tl;dr
Shares of CEA Industries (VAPE) surged over 700% following the announcement of a $500 million crypto treasury focused on Binance’s BNB token. Partnering with 10x Capital and YZi Labs, CEA plans a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering to raise $500 million, with an additional $750 milli...
Shares of consumer products firm CEA Industries (VAPE) surged over 700% on Monday following the announcement of a $500 million crypto treasury centered on BNB, the cryptocurrency launched by Binance. The firm is partnering with 10x Capital and YZi Labs to raise $500 million through a private investment in public equity (PIPE) offering, with an additional $750 million available via exercised warrants. This could provide approximately $1.25 billion to purchase BNB, the fifth-largest crypto asset by market capitalization.
David Namdar, Partner at 10X Capital and incoming CEO of CEA Industries, highlighted that this U.S.-listed treasury vehicle will enable traditional investors to access BNB in a transparent manner, bridging digital assets with mainstream capital markets. CEA Industries, which operates in the Canadian vape market after acquiring Fat Panda, recently adopted the VAPE ticker, previously trading under CEAD.
The financing is expected to close by July 31, after which CEA Industries will begin acquiring BNB. The company plans to scale its holdings over the next 12 to 24 months using at-the-money offerings and other financing strategies. This approach mirrors the model popularized by Michael Saylor’s Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which has amassed nearly $72 billion worth of Bitcoin through convertible notes and preferred stock offerings.
Beyond accumulation, CEA Industries intends to explore staking and DeFi opportunities within the BNB ecosystem to generate revenue. Ella Zhang, head of YZi Labs, praised the PIPE announcement as validation of the institutional potential for a publicly listed BNB treasury, aiming to expand BNB’s utility and accessibility.
Yzi Labs, formerly Binance Labs and now the family office of Binance co-founders Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, supports this initiative. CEA Industries is not alone in adopting BNB for treasury purposes; Nano Labs and Windtree Therapeutics have also announced BNB treasury plans, with varying impacts on their stock prices.
BNB itself is outperforming other major crypto tokens, recently setting an all-time high near $858 before a slight retracement. Shares of VAPE closed at $75.00, marking an approximate 851% gain year-to-date, greatly buoyed by Monday’s dramatic price surge.