EX-4.1 2 clsk-ex4_1.htm EX-4.1

Exhibit 4.1

Description of Securities

CleanSpark, Inc. (“CleanSpark,” “we,” “our” or the “Company”) is incorporated in the State of Nevada. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of our common stock. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the applicable provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) Chapters 78 and 92A and our articles of incorporation and bylaws, each as amended and restated, which are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this exhibit is a part.

General

Our articles of incorporation authorize us to issue up to 300,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share, of which 2,000,000 of such shares are designated as Series A Preferred Stock.

Common Stock

Voting rights. Each holder of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. Our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast at the meeting of stockholders.

Dividends. Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably those dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds. We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the expansion of our business. As a result, we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Liquidation. In the event of the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Rights and preferences. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock, including any series of preferred stock that our board of directors may designate in the future.

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Preferred Stock

Under our amended and restated articles of incorporation, as amended through March 8, 2023, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders (unless such stockholder action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or market on which our securities are then traded), to designate and issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, to fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each wholly unissued series, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding.

Nevada law provides that, in addition to any approval otherwise required and unless such right to vote is specifically denied in a corporation’s articles of incorporation (including any applicable certificate of designation), any proposed amendment to a corporation’s articles of incorporation that would adversely alter or change any preference or any relative or other right given to any class or series of outstanding shares must be approved by the holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of each class or series adversely affected by the amendment regardless of limitations or restrictions on the voting power of the class or series.

Series A Preferred Stock

On April 15, 2015, pursuant to the authority granted under our then-current articles of incorporation, our board of directors designated a series of preferred stock as Series A Preferred Stock, consisting of up to one million (1,000,000) shares, par value $0.001. Under the certificate of designation for the Series A Preferred Stock, holders of Series A Preferred Stock will be entitled to quarterly dividends on 2% of our earnings before interest, taxes and amortization. The dividends are payable in cash or common stock. The holders will also have a liquidation preference on the stated value of $0.02 per share plus any accumulated but unpaid dividends. The holders are further entitled to have the Company redeem each share of Series A Preferred Stock for three shares of our common stock if a change of control event (as defined in the certificate of designation) occurs, and they are entitled to vote together with the holders of the Company’s common stock on all matters submitted to stockholders at a rate of forty-five (45) votes for each share of Series A Preferred Stock held.

On October 9, 2019, the certificate of designation for the Series A preferred Stock was amended to increase the number of shares of preferred stock designated as Series A Preferred Stock from one million (1,000,000) shares to two million (2,000,000) shares.

Anti-Takeover Laws

The NRS contain provisions governing the acquisition of a controlling interest in certain Nevada corporations. Nevada’s “acquisition of controlling interest” statutes (NRS 78.378 through 78.3793, inclusive) contain provisions governing the acquisition of a controlling interest in certain Nevada corporations. These “control share” laws provide generally that any person that acquires a “controlling interest” in certain Nevada corporations may be denied voting rights, unless a majority of the disinterested stockholders of the corporation

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elect to restore such voting rights. These laws will apply to us as of a particular date if we were to have 200 or more stockholders of record (at least 100 of whom have addresses in Nevada appearing on our stock ledger at all times during the 90 days immediately preceding that date) and do business in the State of Nevada directly or through an affiliated corporation, unless our articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect on the tenth day after the acquisition of a controlling interest provide otherwise. These laws provide that a person acquires a “controlling interest” whenever a person acquires shares of a subject corporation that, but for the application of these provisions of the NRS, would enable that person to exercise (1) one-fifth or more, but less than one-third, (2) one-third or more, but less than a majority, or (3) a majority or more of all of the voting power of the corporation in the election of directors. Once an acquirer crosses one of these thresholds, shares which it acquired in the transaction taking it over the threshold and within the 90 days immediately preceding the date when the acquiring person acquired or offered to acquire a controlling interest become “control shares” to which the voting restrictions described above apply. These laws may have a chilling effect on certain transactions if our articles of incorporation or bylaws are not timely amended to provide that these provisions do not apply to us or to an acquisition of a controlling interest, or if our disinterested stockholders do not confer voting rights in the control shares.

Nevada’s “combinations with interested stockholders” statutes (NRS 78.411 through 78.444, inclusive) provide that specified types of business “combinations” between certain Nevada corporations and any person deemed to be an “interested stockholder” of the corporation are prohibited for two years after such person first becomes an “interested stockholder” unless the corporation’s board of directors approves the combination (or the transaction by which such person becomes an “interested stockholder”) in advance, or unless the combination is approved by the board of directors and sixty percent of the corporation’s voting power not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder, its affiliates and associates. Furthermore, in the absence of prior approval certain restrictions may apply even after such two-year period. For purposes of these statutes, an “interested stockholder” is any person who is (1) the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation, or (2) an affiliate or associate of the corporation and at any time within the two previous years was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the then-outstanding shares of the corporation. The definition of the term “combination” is sufficiently broad to cover most significant transactions between a corporation and an “interested stockholder”. These laws generally apply to Nevada corporations with 200 or more stockholders of record. However, a Nevada corporation may elect in its articles of incorporation not to be governed by these particular laws, but if such election is not made in the corporation’s original articles of incorporation, the amendment (1) must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of stock representing a majority of the outstanding voting power of the corporation not beneficially owned by interested stockholders or their affiliates and associates, and (2) is not effective until 18 months after the vote approving the amendment and does not apply to any combination with a person who first became an interested stockholder on or before the effective date of the amendment. We have not made such an election in our original articles of incorporation, and we have not amended our articles of incorporation to so elect.

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Further, NRS 78.139 provides that directors may resist a change or potential change in control of the corporation if the board of directors determines that the change or potential change is opposed to or not in the best interest of the corporation upon consideration of any relevant facts, circumstances, contingencies or constituencies pursuant to NRS 78.138(4).

Listing

The Company’s Common Stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Securities Transfer Corporation. Its address is 2901 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 380 Plano, Texas 75093.

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