. And we entered the bitcoin mining space back in the end of 2014 and grew that business from about $30,000 in revenues to, on a trailing basis, just under $1 million. And the market was different at that time. I think the market is much better today than it was then. The price of bitcoin was, around that time, hovering about $200 per -- U.S. per bitcoin. Ethereum was about $7 at that -- during that time frame. So the market is very, very different than it was then. So it's a space I've been in for quite some time.

我從 2014 年底開始從事採礦業。我是 BTCS 的首席執行官，BTCS 是該領域第一家上市公司。我們在 2014 年底進入了比特幣挖礦領域，並將該業務的收入從約 3 萬美元增長到近 100 萬美元。當時的市場情況有所不同。我認為現在的市場比當時好多了。當時，比特幣的價格徘徊在每比特幣 200 美元左右。在那段時間裡，以太坊的價格約為 7 美元。因此，現在的市場與當時相比有很大不同。我已經在這個領域待了很長時間了。

Right. And what attracted you to do this potential deal with Marathon? Were you in discussions with anyone else?

正確的。是什麼吸引您與 Marathon 達成這項潛在交易？您是否與其他人討論過？

The -- when we were approached by -- with this opportunity, it seems -- it seemed like it was a good fit. So we decided to move forward.

當我們接到這個機會時，似乎覺得它很合適。因此我們決定繼續前進。

(Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from [Nick Callibris], who's an investor.

（操作員指示）我們的下一個問題來自投資者 [Nick Callibris]。

I had a question for the acquisition of the company you guys are purchasing. Is there a formula based on how you guys are acquiring it. What's the share price? Is it on a certain date? Is it a weighted average or a certain day period? Or is that undisclosed?

我對你們收購的這家公司有一個疑問。有沒有一個基於你們如何取得它的公式？股價是多少？是在特定日期嗎？它是加權平均值還是某一天的時間段？還是尚未公開？

It was associated and then predicated on a fixed exchange ratio of shares, and that fixed exchange ratio will remain constant or is expected to remain constant.

它與股票的固定交換比率相關並且以此為前提，並且該固定交換比率將保持不變或預計保持不變。

Okay. But with this rising share price now, how has that affected you? I know you can't get into particulars, but I know, typically, it's worked on a weighted day average from a certain date to a certain date or to -- I just find it kind of unbelievable that you guys are going to issue with the amount of shares, unless it's a fixed dollar amount, which then the actual issuance of shares will be altered now, right? I assume that the stock price will be tanking now. I haven't really checked. But based on this conference call, doesn't look too positive. But any guidance or any follow-up on that you can give me?

好的。但現在股價上漲，對您有何影響？我知道你不能說得太詳細，但我知道，通常情況下，它是根據從某個日期到某個日期的加權日平均值來計算的——我只是覺得有點難以置信，你們要發行一定數量的股票，除非它是一個固定的美元金額，那麼實際發行的股票現在就會改變，對嗎？我認為股價現在將會下跌。我還沒有真正檢查過。但根據這次電話會議，情況看起來並不太樂觀。但是您能給我任何指導或後續資訊嗎？

No. I mean, the agreement is the agreement, and we can't go into it.

不。我的意思是，協議就是協議，我們不能深入探討。

I know. But for the 126 million shares, that stands as is? Is there a certain date that, that was agreed upon? And what day it takes this up? You know what I mean?

我知道。但對於 1.26 億股來說，情況就是這樣嗎？有沒有雙方都同意的具體日期？什麼時候會實現這一點？你知道我的意思？

Yes, I understand. It's subject to shareholder approval so it takes effect when the shareholders affirmatively vote to close the transaction. I cannot predict when that will be. We have an SEC process we have to go through. So we're expecting it to occur sometime in January or February. It could take longer. It's just subject to things that are outside of the Marathon and GBV's control. And until you have a chance to see what we're actually buying by reading the S-4, it's really hard to make a determination as to whether we're under or overpaying for something.

