Under the institutional build a position trend for BNB, what opportunities are there for retail investors?

Author: Biteye Core Contributor Viee

Editor: Denise, Core Contributor of Biteye

Recently, BNB has experienced a remarkable structural market trend. After reaching its ATH in July, it has once again broken through the ATH at $865.68 today. With several U.S. publicly listed companies significantly purchasing BNB as an asset reserve, along with favorable news such as ETF applications, the market once viewed BNB as a “exchange platform token” + “public chain ecosystem token,” is now evolving towards being recognized as an “institutional reserve asset.”

The recent market trend may not just be a temporary hype, but rather a reassessment and repositioning of BNB’s value. This article will delve into the “institutionalization” path of BNB and explore various opportunities for retail investors to participate.

01. Review of BNB’s “Institutional Evolution” Path

In the past two months, three major events have occurred surrounding BNB:

Several US stock companies have included BNB in their asset reserves: Since July, several US-listed companies have announced plans to purchase or raise funds to allocate for BNB. For instance, CEA Industries, with the support of Yzi Labs, plans to raise $500 million (which can be expanded to $1.2 billion) to create the largest BNB reserve; Liminatus Pharma intends to invest up to $500 million in a long-term investment in BNB; Windtree Therapeutics has approved up to $700 million in funds for the acquisition of BNB; Nano Labs plans to invest $1 billion to gradually hold 5% to 10% of the circulating BNB supply, having already purchased 128,000 BNB in the over-the-counter market. This series of initiatives indicates that BNB is being viewed by some institutions as a reserve asset comparable to Bitcoin.

ETF Windfall: In early May, the well-known asset management company VanEck officially submitted an application for a BNB ETF to the U.S. SEC, including staking and other additional benefits. If approved, BNB is expected to become the focus of the next round of crypto ETF competition, following Bitcoin and Ethereum.

BNB price breaks historical high: Driven by the aforementioned positive factors, BNB continues to strengthen, climbing to a historic high of $865.68 on August 14. The chart below shows that since mid-July, the weighted funding rate for BNB positions has consistently risen from negative to positive, repeatedly reaching around 0.015%–0.03%/8h between 7/23 and 8/14, in sync with the price increase; during the pullback phase, it has not turned negative for an extended period, indicating that the bulls are dominant. Spot and leverage are jointly pushing up the price, with ample upward momentum and a relatively healthy structure.

Source: Coinglass

The above events reflect the institutional transformation of BNB, expanding from relying primarily on the internal value support of the Binance ecosystem to a new stage where traditional institutions actively allocate it. When “Wall Street-style” buying pressure emerges, the value center of BNB gains structural uplift momentum and has a more long-term and stable source of demand. For retail investors, it is necessary to reassess the long-term potential of BNB at this time and share in the benefits of BNB’s rise through various means.

02. Retail Opportunity 1: BNB Chain On-Chain Gameplay

For retail investors, actively participating in the BNB ecosystem on-chain is an important way to gain value increment, and they can participate in the dividends of the BNB Chain through various methods such as DeFi, RWA, and Meme.

DeFi: The TVL of the leading DEX and lending protocols on the BNB Chain has ranked among the top in the industry. For instance, the leading decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (V3) has a TVL of approximately $2 billion, providing liquidity pool yields for various trading pairs; the well-established lending protocol Venus supports lending for mainstream assets like BNB; Lista DAO’s TVL has also reached a scale of $1 billion. Retail investors can choose suitable DeFi strategies based on their risk preferences (as shown in the figure below).

RWA: The BNB Chain is rapidly becoming an emerging platform for RWA on-chain. Ondo Finance announced in July the introduction of its tokenized products for over 100 U.S. stocks and ETFs to the BNB Chain, allowing global users to trade certain U.S. stock assets 24/7 without interruption. At the same time, the xStocks program launched by Kraken and asset management firm Backed will also be deployed on the BNB Chain, supporting trading of over 60 U.S. stocks and ETFs. In terms of stablecoins, Trump’s family company WLFI previously chose to launch the compliant stablecoin USD1 on the BNB Chain, which has now been integrated into the BNB chain DeFi system, establishing a USD1 liquidity pool. Retail investors can more conveniently invest in U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, etc., on the BNB Chain, achieving diversified asset allocation.

Meme: At the beginning of the year, many phenomenal Meme tokens were born on the BNB Chain, and the market heat is unprecedented. If you are interested in trading Meme coins, you can scan the chain on Four.meme, the first fair issuance platform for Meme on the BNB chain, to follow the newly deployed tokens. Of course, it is important to remember that the Meme market is changing rapidly, and the current heat has significantly decreased. It is best to wait for the heat to rise again before investing. From the perspective of market opportunities, the popularity of Meme can bring considerable trading volume and new users to the BNB chain, and also further increase the demand for BNB, which indirectly benefits BNB holders.

