BIT Mining Limited 20F 2020 Annual report | BTCM Filing

Exhibit 4.69

500.COM LIMITED

2021 SHARE INCENTIVE PLAN

1. Purpose of the Plan

The purpose of the Plan is to aid the Company and its Affiliates in recruiting and retaining key employees, directors or consultants of outstanding ability and to motivate such employees, directors or consultants to exert their best efforts on behalf of the Company and its Affiliates by providing incentives through the granting of Awards. The Company expects that it will benefit from the added interest which such key employees, directors or consultants will have in the welfare of the Company as a result of their proprietary interest in the Company’s success.

2. Definitions

The following capitalized terms used in the Plan have the respective meanings set forth in this Section 2:

(a)

Applicable Laws: All laws, statutes, regulations, ordinances, rules or governmental requirements that are applicable to this Plan or any Award granted pursuant to this Plan, including but not limited to applicable laws of the People’s Republic of China, the United States and the Cayman Islands, and the rules and requirements of any applicable national securities exchange.

(b)

Act: The U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any successor thereto.

(c)

Affiliate: With respect to the Company, any entity directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, the Company or any other entity designated by the Board in which the Company or an Affiliate has an interest.

(d)

Award: An Option, Restricted Share or Other Share-Based Award granted pursuant to the Plan.

(e)

Beneficial Owner: A “beneficial owner”, as such term is defined in Rule 13d-3 under the Act (or any successor rule thereto).

(f)

Board: The Board of Directors of the Company.

(g)

Change in Control: The occurrence of any of the following events:

(i)the sale or disposition, in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all, of the assets of the Company to any “person” or “group” (as such terms are defined in Sections 13(d)(3) or 14(d)(2) of the Act) other than the Permitted Holders;

(ii)any person or group, other than the Permitted Holders, is or becomes the Beneficial Owner (except that a person shall be deemed to have “beneficial ownership” of all shares that any such person has the right to acquire, whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time), directly or indirectly, of more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the voting shares of the Company (or any entity which controls the Company), including by way of merger, consolidation, tender or exchange offer or otherwise; or

(iii)during any period of two (2) consecutive years, individuals who at the beginning of such period constituted the Board (together with any new directors whose election by such Board or whose nomination for election by the shareholders of the Company was approved by a vote of a

majority of the directors of the Company, then still in office, who were either directors at the beginning of such period or whose election or nomination for election was previously so approved) cease for any reason to constitute a majority of the Board, then in office.

(h)

Code: The U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or any successor thereto.

(i)

Committee: The Compensation Committee of the Board, or in the absence of such committee, the Chairman of the Board, except with regard to Options issued to the Chairman, in which case the Board shall be the Committee.

(j)

Company: 500.com Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands.

(k)

Effective Date: The date the Board approves the Plan, or such later date as is designated by the Board.

(l)

Employment: The term “Employment” as used herein shall be deemed to refer to (i) a Participant’s employment if the Participant is an employee of the Company or any of its Affiliates, (ii) a Participant’s services as a consultant, if the Participant is consultant to the Company or its Affiliates and (iii) a Participant’s services as an non-employee director, if the Participant is a non-employee member of the Board.

(m)

Fair Market Value: On a given date, (i) if there should be a public market for the Shares on such date, the arithmetic mean of the high and low prices of the Shares as reported on such date on the Composite Tape of the principal national securities exchange on which such Shares are listed or admitted to trading, or, if no sale of Shares shall have been reported on the Composite Tape of any national securities exchange on such date, then the immediately preceding date on which sales of the Shares have been so reported or quoted shall be used, or (ii) if there should not be a public market for the Shares on such date, the Fair Market Value shall be the value established by the Committee in good faith.

(n)

Other Share-Based Awards: Awards granted pursuant to Section 8 of the Plan.

(o)

Option: A share option granted pursuant to Section 6 of the Plan.

