Why This $500 Million Crypto Treasury Firm Chose BNB Over Bitcoin or Ethereum

Publicly traded consumer products firm CEA Industries is raising $500 million to buy crypto for its balance sheet—but it didn’t pick Bitcoin or Ethereum. Instead, it opted for BNB, the token created by cryptocurrency exchange Binance. 

And while the fifth-largest crypto token by market cap and its underlying network—BNB Chain—had a similar upbringing to ETH and Ethereum, incoming CEA Industries CEO David Namdar believes that it has evolved and grown to stand alone. However, he told Decrypt that many investors aren’t aware of the coin.

“A lot of it really has been a non-U.S. story. Most of the Western capital markets investors, especially, have been completely cut off,” Namdar told Decrypt. “BNB really hasn’t been something that people have realized or paid enough attention to. And I think that’s part of the opportunity here, helping people understand all of the things and activity that is actually happening.”

The firm announced details Monday of a plan that could see it raise up to $1.25 billion to purchase the coin—the same day BNB hit a new all-time high price of $858. The news sent shares of CEA Industries, which trades via the ticker VAPE on the Nasdaq Exchange, up more than 700% at one point.

“I see it as the chain of the future,” said Namdar. “It might be the chain for AI and robotics opportunities—there’s a lot of different things that BNB can bring to the table.” 

The Galaxy Digital co-founder said that in his role as the CEO of CEA Industries, it will be his responsibility to help people get to know BNB and its ecosystem.

“It’s a bit of storytelling and helping people understand the opportunity, helping people see the potential growth, and also helping effectuate that growth,” he said.

Namdar isn’t the only one that sees potential in BNB. In May, analysts from Standard Chartered predicted a more than 300% rise in BNB’s price by 2028, suggesting it could reach $2,775 by that time. 

That multi-year time horizon matches that of Namdar’s thinking, who said he hopes investors are here for the “medium or long-term,” adding that those with the mindset may be “excited about the potential returns over time.” 

Namdar will be working to boost CEA’s value, including its mNAV—that is, the market value divided by asset value, a metric popularized by Bitcoin treasury innovator Strategy. But as noted above, he also hopes to help grow BNB’s profile in the West and draw more investors in. That’ll help define the company’s success, he said.

“If that understanding occurs or that process plays out the way I think, and the way I hope I’ll be able to play a part in,” he said, “I think CEA industries will be thought of very positively.”

Shares of VAPE have retraced 30% on Tuesday to $40, but remain up more than 338% in the last five trading days according to Google Finance.