Overall, the BNB Chain ecosystem is currently in a rising phase of traffic and value influx. For retail investors, this also means that on-chain opportunities are gradually exploding, allowing for stable earnings in blue-chip DeFi projects, as well as the chance to try out RWA strategies or even discover dark horse Memes. As the core value carrier of the BNB Chain, the on-chain prosperity will ultimately convert into value support for BNB. Therefore, by deeply engaging in the BNB Chain ecosystem, one is actually growing together with BNB.

03. Retail Opportunity 2: Coin-Stock Resonance, “BNB Concept Stocks” Submerged Strategy

In simple terms, when a listed company announces a large-scale purchase of BNB or incorporates BNB into its financial strategy, the stock movements of that company begin to become highly correlated with BNB. When BNB surges, these stocks often experience synchronized or disproportionate increases, and vice versa. Therefore, if one is confident in the fundamentals of BNB, it may be worthwhile to position relevant concept stocks before the market starts to move. For example, MicroStrategy’s continuous purchases of Bitcoin mean that retail investors buying MicroStrategy’s stock are indirectly betting on the Bitcoin trend; sometimes, MicroStrategy’s stock price can even exceed the increase in Bitcoin during the same period. Now, with the rise of institutional accumulation of BNB, there is potential to replicate this kind of coin-stock resonance effect.

As mentioned earlier, several companies plan to include BNB in their asset reserves (as shown in the picture above), and their stocks are highly correlated with BNB. So how should retail investors operate and manage risk?

Grasp the rhythm of information: Pay close attention to the announcement release time of the above companies regarding BNB. Often, the stock price has surged at the moment the news is released, and if you chase high afterward, the risk increases. For example, be aware of key nodes such as SEC filings, additional fundraising, and completion of purchases. Position yourself at a low before the news, and when the news materializes, you can choose to take profits in batches.

Focus on the correlation with BNB prices: These stocks are highly correlated with BNB prices. For example, when BNB broke above $800 at the end of July, stocks like CEA and Windtree followed suit during the day, and conversely, stocks may also experience a certain pullback. Therefore, BNB’s market performance can be regarded as a leading indicator. If it is judged that BNB will start a new wave of upward movement, relevant stocks can be correspondingly increased in holdings to wait for resonance. However, it is important to note that if BNB experiences significant fluctuations, stocks may undergo more severe rollercoaster movements.

Pay attention to the relationship between concept stocks and Binance: Some stocks have greater market confidence due to the involvement of Binance or CZ. Therefore, it is important to watch for any further cooperation support from officials regarding these companies, such as whether they provide custody, strategic guidance, etc. These signals will enhance the market’s trust in concept stocks holding BNB, thereby increasing valuations.

It is worth noting that such opportunities carry dual risks, being influenced by both the fluctuations of the cryptocurrency market and the factors inherent to the stock market (such as dilution from financing, etc.). It is recommended that everyone try a small amount, strictly control their positions, and keep track of the fundamentals in a timely manner.

04. Retail Opportunities 3: Exchange Gameplay

In recent years, Binance has launched various activities such as Launchpad, Launchpool, and Megadrop, most of which are related to BNB. In fact, using exchange mechanisms is equivalent to transforming BNB from a purely investment asset into a tool for obtaining diverse returns, allowing one to benefit from the appreciation of BNB itself while also gaining additional profits.

The table below summarizes several mainstream Binance new mining activities, helping everyone choose suitable ways to make money based on their own situation.

You can choose an appropriate strategy based on your own capital size and time investment:

Conservative Holding Type: If you have substantial funds and do not want to spend too much energy, you can adopt the “BNB Holding Party” strategy. This means holding a certain amount of BNB for the long term and actively participating in Launchpool as well as irregular HODLer airdrop activities. This strategy focuses on generating coins from coins, with profits coming from both the appreciation of BNB and the dual addition of new coin airdrops.

Active Participation Type: If you have limited funds but ample time and strong hands-on skills, you can try the “Alpha Points Party” route, aiming to reach the point thresholds for airdrops/TGE, Pre-TGE, and Booster. After completing the tasks, exit in a timely manner to lock in profits. It is important to emphasize that this strategy must calculate costs to avoid losses due to excessive trading fees and slippage.

In addition to the main activities mentioned above, Binance also offers a range of benefits for BNB holders, such as VIP levels, trading fee discounts, voting for token listings, and Binance Pay cashback. For example, in spot and futures trading on Binance, using BNB to offset trading fees allows for discounts. Furthermore, BNB holders can participate in some exclusive financial products in Binance Earn to achieve multiple benefits.

