BNB has recently experienced a remarkable structural rally. After reaching its all-time high in July, it surpassed its all-time high of $865.68 today. With numerous US-listed companies aggressively purchasing BNB as reserve assets, and with positive news such as ETF applications, BNB, once viewed as an "exchange platform coin" and "public chain ecosystem token," is now evolving into an institutional reserve asset. This rally may not be a temporary hype, but rather a revaluation and shift in BNB's positioning. This article will delve into BNB's path to institutionalization and the various opportunities available to retail investors. 01. Review of BNB's "Institutional Evolution" Path Over the past two months, three major events have occurred around BNB: Several US-listed companies have added BNB to their reserves: Since July, several US-listed companies have announced the purchase or fundraising of BNB. For example, CEA Industries, with support from Yzi Labs, plans to raise $500 million (expandable to $1.2 billion) to build the largest BNB reserve; Liminatus Pharma plans to invest up to $500 million in BNB for long-term investment; Windtree Therapeutics has approved up to $700 million in funds to acquire BNB; and Nano Labs plans to invest $1 billion to gradually hold 5% to 10% of the circulating BNB supply, having already purchased 128,000 BNB tokens over the counter. This series of moves indicates that BNB is being viewed by some institutions as a reserve asset analogous to Bitcoin. ETF Trend: In early May, renowned asset management firm VanEck formally submitted its application to the US SEC for a BNB ETF, which includes additional benefits such as staking. If approved, BNB is expected to become the focus of the next round of crypto ETF competition, following Bitcoin and Ethereum. BNB Price Breaks Record High: Driven by the aforementioned positive factors, BNB continued to strengthen, reaching an all-time high of $865.68 on August 14th. The chart below shows that since mid-July, the BNB position-weighted funding rate has continued to rise from negative to positive, reaching approximately 0.015%–0.03%/8 hours between July 23rd and August 14th, coinciding with the price increase. The fact that the rate did not remain negative for a long time during the decline indicates that bulls are dominant, with both spot and leverage prices driving the price upward, indicating sufficient upward momentum and a relatively healthy structure. The above events reflect BNB's institutionalization, evolving from its previous reliance on the internal value of the Binance ecosystem to a new phase of active allocation by traditional institutions. This influx of "Wall Street-style" buying creates a structural impetus for BNB's value, providing a more long-term and stable source of demand. For retail investors, this is a time to re-examine BNB's long-term potential and explore multiple avenues to share in its upward momentum. 02. Retail Investor Opportunity 1: On-Chain Gameplay on BNB Chain For retail investors, actively participating in the BNB ecosystem on-chain is a key way to gain incremental value. They can participate in BNB Chain dividends through various methods, such as DeFi, Reliable Transaction Authorization (RWA), and Meme. DeFi: BNB Chain's leading DEXs and lending protocols currently have industry-leading TVLs. For example, PancakeSwap (V3), a leading decentralized exchange, boasts a TVL of approximately $2 billion, offering liquidity pool returns across various currency pairs. Venus, a long-established lending protocol, supports lending of mainstream assets such as BNB. Lista DAO also boasts a TVL of $1 billion. Retail investors can choose the appropriate DeFi strategy based on their risk appetite (see the figure below). Reliable Tokens (RWAs): BNB Chain is rapidly becoming an emerging platform for RWAs on-chain. In July, Ondo Finance announced that it would integrate tokenized products representing over 100 US stocks and ETFs onto BNB Chain, enabling global users to trade select US stocks 24/7. Meanwhile, the xStocks initiative launched by Kraken and asset management firm Backed will also be deployed on BNB Chain, supporting trading of over 60 US stocks and ETFs. Regarding stablecoins, the Trump family company WLFI previously chose BNB Chain to launch its first compliant stablecoin, USD1. It has now been integrated into the BNB Chain DeFi ecosystem and established a USD1 liquidity pool. Retail investors can more conveniently invest in US stocks, US bonds, and other assets on BNB Chain, achieving asset diversification. Meme: At the beginning of the year, a number of phenomenal meme tokens were launched on BNB Chain, generating unprecedented market interest. If you're interested in trading meme tokens, you can scan the chain and keep an eye on newly launched tokens on Four.meme, BNB Chain's first fair meme issuance platform. Of course, it's important to keep in mind that the meme market is volatile, and with interest currently declining significantly, it's best to wait until it recovers before investing. From a market opportunity perspective, meme popularity can bring significant trading volume and new users to the BNB chain, further boosting demand for BNB, which in turn benefits BNB holders. Overall, the BNB Chain ecosystem is experiencing a surge in traffic and value. For retail investors, this also