RELATED PARTY TRANSACTION POLICY V8
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTION POLICY
VERSION 8.0 | MARCH 2026
GROOVY COMPANY, INC. DBA OTCM PROTOCOL
Wyoming Corporation | CIK: 1499275 | OTC: GROO
12 Daniel Rd East, Fairfield, NJ 07004
SEC Category 1 Model B | Release No. 33-11412 (Binding) | BOARD APPROVED
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Document ID |
OTCM-POL-RPT-001 |
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Effective Date |
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Classification |
CONFIDENTIAL |
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Approved By |
Board of Directors |
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Legal Entity |
Groovy Company, Inc. dba OTCM Protocol |
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Governing Law |
Federal Securities Law, Wyoming Business Corporation Act, and New Jersey State Law |
π TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Article I: Purpose and Scope
Article II: DefinitionsArticle III: Identification of Related Party TransactionsArticle IV: Review and Approval ProceduresArticle V: Standards for ApprovalArticle VI: Platform-Specific TransactionsArticle VII: Ongoing MonitoringArticle VIII: Disclosure RequirementsArticle IX: Prohibited TransactionsArticle X: Ratification of TransactionsArticle XI: Administration and Recordkeeping
π― ARTICLE I: PURPOSE AND SCOPE
Section 1.1 β Purpose
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Section 1.2 β Regulatory Framework
This Policy is adopted pursuant to and in compliance with:
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Description |
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Item | 404, Regulation S-K |
Related Party Transaction Disclosure |
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Section 13(k) |
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Prohibition on Personal Loans to Directors/Officers |
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Rule 10b-5 |
Prohibition on Fraud in Connection with Securities |
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| Wyoming Business Corporation Act |
Fiduciary duties of directors and officers |
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| ASC 850 |
Related Party Disclosures (GAAP) |
Section 1.3 β Scope
This Policy applies to all Related Party Transactions involving the Company, including:
π’ Transactionstransactions with theCompany'Companyβs directoperationsπ Transactions involvingoperations, the OTCM Protocolplatformπͺ Transactions involvingplatform, OTCM UtilityTokensπ Transactions involvingTokens, ST22SecurityDigitalTokensπ¦ Transactions withSecurities, Empire Stock Transfer or other custodypartnersπ€partners,Transactions withand issuers on the OTCM Protocolplatform
π ARTICLEArticle II: DEFINITIONSDefinitions
Section 2.1 β Related Party
π€ Individual Related Parties
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Definition |
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Directors |
Any director of the Company | ||
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Executive Officers |
Any executive officer | ||
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Director Nominees |
Any nominee for election as a director | ||
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5% Shareholders |
Any beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of | ||
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Immediate Family |
Immediate family members of any of the above |
π’ Entity Related Parties
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Definition |
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Controlled Entities |
Any entity in which a Related Party has a direct or indirect material interest | ||
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Affiliated Companies |
Any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the Company | ||
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Employment Entities |
Any entity employing a Related Party as an executive officer | ||
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Investment Entities |
Any entity in which a Related Party holds a 10%+ ownership interest |
Section 2.2 β Immediate Family Member
AnIncludes "Immediate Family Member" includes:
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Section 2.3 β Related Party Transaction
β The Company (or any subsidiary)subsidiary is, was, or will be aparticipantβparticipant;The(b) the aggregate amount involved exceeds $120,000β000;Anyand (c) any Related Party has, had, or will have a direct or indirect materialinterest
π
