Board appointments

This announcement contains information which, prior to its disclosure, was inside information as stipulated under Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310 (as amended). Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

15 January 2026

DeFi DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION UK PLC

(formerly known as Cykel AI PLC)

(the "Company")

Board appointments

DeFi Development Corporation UK PLC (LSE: DFDV) a Main Market listed company which offers both an AI agent platform that enables businesses to automate tasks through the use of specialised digital workers for sales, recruitment and research as well as a SOL treasury is pleased to announce that Hadley Stern and Nathalie Maggi have been appointed as directors of the Company. Hadley will serve as Non-Executive Chair of the Board and Nathalie will serve as an Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer. The appointments will take effect on 15 January 2026.

Hadley is a veteran executive in digital assets and emerging technologies. He has held senior leadership roles spanning development, innovation, and institutional adoption of blockchain-based solutions. He served as Chief Commercial Officer of Marinade Finance, where he led commercial strategy and partnerships with traditional financial institutions and enterprises expanding to the Solana ecosystem. Hadley continues as an advisor to Marinade Finance.

Hadley's involvement in cryptoassets began in 2014 at Fidelity Labs, where he directed design, development, and product management teams exploring emerging technologies including wearable computing, virtual and augmented reality, mobile applications, and artificial intelligence. He subsequently helped found Fidelity's blockchain and bitcoin incubators and established the firm's digital asset services division. Following this, as Managing Director, Global Head of Digital Asset Custody, Hadley oversaw the launch of the first bank-grade digital asset custody platform at BNY Mellon; served as the chief operating officer at blockchain infrastructure company Bloq; and led the innovation lab at Amazon Web Services.

Nathalie brings over a decade of international finance leadership across fintech and crypto, with deep experience navigating high-growth, regulated, and innovative markets. She served as Senior Finance Manager at Binance for four years, where she worked directly with senior leadership to deliver financial oversight across Europe. Before that, she spent eight years at Blackhawk Network, a global leader in branded payments, where she worked in financial planning, post-merger integrations, and regulatory reporting.

There are no matters requiring disclosure under UK Listing Rule 6.4.8.

Michael Chan, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Hadley and Nathalie to the Board. Both Hadley and Nathalie have exceptional expertise in the digital assets space as well as a wealth of commercial, financial and technical knowledge and experience, strengthening our governance framework and skill sets.

The recent renaming of the Company to DeFi Development Corporation UK PLC, reflects our strong relationship with DeFi Development Corp. (NASDAQ: DFDV), which together with Hadley and Nathalie's appointments marks a definitive step forward in the development of our Solana focused digital asset treasury strategy."

*ENDS*

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