BNC Invests $160 Million to Acquire 200,000 BNB, Plans to Raise an Additional $750 Million to Expand Holdings

CEA Industries Acquires $160 Million in BNB Tokens, Becomes Largest Corporate Holder

CEA Industries, a nicotine e-cigarette product company listed on the NASDAQ, announced today that its financial management subsidiary, BNB Network Company (BNC), has invested $160 million to purchase 200,000 BNB tokens, making it the largest corporate holder of BNB globally.

According to the press release, this acquisition follows a previous $500 million private fundraising led by 10X Capital and YZi Labs. The funds raised will be utilized to drive a BNB-centric financial reserve strategy. YZi Labs is a family office established by Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ).

BNC plans to continue purchasing BNB until its initial financial capital is fully deployed and may additionally raise $750 million through a warrant structure. If all warrants are exercised, the total fundraising amount will approach $1.25 billion, aimed at further acquiring BNB, “providing institutional-level BNB exposure opportunities to U.S. and global investors without the need to hold the tokens directly.”

Strategic Shift Towards BNB

CEA Industries first unveiled its plan to establish a BNB financial reserve on July 28, resulting in a stock price surge of over 600%, although it subsequently declined in the following days. BNC stated today that after changing its ticker symbol to BNC (from VAPE), the company is fully pivoting its financial management business to focus on building a substantial exposure position in BNB.

The leadership team has also been restructured to support this “crypto-first” strategy: David Namdar, co-founder of Galaxy Digital, has been appointed CEO; former Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Russell Read will serve as Chief Investment Officer. Former Kraken executive Saad Naja will also join to lead the company. Additionally, renowned digital asset investment firm 10X Capital founding partner Hans Thomas and partner Alexander Monje have joined the company’s board of directors.

Related report: 10X Capital Partners with YZi Labs to Launch “BNB Treasury Company”! Plans for U.S. Listing to Create Institutional Investment Gateway for BNB Ecosystem

BNC noted that BNB is the native token of the public blockchain BNB Chain, currently the fourth-largest cryptocurrency globally. The BNB Chain boasts one of the most active Web3 developer and user communities, with a total value locked (TVL) of $12.3 billion, ranking third among all public chains, and demonstrating strong potential for further growth. BNB employs a deflationary token burn mechanism; combined with rising on-chain activity and potential bullish catalysts (such as a BNB spot ETF), it presents an attractive long-term investment opportunity.

BNC stated that BNB is not only a strategic reserve asset for the company but also a “growth opportunity closely aligned with one of the most vibrant and fundamentally sound ecosystems in the industry.” Despite BNB having 250 million users and an average daily transaction volume of $9.3 billion, its representation in the U.S. market remains insufficient. BNC plans to bridge this gap, bringing more institutional-level participation to the BNB ecosystem.

According to data from Coingecko, the price of BNB has increased by 8.3% in the past seven days, with a trading price of $819 at the time of publication.

CEA Industries joins an increasing number of publicly traded companies incorporating cryptocurrency into their financial reserves, a trend initiated by the U.S. software company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). Other publicly traded companies planning to adopt BNB as a corporate financial asset include chip manufacturer Nano Labs and biotech firm Windtree.