(p)

Option Price: The purchase price per Share of an Option, as determined pursuant to Section 6(a) of the Plan.

(q)

Participant: An employee, director or consultant who is selected by the Committee to participate in the Plan. To the extent required by Applicable Laws, Awards may be limited to employees and officers or employees and directors.

(r)

Permitted Holder: As of the date of determination, (i) the Company or (ii) any employee benefit plan (or trust forming a part thereof) maintained by (A) the Company or (B) any corporation or other Person of which a majority of its voting power of its voting equity securities or equity interest is owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company.

(s)

Person: A “person”, as such term is used for purposes of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Act (or any successor section thereto).

(t)

Plan: This 500.com Limited 2021 Share Incentive Plan.

(u)

Restricted Share: A Restricted Share granted pursuant to Section 7 of the Plan.

(v)

Shares: Ordinary shares of the Company.

(y)

Subsidiary: A corporation or other entity of which a majority of the outstanding voting shares or voting power is beneficially owned directly or indirectly by the Company.

3. Shares Subject to the Plan

The total number of Shares which may be issued under the Plan shall not exceed 12% of the issued and outstanding share capital of the Company from time to time (subject to adjustment for share splits, reverse share splits or similar events as set forth in Section 9 of the Plan), on an as-exercised and fully diluted basis. The Shares may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury Shares or Shares purchased on the open market. Shares that are issued upon the exercise of an Award or are subject to Awards which terminate or lapse without the payment of consideration may be granted again under the Plan.

4. Administration

The Plan shall be administered by the Committee, which may delegate its duties and powers in whole or in part to any subcommittee thereof consisting solely of at least two (2) individuals who are intended to qualify as “Non-Employee Directors” within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Act (or any successor rule thereto) and an “independent director” as defined in NYSE Rule 303A.02 Independence Tests (or any successor rule thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time prior to the date on which any equity interests of the Company, including, without limitation, the Shares, have been registered under the Act or any other securities laws, members of the current Board, as of the date hereof, may approve and authorize the Company to make an Award to other members of the Board under the Plan (provided the recipient Board member shall not vote with respect to such Award), and, prior to such registration, the current Board may approve and authorize the Company to make Awards under the Plan to any other employees, directors or consultants of the Company or any of its Affiliates. Awards may, in the discretion of the Committee, be made under the Plan in assumption of, or in substitution for, outstanding awards previously granted by the Company or its Affiliates or a company acquired by the Company or with which the Company combines. The number of Shares underlying such substitute awards shall be counted against the aggregate number of Shares available for Awards under the Plan. The Committee is authorized to interpret the Plan, to establish, amend and rescind any rules and regulations relating to the Plan, and to make any other determinations that it deems necessary or desirable for the administration of the Plan. The Committee may correct any defect or supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in the Plan in the manner and to the extent the Committee deems necessary or desirable. Any decision of the Committee in the interpretation and administration of the Plan, as described herein, shall lie within its sole and absolute discretion and shall be final, conclusive and binding on all parties concerned (including, but not limited to, Participants and their beneficiaries or successors). The Committee shall have the full power and authority to establish the terms and conditions of any Award consistent with the provisions of the Plan and to waive any such terms and conditions at any time (including, without limitation, accelerating or waiving any vesting conditions). The Committee shall require payment of any amount it may determine to be necessary to withhold for any applicable taxes as a result of the exercise, grant or vesting of an Award. Unless the Committee specifies otherwise, the Participant may elect to pay a portion or all of such withholding taxes by (a) delivery in Shares or (b) having Shares withheld by the Company from any Shares that would have otherwise been received by the Participant.

5. Limitations

No Award may be granted under the Plan after the tenth (10^th) anniversary of the Effective Date, but Awards theretofore granted may extend beyond that date.