是的，我明白。該交易需經股東批准，因此當股東投票贊成完成交易時，該交易即生效。我無法預測那將何時發生。我們必須遵循 SEC 流程。因此我們預計它將在一月或二月的某個時候發生。這可能需要更長的時間。它只是受到馬拉松和 GBV 無法控制的因素的影響。除非你有機會透過閱讀 S-4 來了解我們實際購買的東西，否則很難判斷我們為某樣東西付的錢是少了還是多了。

Our next question comes from [Craig Greenberg], who is an investor.

我們的下一個問題來自投資者[Craig Greenberg]。

Congratulations on your acquisition plans. My question is simply given that I thought I heard there will be about 18% of the combined company in the hands of the Marathon investors and the outstanding shares, at this point, is around 6.8 million, how do we wind up with an additional, I don't know, 15 million or 17 million or 18 million shares? What is the mechanism for that? And how is that calculated? Or maybe I'm missing something.

恭喜您的收購計畫。我的問題很簡單，鑑於我聽說合併後的公司大約有 18% 的股份掌握在馬拉松投資者手中，而目前流通股數約為 680 萬股，我們如何才能獲得額外的 1500 萬股、1700 萬股或 1800 萬股呢？其機制是什麼？那如何計算呢？或者我可能遺漏了什麼。

Sure. So one update is as of the filing of our Q a little more than a week ago, we had 8.7 million shares of stock outstanding. The difference from there is related to all the convertible instruments, which include convertible debt that we entered into in August of this year as well as warrants entered in the December of 2016 financing, among others, and stock options issued to employees, consultants, et cetera. So the difference between the current outstanding number of shares and the totality is related to the convertible instruments.

當然。因此，一個更新是，截至一周多前我們提交 Q 報告時，我們有 870 萬股流通股。差異與所有可轉換工具有關，其中包括我們今年 8 月簽訂的可轉換債務以及 2016 年 12 月融資中籤訂的認股權證等，以及發行給員工、顧問等的股票選擇權。因此，目前流通股數與總數之間的差額與可轉換工具有關。

So is the totality approximately 23 million or 24 million shares and we're at 8.7 million? So then my next question would be with the convertible debt, what is the -- how is the conversion price determined and foreign investors who own it able to convert it on an ongoing basis?

那麼總數大約是 2300 萬股或 2400 萬股，而我們現在有 870 萬股嗎？那麼我的下一個問題是，對於可轉換債務，轉換價格是如何決定的，以及擁有該債務的外國投資者是否能夠持續轉換它？

They are able to convert on an ongoing basis, and it's convertible predicated on the formula embedded in the note agreement itself, which was filed with the SEC and is dependent on the market price or a fixed floor.

它們能夠持續轉換，並且轉換依據票據協議本身中嵌入的公式，該公式已提交給美國證券交易委員會 (SEC)，並且取決於市場價格或固定下限。

Okay. So is there a maximum amount of shares that could actually be -- or I should say, a minimum number of shares that may be created as a consequence of that financing? Could that be available without mine taking it out?

好的。那麼，實際上可以產生的股份數量是否有上限——或者我應該說，透過融資可以產生的股份數量的下限？如果我不用把它取出來，它還能用嗎？

So there's -- turning the equation the other way, there is a maximum number of shares. Theoretically, the minimum number of shares is a variable that declines as the price would potentially increase. So the higher the stock price, the lower the rate.

因此，將等式反過來，就會有一個最大股份數。理論上，最低股數是一個變量，隨著價格的潛在上漲，該變數會下降。因此，股價越高，利率越低。

Okay. So could you tell me? I guess maybe after the call I could find -- you could -- or perhaps direct me to the right documents for -- to be able to read and get a handle on it. I guess my next question is related to the timing of the merger, which I believe you mentioned was several months away because it requires approval by both boards and I guess other requirements. Now this all will be in your S-4. Can we have some estimated time when the S-4 will be available? Is it a month, a week or 2 months? Do you have any sense? Because the information, the financials about the blockchain company aren't available. Will all of that be available at that time so that we can better understand the valuation process and what the prognosis is going forward? Yes.