Examples A All directors and executive officers must complete an annual questionnaire ST22 Timing Before entering the transaction Within 10 business days Within 10 business days Before entering any transaction Within 5 business days The Approval Authority < $120,000 Not subject to Policy (but must be disclosed if material) $120,000 Chief Executive Officer + $500,001 Audit Committee > $1,000,000 Full Board of Directors Any Compensation Committee or Full Board Any Full Board (excluding CEO) Related Party must recuse from voting on For time-sensitive Chair of Audit Committee may grant preliminary Whether there is a legitimate business reason for the transaction Whether the terms are fair and reasonable to the Company Whether terms are comparable to Whether the transaction serves the The materiality of the Related The extent of any actual or apparent conflict of interest Availability of alternative transactions or sources Impact on required SEC disclosures For transactions exceeding $500, Conditions Compensation Compensation approved by Compensation Committee Reimbursements Expense reimbursements pursuant to Company policy Banking Services Banking services at prevailing market rates D&O Insurance Charitable Contributions Matching gifts per Company program (< $25,000) De Minimis Token Transactions Approval Requirement Audit Committee approval for any platform transaction Audit Committee approval for any platform transaction Disclosure + CEO/ Disclosure + CEO/ Transaction Type Approval Requirement Per standard thresholds (Article IV) Secondary market purchases > $120,000 Per standard thresholds Token grants to Related Parties Compensation Committee Transaction Type Approval Requirement Purchase of ST22 Audit Committee Liquidity provision to Global Pool > $120,000 Audit Committee Participation in issuer onboarding Full Board if Related Party involved Approval Requirement Standard Empire custody fees Deemed pre-approved (qualified custodian standard terms) Modified fee arrangements New service agreements > $120,000 Per standard thresholds Equity or partnership arrangements with Empire Full Board Software licensing from a Related Party requires Audit Committee approval. Development Intellectual property licensing requires Full Board approval. Patrick Mokros serves as both OTCM Protocol COO and President of Empire Stock Transfer. All transactions between the Company and Empire are automatically classified as Related Party Transactions and require review under this Policy. The Audit Committee shall conduct quarterly reviews The Audit Committee shall For blockchain-based transactions, the Company Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K (Proxy Statement / Form 10- K), Item 404(b) proxy), Form 8-K required), and Form S-1/S-3 Recipient Timing Audit Committee Next scheduled meeting Board of Directors Quarterly Full Board Annually Audit Committee Chair Immediately The following Company-supported margin arrangements for Related Party The following Related Party as The following family members (Compensation Committee Officer; (2) Compliance Officer reports to Audit Committee Chair; (3) Audit Committee reviews at next meeting material; (4) Committee determines whether to ratify, modify, or Related Party acted in good Transaction must be unwound if practicable Related Party may be required to disgorge benefits Transaction must still be disclosed if material Responsible parties subject to disciplinary action Legal Distributing and collecting annual questionnaires Identifying potential Related Party Transactions Maintaining database of Related Parties and transactions Preparing materials for Audit Committee review Providing training on Policy requirements Monitoring blockchain transactions by Related Parties via Chainalysis KYT + TRM Labs The following records must be maintained for seven (7) This Policy may be amended at any time by the Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Audit Committee. Material amendments Audit Committee Questions regarding this Policyofinclude: Related Party Transactions:
πΌ CategoryExamplesπ° FinancialLoans,loans, guarantees, investments, capital contributionsπ’contributions; PropertySales,sales, leases, licenses of real or personal propertyπproperty; ServicesConsulting,consulting, employment, professional services agreementsπagreements; PlatformIssuerissuer agreements, tokenST22 Digital Securities purchases, liquidity provisionπ€ BusinessJointon CEDEX; joint ventures, partnerships, profit-sharing arrangementsπ³arrangements; CompensationCompensationand compensation arrangements outside normal coursecourse.Section 2.4 β Material Interest
"βMaterial Interest"Interestβ means a direct or indirect interest in a transaction that is significant enough that it would, or reasonably could,to affect a Related Party'Partyβs judgment or actions with respect to the transaction.
βactions. NOT Consideredconsidered Materialmaterial: Interest:
ExclusionThresholdπ― Directordirector of both partiesWithout without other relationshipπrelationship, Equityequity ownershipLess less than 10% of entityπΌentity, Limitedlimited partnerWithout without management rolerole, passive institutional investor.