6. Terms and Conditions of Options

Options granted under the Plan shall be subject to the foregoing and the following terms and conditions and to such other terms and conditions, not inconsistent therewith, as the Committee shall determine:

(a)

Option Price. The Option Price per Share shall be determined by the Committee, and unless specifically approved by the Board, shall not be less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date an Option is granted.

(b)

Exercisability. Options granted under the Plan shall be exercisable at such time and upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Committee, but in no event shall an Option be exercisable more than ten (10) years after the date it is granted.

(c)

Exercise of Options. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan or in an Award agreement, an Option may be exercised for all, or from time to time any part, of the Shares for which it is then exercisable. For purposes of this Section 6, the exercise date of an Option shall be the later of the date a notice of exercise is received by the Company and, if applicable, the date payment is received by the Company pursuant to clauses (i), (ii), (iii) or (iv) in the following sentence. The purchase price for the Shares as to which an Option is exercised shall be paid to the Company in full at the time of exercise at the election of the Participant (i) in cash or its equivalent (e.g., by check), (ii) to the extent permitted by the Committee, in Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the aggregate Option Price for the Shares being purchased and satisfying such other requirements as may be imposed by the Committee; provided, that such Shares have been held by the Participant for no less than six (6) months (or such other period as established from time to time by the Committee in order to avoid adverse accounting treatment applying generally accepted accounting principles), (iii) partly in cash and, to the extent permitted by the Committee, partly in such Shares or (iv) if there is a public market for the Shares at such time, through the delivery of irrevocable instructions to a broker to sell Shares obtained upon the exercise of the Option and to deliver promptly to the Company an amount out of the proceeds of such Sale equal to the aggregate Option Price for the Shares being purchased. No Participant shall have any rights to dividends or other rights of a shareholder with respect to Shares subject to an Option until the Participant has given written notice of exercise of the Option, paid in full for such Shares and, if applicable, has satisfied any other conditions imposed by the Committee pursuant to the Plan.

(d)

Nonqualified Options. Options granted under the Plan are not intended to be “incentive stock options”, and are accordingly all “nonqualified stock options”, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code (or any successor section thereto).

(e)

Attestation. Wherever in this Plan or any agreement evidencing an Award a Participant is permitted to pay the Option Price of an Option or taxes relating to the exercise of an Option by delivering Shares, the Participant may, subject to procedures satisfactory to the Committee, satisfy such delivery requirement by presenting proof of beneficial ownership of such Shares, in which case the Company shall treat the Option as exercised without further payment and shall withhold such number of Shares from the Shares acquired by the exercise of the Option.

7. Terms and Conditions of Restricted Shares

(a)

Grants. Restricted Shares may be granted in the form of Shares or share units having a value equal to an identical number of Shares. The employment conditions and the length of the period for vesting of Restricted Shares shall be established by the Committee at the time of grant. In the event that a share certificate is issued in respect of Restricted Shares, such certificate shall be registered in the name of the Participant but shall be held by the Company until the end of the restricted period. During the restricted period, Restricted Shares may not be sold, assigned, transferred or otherwise disposed of, or pledged or hypothecated as collateral for a loan or as security for the performance of any obligation or for any other purpose as the Committee shall determine.

(b)

Terms. The Committee shall determine in its sole discretion whether Restricted Shares granted in the form of share units shall be paid in cash, Shares, or a combination of cash and Shares.

8. Other Share-Based Awards

The Committee, in its sole discretion, may grant or sell Awards of Shares and Awards that are valued in whole or in part by reference to, or are otherwise based on the Fair Market Value of, Shares (“Other Share-Based Awards”). Such Other Share-Based Awards shall be in such form, and dependent on such conditions, as the Committee shall determine, including, without limitation, the right to receive, or vest with respect to, one or more Shares (or the equivalent cash value of such Shares) upon the completion of a specified period of service, the occurrence of an event and/or the attainment of performance objectives. Other Share-Based Awards may be granted alone or in addition to any other Awards granted under the Plan. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee shall determine to whom and when Other Share-Based Awards will be made, the number of Shares to be awarded under (or otherwise related to) such Other Share-Based Awards; whether such Other Share-Based Awards shall be settled in cash, Shares or a combination of cash and Shares; and all other terms and conditions of such Awards (including, without limitation, the vesting provisions thereof and provisions ensuring that all Shares so awarded and issued shall be fully paid and non-assessable).