好的。那你能告訴我嗎？我想也許在通話之後我可以找到 - 您可以 - 或者也許可以指導我找到正確的文件 - 以便能夠閱讀並掌握它。我想我的下一個問題與合併的時間有關，我相信您提到合併還需要幾個月的時間，因為它需要雙方董事會的批准，而且我想還有其他要求。現在這一切都將出現在您的 S-4 中。能否預估一下 S-4 的上市時間？是一個月、一週還是兩個月？你還有什麼感覺嗎？因為有關區塊鏈公司的資訊和財務狀況尚不可用。屆時是否能提供所有這些信息，以便我們更好地了解估值過程以及未來的預測？是的。

Craig, this is Doug speaking. Yes, we've been working on the S-4 around-the-clock, including through the holiday and holiday weekend. We hope to have that on file imminently. I mean, again, it's a little bit outside of our total control as we have auditors and attorneys and boards reviewing everything that we do. But our anticipation is that we'll have the S-4 on file sometime in the next 2 to 3 weeks, roughly, could take longer, could be shorter. And then depending on how -- what kind of review we get from the SEC, we hope to have a shareholder vote, which should be the final approval, sometime in either January or February, preferably.

克雷格，我是道格。是的，我們一直在日以繼夜地致力於 S-4 工作，包括假期和週末。我們希望能夠盡快存檔。我的意思是，這有點超出我們的完全控制範圍，因為我們有審計師、律師和董事會審查我們所做的一切。但我們預計，我們將在未來 2 到 3 週內提交 S-4 文件，大概可能需要更長時間，也可能更短。然後，根據我們從美國證券交易委員會獲得什麼樣的審查，我們希望進行股東投票，這應該是最終批准，最好是在一月或二月的某個時候。

Okay. Will you have a PowerPoint available at the time when you do the filing for the investors to understand this better? Or I guess, you don't know at this point.

好的。您在提交文件時是否會提供 PowerPoint 以便投資者更好地理解這一點？或者我猜，你現在還不知道。

Yes. We -- I mean, we'll have the S-4. We have in -- we have a presentation on Global Bit Ventures that I believe is on web page, so you can certainly download that as well. And we'll keep the investors and the public market informed of other material developments as they occur.

是的。我們——我的意思是，我們將擁有 S-4。我們有——我們在 Global Bit Ventures 上有一個演示文稿，我相信它在網頁上，所以你也可以下載它。我們將隨時向投資者和公開市場通報其他重大進展。

Okay. Well, that's great. I guess the last thing, I would just make a suggestion on the wish list that when you do file, the company files the S-4, perhaps you arrange for another conference call so that investors can ask questions and get better clarification. Thank you very much and wish you good luck and good fortune with this venture.

好的。嗯，那太好了。我想最後一件事，我只想在願望清單上提出一個建議，當你提交文件時，公司提交 S-4，也許你安排另一次電話會議，以便投資者可以提出問題並獲得更好的澄清。非常感謝您，並祝福您這次創業好運連連。

Our next question comes from [Josh Kadif], who is an investor.

我們的下一個問題來自投資者 [Josh Kadif]。

A question for you. In the November 2 press release, there's a stat, and I think you guys repeated it today, that said that GBV currently owns 250 gigahash per second of mining power. I'm just trying to square that with the stuff I'm looking at online. It looks like the base Bitmain Antminer S9, which has a hash rate of 13 terahash per second, which is I think 50x that 250 gigahertz -- gigahash per second, costs less than $2,000. So I'm trying to figure out how your entire server load totals 250 gigahash per second. Am I misunderstanding something there?