means that on-chain opportunities are gradually exploding. They can earn steady returns from blue-chip DeFi projects, try out RWA strategies, and even discover emerging meme stocks. BNB is the core value carrier of the BNB Chain. The prosperity of the chain will ultimately translate into the value support of BNB. Therefore, by deeply participating in the BNB Chain ecosystem, you are actually growing together with BNB. 03. Retail Investor Opportunity 2: Coin-Stock Resonance and the "BNB Concept Stock" Hidden Strategy Simply put, when a listed company announces a large-scale purchase of BNB or incorporates BNB into its financial strategy, the performance of these stocks begins to correlate highly with BNB. When BNB soars, these stocks often rise in tandem or outperform it, and vice versa. Therefore, if you have confidence in BNB's fundamentals, you can consider investing in related concept stocks before the market takes off. For example, MicroStrategy continues to buy Bitcoin. When retail investors buy MicroStrategy stock, they are indirectly betting on Bitcoin's performance. MicroStrategy's stock price can sometimes even exceed Bitcoin's growth during the same period. Now, with the surge in institutional investors building positions in BNB, there is hope for replicating this coin-stock resonance effect. As mentioned above, several companies plan to add BNB to their reserves (as shown in the image above). Their stocks are highly correlated with BNB. So, how can retail investors navigate this market and manage risk? Keeping track of the timing of BNB announcements: Pay close attention to the timing of these companies' BNB announcements. Stock prices often surge immediately after the announcement, increasing the risk of buying higher afterward. For example, pay attention to key milestones such as SEC filings, additional offerings, and purchase completions. Invest in low positions before the announcement, and then take profits in batches as the news materializes. Pay attention to BNB price correlation: These stocks are highly correlated with BNB prices. For example, when BNB broke through $800 at the end of July, stocks like CEA and Windtree followed suit, while conversely, their stocks also experienced some decline. Therefore, BNB's market performance can be used as a leading indicator. If you believe BNB is about to embark on a new wave of growth, you can increase your holdings of related stocks and wait for this to happen. However, be aware that if BNB experiences significant fluctuations, the stocks may experience even more dramatic price swings. Pay attention to the relationship between concept stocks and Binance: Some stocks have increased market confidence due to the involvement of Binance or CZ. Therefore, pay attention to whether there will be further official support for these companies, such as custody services or strategic guidance. These signals will strengthen market confidence in concept stocks holding BNB, thereby driving up valuations. It is important to note that these opportunities carry dual risks: they are affected by both crypto market volatility and stock market factors (such as financing dilution). We recommend a small experiment, strict position management, and timely monitoring of fundamentals. 04. Retail Investor Opportunity 3: Exchange-Based Trading In recent years, Binance has launched a variety of activities, including Launchpad, Launchpool, and Megadrop, most of which involve BNB. In fact, leveraging exchange-based trading transforms BNB from a simple investment into a tool for generating diversified returns, allowing investors to enjoy both BNB's inherent appreciation and additional income. The following table summarizes several major Binance IPO mining activities to help you choose the right way to earn money based on your circumstances. You can choose a suitable strategy based on your capital and time commitment: Conservative Holding: If you have ample funds but are unwilling to invest excessive effort, you can adopt a "BNB Holder" strategy. This involves holding a certain amount of BNB over the long term and actively participating in Launchpool and occasional HODLer airdrops. This strategy focuses on generating new tokens from new tokens, with returns derived from both BNB appreciation and new token airdrops. Active Participation: If you have limited funds but ample time and hands-on skills, you can try the "Alpha Points Party" route, aiming to reach the points thresholds for airdrops/TGEs, Pre-TGEs, and Booster events. Exit promptly upon completion to lock in your gains. It's important to note that this strategy requires careful cost-calculation to avoid excessive transaction fees and slippage that could outweigh the benefits. In addition to the aforementioned key activities, Binance offers BNB holders a range of benefits, including VIP tiers, fee discounts, voting for coin listings, and Binance Pay cashback. For example, using BNB to offset transaction fees on Binance spot and futures trading offers discounts. Furthermore, BNB holders can participate in exclusive Binance Earn investment products, accumulating multiple benefits. 