9. Adjustments Upon Certain Events

Notwithstanding any other provisions in the Plan to the contrary, the following provisions shall apply to all Awards granted under the Plan:

(a)

Generally. In the event of any change in the outstanding Shares after the Effective Date by reason of any Share dividend or split, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination, combination or transaction or exchange of Shares or other corporate exchange, or any distribution to shareholders of Shares other than regular cash dividends or any transaction similar to the foregoing, the Committee in its sole discretion and without liability to any person shall make such substitution or adjustment, if any, as it deems to be equitable, as to (i) the number or kind of Shares or other securities issued or reserved for issuance pursuant to the Plan or pursuant to outstanding Awards, (ii) the maximum number of Shares for which Options or Restricted Shares may be granted during a calendar year to any Participant, (iii) the maximum number of Shares for which Other Share-Based Awards may be granted during a calendar year to any Participant, (iv) the maximum amount of an Award that is valued in whole or in part by reference to, or is otherwise based on the Fair Market Value of, Shares that may be granted during a calendar year to any Participant, (v) the Option Price of outstanding Awards and/or (vi) any

other affected terms of such Awards.

(b)

Change in Control. In the event of a Change in Control after the Effective Date, (i) if determined by the Committee in the applicable Award agreement or otherwise, any outstanding Awards then held by Participants which are unexercisable or otherwise unvested or subject to lapse restrictions shall automatically be deemed exercisable or otherwise vested or no longer subject to lapse restrictions, as the case may be, as of immediately prior to such Change in Control and (ii) the Committee may, but shall not be obligated to, (x) cancel such Awards for fair value (as determined in the sole discretion of the Committee) which, (A) in the case of Options, may equal the excess, if any, of value of the consideration to be paid in the Change in Control transaction to holders of the same number of Shares subject to such Options (or, if no consideration is paid in any such transaction, the Fair Market Value of the Shares subject to such Options) over the aggregate Option Price of such Options or (B) in the case of Restricted Shares, may equal the value of the consideration to be paid in the Change in Control transaction to holders of the same number of Shares (or, if no consideration is paid in any such transaction, the Fair Market Value of the Restricted Shares) or (y) provide for the issuance of substitute Awards that will substantially preserve the otherwise applicable terms of any affected Awards previously granted hereunder as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion or (z) provide that for a period of at least fifteen (15) days prior to the Change in Control, such Options shall be exercisable as to all Shares subject thereto and that upon the occurrence of the Change in Control, such Options shall terminate and be of no further force and effect.

10. No Right to Employment or Awards

The granting of an Award under the Plan shall impose no obligation on the Company or any Affiliate to continue the Employment of a Participant and shall not lessen or affect the Company’s or Affiliate’s right to terminate the Employment of such Participant. No Participant or other Person shall have any claim to be granted any Award, and there is no obligation for uniformity of treatment of Participants, or holders or beneficiaries of Awards. The terms and conditions of Awards and the Committee’s determinations and interpretations with respect thereto need not be the same with respect to each Participant (whether or not such Participants are similarly situated).

11. Successors and Assigns

The Plan shall be binding on all successors and assigns of the Company and a Participant, including without limitation, the estate of such Participant and the executor, administrator or trustee of such estate, or any receiver or trustee in bankruptcy or representative of the Participant’s creditors.

12. Nontransferability of Awards

Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, an Award shall not be transferable or assignable by the Participant otherwise than by will or by the laws of descent and distribution. An Award exercisable after the death of a Participant may be exercised by the legatees, personal representatives or distributees of the Participant.