問你一個問題。在 11 月 2 日的新聞稿中，有一項統計數據，我想你們今天也重複了它，那就是說 GBV 目前擁有每秒 250 千兆哈希的採礦能力。我只是想將其與我在網上看到的內容進行對比。它看起來像是基本款的 Bitmain Antminer S9，其哈希率為每秒 13 太赫茲，我認為是每秒 250 千兆赫的 50 倍，價格不到 2,000 美元。因此，我試圖弄清楚整個伺服器負載如何達到每秒 250 千兆雜湊。我是不是誤解了什麼？

I think you're confusing the two different -- we have 1,000 servers that will be mining ether. And then we have -- we have planned addition of 1,300 servers that will be mining bitcoin. So I think you're confusing the 250 gigahash, which is for -- those -- that's the GPUs that are mining ether. You're confusing that 250 gigahash per second with what we're going to eventually add on the bitcoin side. Charles, do I have that correct?

我認為你混淆了這兩者——我們有 1,000 台伺服器用於挖掘以太幣。然後我們——我們計劃增加 1,300 台伺服器來挖掘比特幣。所以我認為你混淆了 250 千兆哈希，它是用於挖掘以太幣的 GPU。您把每秒 250 千兆哈希與我們最終要在比特幣方面添加的速度混淆了。查爾斯，我說的對嗎？

That's correct. So the bitcoin mining servers, the Bitmains are quoted in terahash per second. And that's how you get to the -- I think there are about 14 terahash per second for each Bitmain S9, and that adds up to the 14 petahash for the bitcoin. And the 1,000 servers that are GPU servers are approximately 250 megahash per second, which adds up to the 250 gigahash per second. Hopefully, that provides you some clarity.

沒錯。因此，比特幣挖礦伺服器 Bitmains 的報價為每秒太赫茲 (Terahash)。這就是你得到的——我認為每個比特大陸 S9 每秒大約有 14 太赫茲，加起來就是比特幣的 14 拍赫茲。而 1,000 台 GPU 伺服器的運算能力約為每秒 250 兆哈希，加起來就是每秒 250 千兆哈希。希望這能給你一些清晰的體認。

Sure, sure. So you're basically talking about 1,000 of the bitcoin miners and 1,000 of the ether miners. So how much do the ethereum miners -- what's the value of those? What's the cost of those?

當然，當然。所以你基本上在談論的是 1,000 名比特幣礦工和 1,000 名以太幣礦工。那麼以太坊礦工的價值是多少呢？這些要花多少錢？

So it's actually 1,000 of the ethereum miners and should be approximately 1,300 of the bitcoin miners, which -- that's the planned addition. The 1,000 we currently own, of which 700 are installed as of today and 300 are running. So I don't think we've disclosed the costs associated with those. So I don't think we can do that on this call. Doug, unless you disagree.

因此，實際上有 1,000 名以太坊礦工，大約有 1,300 名比特幣礦工，這是計劃中的新增數量。我們目前擁有 1,000 台，其中截至今天已安裝 700 台，300 台正在運行。所以我認為我們還沒有披露與此相關的成本。所以我認為我們不能在這次通話中做到這一點。道格，除非你不同意。

No, we can't get into that kind of minutia, unfortunately.

不，很遺憾，我們不能討論這些細節。

Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of the question-and-answer session. And I would like to turn the call back over to Doug Croxall for closing comments.

女士們、先生們，問答環節已經結束。我想將電話轉回給 Doug Croxall 來做最後評論。

I'd like to thank everybody who has been supportive in following Marathon Patent Group. We're very excited about what we have in front of us with Global Bit Ventures. We've been working around-the-clock to try to get the transaction closed as quickly as possibly. We will provide more information when available, and we look forward to talking to you in the future.

我要感謝所有支持關注馬拉松專利集團的人。我們對 Global Bit Ventures 所面臨的局面感到非常興奮。我們一直在日以繼夜地工作，試圖盡快完成交易。我們將在有更多資訊時提供，並期待將來與您交談。

Thank you.

謝謝。

This concludes today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

今天的會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。感謝您的參與。