05. Retail Opportunities 4: Hold BNB, Deflationary Dividends and Token Economic Model

Regardless of the type of gameplay, the vast majority of paths ultimately rely on holding BNB. One core reason why holding BNB is favored by many is the deflationary token economic model of BNB, which is also the only deflationary token among the top market value tokens. As of July 2025, approximately 60 million BNB have been destroyed (accounting for about 31% of the initial supply), with the circulating supply decreasing from 200 million to about 139 million. It is expected that in the coming years, BNB will reach a constant supply target of 100 million.

Source: bnbburn.info, Binance Research Institute

Automatic Burn Mechanism: The earliest method of burning BNB was based on the trading volume of BNB on the Binance trading platform. Starting from the fourth quarter of 2021, a new automatic burn algorithm was introduced, which dynamically adjusts based on the price of BNB and the number of blocks produced on the BNB Chain. For example, in the recently completed 32nd quarterly BNB burn, a total of 1,595,599.78 BNB was burned, valued at approximately $1.024 billion based on the price at the time of execution.

The formula for the automatic destruction mechanism is shown in the figure below. B represents the amount of BNB to be destroyed in this quarter, N represents the total number of BNB Chain blocks produced in this quarter (the amount 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). From the formula, it can be seen that when the price is higher, the amount of destruction is less, and conversely, it is more. The essence of this mechanism is to increase the deflationary intensity during market downturns by reducing circulation to maintain the value peg of BNB; while during market booms, it automatically reduces the destruction intensity to avoid excessive tightening of supply.

Real-time burning mechanism: In addition to quarterly centralized burns, the BNB Chain introduced the BEP-95 protocol in 2021, enabling on-chain real-time burns. A fixed proportion of the Gas fees paid for each transaction on the BNB Chain is directly burned. The more prosperous BNB becomes, the more BNB is burned. In the long run, the growth in on-chain activity will also drive an increase in trading volume, thereby triggering more real-time burns.

For retail investors, the deflation of BNB means increased scarcity. Assuming demand remains stable or grows, the reduction in supply will drive up the intrinsic value of each token. This is similar to publicly listed companies continuously repurchasing their shares, which increases earnings per share and net assets, thereby benefiting the stock price. It is worth noting that the commitment for BNB is around 100 million tokens, and it will not be reduced indefinitely to avoid impacting network operational security. Therefore, as it approaches 100 million tokens, attention should be paid to whether policies are adjusted, such as transitioning to maintain a constant inflation rate. However, at least in the coming years, the deflationary trend is clear.

06, BNB Value Reassessment and Future Outlook

With the entry of institutions, traditional financial institutions are also changing their valuation of BNB. For example, Standard Chartered Bank pointed out in its report in May this year that BNB’s price is expected to double by the end of 2025, reaching approximately $1275, and is expected to further rise to around $2775 by the end of 2028.

Source: Standard Chartered Bank (for reference only)

In addition, the development of BNB in the payment sector will also provide additional support for its value, further driving the market’s upward adjustment of its valuation model. Binance’s payment application, Binance Pay, has been promoted globally, using BNB as one of the important settlement currencies. Data shows that Binance Pay has processed 300 million transactions so far, with a total transaction volume of 230 billion USD, a significant portion of which has been conducted using BNB. For example, in the French Riviera region, Binance has partnered with fintech company Lyzi to enable over 80 local merchants to support cryptocurrency payments, including various currencies such as BNB. If this trend continues, the demand for BNB will come not only from investment and trading, but also from real commercial circulation.

Overall, standing at this point in mid-2025, BNB is in an upward channel of value reassessment. Institutional accumulation has given it the narrative of “digital gold reserve,” ecological prosperity has given it the narrative of “public chain leader,” and payment expansion has given it the narrative of “utility currency.” The layering of multiple narratives provides BNB with further imagination space for increasing its market value. At the same time, it is important to remain rational; the long-term value of BNB ultimately depends on whether the ecosystem can continue to build, maintaining innovation and stable operations in a constantly changing market.

07, Conclusion

From the initial platform token and popular public chain tokens, to becoming a crypto asset allocated by traditional institutional investors, the transformation of BNB also reflects the maturity of the crypto industry. Amid the wave of institutional accumulation, retail investors can share in the value growth of BNB through various means such as deep on-chain participation, laying out related concept stocks, engaging in exchange activities, and holding BNB. As the slogan “Build and Build” suggests, the value of BNB will be shaped and participated in by everyone. Looking ahead, can BNB, driven by the combined efforts of institutions and retail investors, usher in a new era of innovative golden age? Let’s wait and see.