π¦InstitutionalinvestorPassive investment only
π ARTICLEArticle III: IDENTIFICATIONIdentification OFof RELATEDRelated PARTYParty TRANSACTIONSTransactionsSection 3.1 β
Director and OfficerAnnual Questionnairesidentifying:π Information RequiredDescriptionπ¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ Family MembersImmediateimmediate family members and their employmentπ’employment, AffiliationsBusinessbusiness affiliations and directorshipsπdirectorships, InvestmentsMaterialmaterial investments in other entitiesπentities, Platform RelationshipsRelationshipsrelationships with OTCM Protocol issuersπ³issuers, Wallet HoldingstokenDigital Securities and OTCM Utility Token holdingsπ€ Potential(including TransactionsKnownSolana wallet addresses), and known potential Related Party TransactionsTransactions.Section 3.2 β Ongoing Disclosure
Obligations
π Trigger Event
π New potential Related Party Transaction
π Changes in ownership or affiliations
π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ Changes in immediate family circumstances
π New relationships with platform issuers
π³ Significant changes in ST22 or OTCM token holdings
Section 3.3 β Management Review
Chief FinancialCompliance Officer andshall Chief Legal Officer shall:
π DutyFrequencyπ Reviewreview questionnaire responsesAnnuallyπ Monitorannually, monitor transaction recordsQuarterlyπ Reviewquarterly, review CEDEX platform transaction logsMonthlyπ¨ Flagmonthly (including on-chain monitoring via Chainalysis KYT), flag potential Related Party TransactionsOngoingπ Prepareon an ongoing basis, and prepare summary reports for the Audit Committee quarterly.
Quarterlyβ
ARTICLEArticle IV: REVIEWReview ANDand APPROVALApproval PROCEDURESProceduresSection 4.1 β Approval Authority
π° Transaction Value
-β $500,000
Chief FinancialCompliance Officer
-β $1,000,000
amount involvingamount: Director/Officer compensation
amountamount: involving CEO
Section 4.2 β Pre-Approval Requirement
π Pre-Approval Request Must Include:
FieldDescriptionπ€Pre-approval Relatedrequests PartyIdentitymust include: identity of the Related Party and relationshiprelationship, to Companyπ Transaction DescriptionNaturenature and terms of the proposed transactionπ°transaction, ValueDollardollar value or estimatedestimate, valueπ―business Businessreasons, PurposeBusiness reasons for entering into the transactionβοΈ Comparable TermsWhetherwhether comparable terms are available from unrelated partiesπparties, InterestNaturenature and extent of Related Party'Partyβs interestπ‘οΈinterest, ProtectionsProposedand proposed safeguards to protect Company interestsinterests.Section 4.3 β Recusal Requirements
ApplicationVotingapprovalDiscussionRelated Partyapproval, may be asked to leave during deliberationsQuorumRelateddeliberations, Partyis not counted for quorum purposesMinutesRecusalpurposes, and the recusal must be documented in meeting minutesminutes.Section 4.4 β Expedited Approval
transactionstransactions: where(1) full committee/board approval is not practicable:
β‘ StepRequirement1οΈβ£approval2οΈβ£Transactionapproval; (2) transaction must be presented to full committee at next meeting3οΈβ£Fullmeeting; (3) full committee must ratify or rescind within 60 days4οΈβ£Ifdays; (4) if rescinded, Company must unwind the transaction if practicablepracticable.βοΈ ARTICLEArticle V: STANDARDSStandards FORfor APPROVALApprovalSection 5.1 β General Standard
is β
Inin the best interests of the Company and on terms no less favorable to the Company than could be obtained from an unrelated third party.Section 5.2 β Factors for Consideration
The approving body shall consider the following factors:
π FactorConsiderationπ―β’ Business Purpose
π°β’ Fair Value
βοΈβ’ Arm's Lengtharm'armβs length transactions
π‘οΈβ’ Company InterestCompany'Companyβs interests
πβ’ MaterialityParty'Partyβs interest
π«β’ Conflicts
πβ’ Alternatives
πβ’ DisclosureSection 5.3 β Independent Evaluation
