Nikolas Sargeant
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao's family office is spearheading the creation of a specialized BNB treasury company designed to provide institutional investors with exposure to Binance's native token through a planned US public listing. YZi Labs announced Wednesday it will support investment firm 10X Capital in developing this cryptocurrency treasury vehicle.
The "BNB Treasury Company" will pursue a listing on "a major US exchange," according to a statement shared with Cointelegraph. David Namdar, a senior partner at 10X Capital and co-founder of Galaxy Digital, will serve as CEO of the new entity, bringing extensive trading experience from his previous role as co-head of trading at Galaxy Digital.
10X Capital will function as the asset manager for the planned BNB acquisition strategy, following the growing trend of companies accumulating large cryptocurrency positions to provide traditional investors with digital asset exposure.
BNB, formerly known as Binance Coin, represents the native token of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume. The token provides holders with trading fee discounts on the Binance platform and serves as a utility token within the BNB Chain blockchain ecosystem that Binance launched in 2019.
Strategic Partnership Targets Institutional Access to BNB Chain Ecosystem
The initiative reflects growing institutional interest in accessing BNB Chain's extensive blockchain ecosystem. "BNB Chain is one of the most widely adopted blockchain ecosystems," explained Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs. "We believe expanding its institutional access can deliver meaningful benefits to the broader public."
10X Capital founder and CEO Hans Thomas emphasized the opportunity gap in current market access: "BNB Chain is one of the largest, highest performing digital assets ecosystems globally, powering hundreds of millions of users, however, institutional and retail investors in the US have limited exposure to the growth of BNB."
The planned company expects to announce the closing of its related financing "in the coming weeks," indicating rapid progress toward the public listing goal.
Exchange-tied tokens typically serve as vehicles for traders to support cryptocurrency exchanges while providing significant funding sources for these platforms. While Binance launched BNB and offers holder perks, the exchange maintains that it doesn't directly develop the token or blockchain.
CZ's Concentrated BNB Holdings Drive Treasury Strategy
Zhao's personal investment philosophy heavily influences the treasury company's focus. The former Binance CEO revealed in February that 98.5% of his cryptocurrency portfolio consists of BNB tokens, though he didn't specify the total value of his holdings.
Forbes reported in June 2024 that Zhao and Binance together control nearly 96% of circulating BNB tokens. Zhao personally owns 94 million BNB tokens, currently valued at approximately $63 billion and representing over 64% of BNB's circulating supply, while Binance controls 31.5% of the supply.
Despite being banned from managing Binance as part of a US plea agreement for money laundering violations, Zhao remains the exchange's largest shareholder, positioning him to benefit significantly from increased BNB institutional adoption.
BNB has gained 1.3% in the past 24 hours, trading above $670 according to CoinGecko data.
The treasury company concept reflects a broader trend in cryptocurrency corporate adoption. Nasdaq-listed Chinese chip designer Nano Labs announced plans to purchase up to $1 billion worth of BNB, making an initial $50 million acquisition earlier this month. Other firms, including Singapore's Trident Digital and Chinese auto company Webus, have committed hundreds of millions to XRP treasury strategies.
Zhao noted on X Wednesday that "there are over 30+ teams" interested in creating BNB treasury public companies, suggesting significant demand for this investment structure.