13. Amendments or Termination

The Board may amend, alter or discontinue the Plan, but no amendment, alteration or discontinuation shall be made, (a) if so required under Applicable Laws, without the approval of the shareholders of the Company, if such action would (except as is provided in Section 9 of the Plan), increase the total number of Shares reserved for the purposes of the Plan or change the maximum number of Shares for which

Awards may be granted to any Participant or (b) without the consent of a Participant, if such action would diminish any of the rights of the Participant under any Award theretofore granted to such Participant under the Plan; provided, however, that the Committee may amend the Plan in such manner as it deems necessary to permit the granting of Awards meeting the requirements of any Applicable Laws.

Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to the extent applicable, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Plan and Awards issued hereunder shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code and Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including without limitation any such regulations or other guidance that may be issued after the Effective Date. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that the Committee determines that any amounts payable hereunder will be taxable to a Participant under Section 409A of the Code and related Department of Treasury guidance prior to payment to such Participant of such amount, the Company may (a) adopt such amendments to the Plan and Awards and appropriate policies and procedures, including amendments and policies with retroactive effect, that the Committee determines necessary or appropriate to preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided by the Plan and Awards hereunder and/or (b) take such other actions as the Committee determines necessary or appropriate to comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

14. Jurisdictions

In order to assure the viability of Awards granted to Participants employed in various jurisdictions, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for such special terms as it may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy or custom applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides or is employed. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to, amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of the Plan as in effect for any other purpose; provided, however, that no such supplements, restatements or alternative versions shall increase the Share limitation contained in Section 3 of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted that would violate any Applicable Laws.

15. Distribution of Shares

The obligation of the Company to make payments in Shares pursuant to an Award shall be subject to all Applicable Laws and to any such approvals by government agencies as may be required. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Shares distributed pursuant to an Award may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury Shares or Shares purchased on the open market. Additionally, in the discretion of the Committee, American Depository Shares may be distributed in lieu of Shares in settlement of any Award, provided that the American Depository Shares shall be of equal value to the Shares that would have otherwise been distributed. If the number of Shares represented by an American Depository Share is other than on a one-to-one basis, the limitations of Section 3 of the Plan shall be adjusted to reflect the distribution of American Depository Shares in lieu of Shares.

16. Taxes

No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Participant until such Participant has made arrangements acceptable to the Committee for the satisfaction of any income and employment tax withholding obligations under any Applicable Laws, in particular, the tax laws, rules, regulations and government orders of the People’s Republic of China or the U.S. federal, state or other local tax laws, as applicable. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy federal, state, local and foreign taxes (including the Participant’s payroll tax obligations, if any) required to be withheld

under any Applicable Laws with respect to any Award issued to the Participant hereunder. The Committee may in its discretion and in satisfaction of the foregoing requirement allow a Participant to elect to have the Company withhold Shares otherwise issuable under an Award (or allow the return of Shares) having a Fair Market Value equal to the sums required to be withheld. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be withheld with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of any Award (or which may be repurchased from the Participant after such Shares were acquired with respect to such Award by the Participant from the Company) in order to satisfy the Participant’s federal, state, local and other income and payroll tax liabilities with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of the Award shall, unless specifically approved by the Committee, be limited to the number of Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding or repurchase equal to the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the minimum statutory withholding rates for federal, state, local and other income tax any payroll tax purposes that are applicable to such taxable income.

17. Choice of Law

The Plan shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the state of New York.

18. Effectiveness of the Plan

The Plan shall be effective as of the Effective Date and shall terminate ten (10) years later, subject to earlier termination by the Board pursuant to Section 13 of the Plan.

Positive
Negative
Uncertain
Constraining
Legalese
Litigous
Readability	H.S. junior Avg

BIT Mining Limited (BTCM) 20-F2020 FY Annual report (foreign)

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