000,000, the approving body may require:πa Evaluationfairness TypeWhenopinion Requiredπ° Fairness OpinionSignificant(significant financial transactionsπ’transactions), Independentindependent AppraisalRealappraisal property(real transactionsβοΈproperty), Legallegal OpinionComplexopinion or(complex unusualstructures), structuresπmarket Marketanalysis AnalysisService(service or licensing agreementsπagreements), Technicalor AssessmentPlatformtechnical assessment (platform or technology transactionstransactions).Section 5.4 β Categorical Pre-Approval
The following categories of transactions are deemed pre-approved and do not require individual review:
β
CategoryCategory
Conditions
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π
π¦
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Directors'Directorsβ and officers'officersβ insuranceπ
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ST22/ST22 Digital Securities or OTCM tokenUtility Token purchases < $25,000 at market price on CEDEXπ ARTICLEArticle VI: PLATFORM-SPECIFICPlatform-Specific TRANSACTIONSTransactionsSection 6.1 β Issuer Relationships
π Relationship Type
π Director/Officer of Issuer
π° 5%+ Shareholder of Issuer
π€ Consultant to Issuer
CFOCompliance Officer approval
π¨βπ©βπ§βπ¦ Family Member Connection
CFOCompliance Officer approvalSection 6.2 β Token Transactions
πͺ OTCM Utility Token Transactions
ICOSTO participation > $120,000
π ST22 SecurityDigital TokenSecurities Transactions
tokensDigital Securities > $120,000
Section 6.3 β Custody and Transfer Agent
Relationships
Transactions with Empire Stock Transfer or other custody partners require:
π° Transaction Value
CEO/CFOCEO / Compliance Officer approval
Section 6.4 β Technology and Infrastructure
π§ Transaction TypeApproval Requirementservicesservices, infrastructure hosting, and other technology contracts from Related PartyPerParties follow standard thresholdsInfrastructurethresholds. hosting from Related PartyPer standard thresholdsποΈ ARTICLEArticle VII: ONGOINGOngoing MONITORINGMonitoringSection 7.1 β Quarterly Review
of:π Review ItemPurposeπ Allall Related Party Transactions entered during quarterCompliancethe verificationπquarter, Statusstatus of ongoing Relatedtransactions, Party TransactionsPerformance monitoringπ° Paymentspayments made under Related Party agreementsFinancialagreements, trackingπCEDEX Platformplatform transactions by Related PartiesConflict monitoringπ(including Changeson-chain activity), and changes in Related Party statusstatus.
Updated identificationSection 7.2 β Annual Assessment
conductannually anassess annualthe assessment of:
π Assessment ItemPurposeβοΈ Fairnessfairness of ongoing arrangementsContinuedarrangements, appropriatenessπ Marketmarket comparabilityArm's lengthof verificationπterms, Renewalrenewal decisionsGo-forwarddecisions, determinationπdisclosure Disclosureadequacy, adequacyCompliance verificationπ‘οΈand Policy effectivenesseffectiveness.
Continuous improvementSection 7.3 β On-Chain Monitoring
shallimplements implement:πtracking Monitoring TypeDescriptionπ³ Wallet TrackingMonitorfor registered wallets of Related PartiesπParties, Transaction AlertsAutomatedautomated alerts for significant ST22 or OTCM token transactionsπ Patternvia AnalysisReviewChainalysis KYT and TRM Labs, pattern analysis for unusual transaction patternsπactivity, Quarterlyand ReportsSummaryquarterly ofreports summarizing Related Party blockchain activity on CEDEX.π ARTICLEArticle VIII: DISCLOSUREDisclosure REQUIREMENTSRequirementsSection 8.1 β SEC Disclosure
(registration π Disclosure RequirementLocationKPolicy (policy description in proxyMaterial (material transactions as requiredRegistration statements
elements πstatements). Required Disclosuredisclosure Elements:ElementDescriptionπ€include: Related PartyNamename and relationshipπ TransactionDescription of transactionπ° AmountDollar amounts involvedπ InterestNature of Related Party'sParty, interesttransaction description, dollar amounts, nature of interest, and approval process followed.