05. Retail Investor Opportunity 4: Holding BNB, Deflationary Bonus, and the Token Economic Model. Regardless of the gameplay, most paths ultimately require holding BNB. A key reason why many favor holding BNB is its deflationary token economic model, making it the only deflationary token among the top-tier tokens by market capitalization. As of July 2025, over 60 million BNB have been destroyed (approximately 31% of the initial supply), and the circulating supply has dropped from 200 million to approximately 139 million. BNB is expected to reach its target constant supply of 100 million in the next few years. Source: bnbburn.info, Binance Research. Automatic Burn Mechanism: BNB's original burn method was based on BNB trading volume on Binance. Starting in Q4 2021, a new automatic burn algorithm was introduced, dynamically adjusting based on BNB's price and the number of blocks produced by the BNB Chain. For example, in the just-completed 32nd BNB quarterly burn, a total of 1,595,599.78 BNB were destroyed, valued at approximately $1.024 billion at the price at the time of execution. The figure below shows the formula for the automatic burn mechanism. B represents the amount of BNB to be burned this quarter, N represents the total number of BNB Chain blocks produced this quarter (the number is determined by the fixed block time), P represents the average price of BNB, and K is a constant (currently set to 250 after the hard fork upgrade). As can be seen from the formula, when the price is higher, the amount burned is less, and vice versa. The essence of this mechanism is to increase deflationary intensity during market downturns, maintaining BNB's value anchor by reducing circulation; while automatically reducing the intensity of burns during market booms to avoid excessive supply tightening. Real-time Burn Mechanism: In addition to quarterly centralized burns, BNB Chain introduced the BEP-95 protocol in 2021, enabling on-chain real-time burns. A fixed percentage of gas fees paid on each BNB Chain transaction is directly burned. The more prosperous BNB becomes, the more BNB is destroyed. Over the long term, increased on-chain activity will drive higher transaction volume, triggering more real-time burns. For retail investors, BNB's deflationary nature means increased scarcity. Assuming stable or growing demand, a decrease in supply will drive up the intrinsic value of each token. This is similar to a listed company's continuous share buybacks, which boost earnings per share and net assets, thereby boosting the stock price. It's worth noting that BNB's pledged supply is around 100 million, and it won't decrease indefinitely to avoid compromising network security. Therefore, as the supply approaches 100 million, attention needs to be paid to whether policy adjustments, such as shifting to a constant inflation rate, are necessary. However, for at least the next few years, the deflationary trend is clear. 06. BNB Revaluation and Future Outlook With the entry of institutional investors, traditional financial institutions are also shifting their valuations of BNB. For example, Standard Chartered Bank stated in a report in May of this year that it expects the price of BNB to double to approximately $1,275 by the end of 2025, and is expected to rise further to around $2,775 by the end of 2028. Source: Standard Chartered Bank (for reference only) Furthermore, BNB's development in the payment sector will provide additional support for its value, further driving the market's upward revision of its valuation model. Binance's payment app, Binance Pay, has been rolled out globally, using BNB as one of its key settlement currencies. Data shows that Binance Pay has processed 300 million transactions with a total transaction volume of $230 billion, a significant portion of which was conducted using BNB. For example, in the French Riviera, Binance has partnered with fintech company Lyzi to enable over 80 local merchants to accept crypto payments, including BNB and other currencies. If this trend continues, demand for BNB will come not only from investment and trading, but also from real commercial circulation. Overall, as of mid-2025, BNB is on an upward trajectory of revaluation. Institutional accumulation has endowed it with the narrative of a "digital gold reserve," a thriving ecosystem has endowed it with the narrative of a "leading public chain," and expanded payment platforms have endowed it with the narrative of a "practical currency." These multiple narratives have given BNB the potential to further surge in market capitalization. At the same time, we must remain rational. BNB's long-term value ultimately depends on whether it can continuously build its ecosystem, maintain innovation, and maintain stable operations in an ever-changing market. 07. Conclusion From its initial platform coin and popular public chain token to its current position as a crypto asset allocated by traditional institutional investors, BNB's transformation reflects the maturity of the crypto industry. Amidst the wave of institutional investors building positions, retail investors can share in BNB's value growth through various channels, including deep on-chain participation, investing in related concept stocks, participating in exchange activities, and holding BNB. True to its slogan, "Build and Build," BNB's value will be jointly shaped and shaped by everyone. Looking ahead, with the combined efforts of institutions and retail investors, can BNB usher in a new golden age of innovation? Let's wait and see.
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