Nasdaq-listed Chinese tech firm Nano Labs has executed a $50 million over-the-counter (OTC) purchase of Binance Coin (BNB), acquiring 74,315 tokens at an average price of $672.45. This transaction marks the initial phase of the company's ambitious strategy to accumulate up to $1 billion worth of BNB through convertible bonds and private sales, with an ultimate goal of controlling 5-10% of the token's total circulating supply.
The acquisition increases Nano Labs' combined cryptocurrency reserves – which include Bitcoin and BNB – to $160 million. The company emphasized this move as part of a fundamental business pivot away from its struggling hardware division, where revenue from iPollo mining chips plummeted 39% year-over-year to $2.2 million in H2 2024, resulting in $8.4 million losses despite cost-cutting measures.
Nano Labs positions BNB as a strategic reserve asset, citing its utility within the BNB Smart Chain ecosystem rather than Binance's regulatory challenges. The accumulation strategy mirrors parallel institutional efforts, including former Coral Capital executives raising $100 million via a Nasdaq shell company to rebrand BNB as a corporate reserve asset. Notably, BNB has underperformed recently, declining 1% over the past month while Bitcoin gained 3%, and lags behind altcoins like Cardano (45%) and Tron (121%) year-to-date.