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ApprovalApproval process followedSection 8.2 β Financial Statement Disclosure
Related Party Transactions must be disclosed in accordance withPer ASC 850:π DisclosureRequirementπ·οΈ Naturenature of RelationshipDescriptionrelationship, oftransaction relationshipπdescription, Transactiondollar DescriptionDescription of transactionsπ° Dollar AmountsAmountsamounts for each period presentedπ³presented, BalancesAmountsamounts due to/from Related PartiesπParties, TermsTermsand terms and manner of settlementsettlement.Section 8.3 β Internal Disclosure
π Disclosure Type
π¨ New transactions
π Quarterly summary
π Annual report
β οΈ Material developments
π« ARTICLEArticle IX: PROHIBITEDProhibited TRANSACTIONSTransactionsSection 9.1 β Absolutely Prohibited
transactions are PROHIBITED regardless of approval:π«personal Prohibitedloans TransactionBasisπ³ Personal LoansToto directors or executive officers β (Section 13(k)); prohibitionπloan Loanguarantees GuaranteesForfor personal obligations of directors/officersπ°officers; Extensionsextensions of CreditTocredit directorsto ordirectors/officers; executive officersβ οΈ Margin Arrangementstradingtrading.Section 9.2 β Presumptively Prohibited
transactions are presumptively prohibited and may only be approved by the Full Board with documented extraordinary justification:β οΈ Transaction TypeConcernπ’ Solesole SourceWithoutsource without competitive processπ°process; Above-Marketabove-market CompensationTocompensation to Related Party service providersπproviders; Equityequity GrantsTogrants to non-employee Related Parties (outside board compensation)πcompensation; Exclusive ArrangementsExclusiveexclusive platform access arrangements for Related Partiesπ³Parties; Preferentialpreferential TokenST22 AllocationBelow-Digital Securities allocation or below-market token sales to Related PartiesParties.Section 9.3 β Heightened Scrutiny
Transactionstransactions require heightened scrutiny and independent evaluation:πreal Transactionestate TypeAdditionaltransactions Requirementπ’(independent Realappraisal), EstateIndependent appraisalπΌ Employmentemployment of Familyreviewπ€review), Jointjoint VenturesFairnessventures opinionπ(fairness Intellectualopinion), PropertyIndependentintellectual valuationπproperty Platformtransactions Revenue(independent SharingThird-valuation), and platform revenue-sharing arrangements (third-party market analysisanalysis).π ARTICLEArticle X: RATIFICATIONRatification OFof TRANSACTIONSTransactionsSection 10.1 β
Ratification of Pre-Existing Transactionsβ‘ StepAction1οΈβ£Transaction must be(1) promptly reportedreport to Compliance Officer2οΈβ£Chair3οΈβ£(or special meeting if material)4οΈβ£rescindrescind.Section 10.2 β Ratification Standards
For ratification, theThe Audit Committee must determine:β
that: StandardRequirementπ‘οΈthe Company InterestTransactiontransaction is in the best interests of CompanyβοΈthe FairCompany; TermsTermsterms are fair and reasonableπ―reasonable; Goodthe Faithfaithπfaith; DisclosureFailureand failure to pre-approve was inadvertentinadvertent.Section 10.3 β Consequences of Non-Ratification
If a transaction is not ratified:
π¨ ConsequenceActionπβ’ Unwinding
Disgorgement
πβ’ Disclosure
β οΈβ’ Discipline
πβ’ ReviewLegal counselCounsel evaluates potential liabilityπ ARTICLEArticle XI: ADMINISTRATIONAdministration ANDand RECORDKEEPINGRecordkeepingSection 11.1 β Compliance Officer Duties
The Compliance Officer (or designee) is responsible for:
π DutyDescriptionπβ’ Questionnaires
πβ’ Identification
πβ’ Tracking
πβ’ Reporting
πβ’ Training
πβ’ MonitoringSection 11.2 β Recordkeeping
Requirementsyears:π Record TypeDescriptionπ QuestionnairesAnnualannual director/officer questionnairesβ
questionnaires, ApprovalsDocumentationdocumentation of all approval decisionsπdecisions, Meetingmeeting MinutesMinutesminutes reflecting Related Party Transaction discussionsπ³discussions, Transaction RecordsCopiescopies of all Related Party Transaction agreementsπagreements, Blockchain RecordsOn-on-chain transaction logs for ST22 Digital Securities and OTCM token transactionsπtransactions, Disclosureand RecordsSupportingsupporting documentation for SEC disclosuresdisclosures.Section 11.3 β
Policy Amendmentsrequire:π RequirementActionπ ReviewRecommendation toreview, Boardπ³οΈ Boardmajority ApprovalMajorityvote, voteπ’ CommunicationNoticenotice to all Related PartiesParties, and updated acknowledgment.
π AcknowledgmentUpdated acknowledgment requiredSection 11.4 β Questions
and Interpretationπ§Contact: Contact:compliance@otcm.io. compliance@otcmprotocol.com
or requests for interpretation should be directed to the Compliance Officer or Chief Legal Officer.
βοΈAcknowledgment ACKNOWLEDGMENTand AND CERTIFICATIONCertification
I acknowledge that I have received and read the Groovy Company, Inc. dba OTCM Protocol, Inc.Protocol Related Party Transaction Policy. I understand its contents and agree to comply with all of its terms and conditions.
I certify that I have disclosed all relationships and transactions that may constitute Related Party Transactions under this Policy.
I agree to promptly notify the Compliance Officer of any potential Related Party Transaction before entering into such transaction and to update my annual questionnaire as circumstances change.
I understand that failure to comply with this Policy may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination of my relationship with the Company.
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π APPENDIXAppendix A: RELATEDRelated PARTY TRANSACTION APPROVAL REQUEST FORM
πParty Transaction Approval Request Form
Transaction Information
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Response |
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Date of Request |
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Requestor Name |
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Requestor Title |
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Related Party Information
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Response |
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Related Party Name |
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Relationship to Company |
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Nature of Interest |
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Transaction Details
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Response |
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Description of Transaction |
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Estimated Value |
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Business Purpose |
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βοΈ
Fairness
Analysis
Field
Response
Comparable Terms Available?
β Yes
β
No
If
Yes, Describe Alternatives
Basis for Determining Fairness
π
Attachments
Internal Use Only
Item
Attached?
β Draft Agreement
β Comparable Transaction Analysis
β Independent Valuation (if applicable)
β Other Supporting Documentation
FOR INTERNAL USE ONLYField
Response
Field
Response
Approval Authority
Date Reviewed
Decision
β[ ] Approved β[ ] Denied β[ ] Approved with Modifications
Conditions (if any)
Approver Signature
OTCM Protocol, Inc. A
Wyoming
Digital
Asset
Corporation
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Comparable Terms Available? |
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Basis for Determining Fairness |
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π
Attachments
Internal Use Only
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FOR INTERNAL USE ONLYField
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Response |
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Approval Authority |
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Date Reviewed |
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Decision |
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Conditions (if any) |
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Approver Signature |
OTCM Protocol, Inc. A
π SEC Category 1 Issuer-Sponsored Tokenized Securities Infrastructure
Document Information
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Field |
Value |
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Document |
OTCM-POL-RPT-001 |
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Version |
8.0 |
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Effective Date |
March 2026 |
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Legal Entity |
Groovy Company, Inc. dba OTCM Protocol |
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Entity Type |
Wyoming Corporation |
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Governing Law |
Federal Securities Law, Wyoming Business Corporation Act, and New Jersey State Law |
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Approved By |
Board of Directors |
Β© 2026 Groovy Company, Inc. dba OTCM Protocol | All Rights Reserved | CONFIDENTIAL