Under the institutional build a position wave for BNB, what opportunities do retail investors still have?

Author: Biteye Core Contributor Viee

Editor: Biteye core contributor Denise

Recently, BNB has experienced a remarkable structural market trend. After reaching its ATH in July, it has once again broken through the ATH of $865.68 today. With several publicly listed companies in the US making significant purchases of BNB as asset reserves, along with positive developments such as ETF applications, BNB, which was previously viewed as a “exchange platform token” + “public chain ecological token”, is now evolving and expanding towards being 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:

Multiple US stock companies have included BNB in their asset reserves: Since July, several US-listed companies have announced the purchase or fundraising to allocate BNB: For instance, CEA Industries, with the support of Yzi Labs, plans to raise $500 million (which may be increased to $1.2 billion) to create the largest BNB reserve; Liminatus Pharma intends to invest up to $500 million in long-term BNB investments; 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 over-the-counter. This series of initiatives indicates that BNB is being regarded by some institutions as a reserve asset comparable to Bitcoin.

ETF Trend: In early May, the well-known asset management company VanEck officially submitted an application for a BNB ETF to the U.S. SEC, which includes 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: Benefiting from the aforementioned positive factors, BNB continues to strengthen and reached a historical 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 surging to approximately 0.015%–0.03%/8h from July 23 to August 14, in tandem with the price increase; during the pullback phase, it did not remain negative for long, indicating a bullish dominance, with spot and leverage jointly pushing up the price, ample upward momentum, and a relatively healthy structure.

Source: Coinglass

The above events reflect the institutional transformation of BNB, expanding from primarily relying on the internal value support of the Binance ecosystem to a new stage where it is actively allocated by traditional institutions. When “Wall Street-style” buying pressure flows in, there is a structural impetus for the value center of BNB to rise, creating 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 rising dividends of BNB through various avenues.

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 benefits of the BNB Chain through various methods such as DeFi, RWA, and Meme.

DeFi: The current leading DEX and lending protocols on the BNB Chain have entered the forefront of the industry in terms of TVL. For example, the leading decentralized exchange PancakeSwap (V3) has a TVL of approximately $2 billion, providing liquidity pool yields for various trading pairs; the established lending protocol Venus supports lending of 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 emerging as a new platform for RWA on-chain. Ondo Finance announced in July that it will introduce its tokenized products for over 100 U.S. stocks and ETFs to the BNB Chain, allowing global users to trade portions of U.S. stock assets 24/7 without interruption. At the same time, the xStocks program launched by Kraken and asset management company 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’s DeFi system, establishing a USD1 liquidity pool. Retail investors can more conveniently invest in U.S. stocks, U.S. bonds, and more 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 enthusiasm was unprecedented. If you are interested in trading Meme coins, you can scan the chain on Four.meme, the first Meme fair issuance platform on the BNB chain, to follow the newly deployed tokens. Of course, it is important to remember that the Meme market is highly volatile, and the current enthusiasm has significantly declined, so it is best to wait for the enthusiasm to rebound before investing. From the perspective of market opportunities, the enthusiasm for Meme can bring considerable trading volume and new users to the BNB chain, which further increases the demand for BNB, indirectly benefiting BNB holders.

Overall, the BNB Chain ecosystem is currently in a rising period of traffic and value inflow. 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 explore RWA strategies or even discover dark horse Memes. As the core value carrier of the BNB Chain, the on-chain prosperity will ultimately translate into the value support of BNB. Therefore, by deeply participating in the BNB Chain ecosystem, one is actually growing together with BNB.

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

In simple terms, when a publicly listed company announces a large-scale purchase of BNB or incorporates BNB into its financial strategy, the stock prices of these companies begin to be highly correlated with BNB. When BNB soars, they often experience a synchronous or disproportionately high increase, and vice versa. Therefore, if there is confidence in the fundamentals of BNB, one might consider positioning related concept stocks before the market starts moving. For example, MicroStrategy’s continuous buying of Bitcoin means that retail investors buying MicroStrategy’s stock are indirectly betting on the price movements of Bitcoin, and sometimes MicroStrategy’s stock price can even surpass the increase in Bitcoin during the same period. Now, as the wave of institutional accumulation of BNB rises, it is expected 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 image 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 timing of announcements from the aforementioned companies regarding BNB. The stock price often surges at the moment news is announced, and the risk increases if you chase high afterward. For example, be aware of key milestones like SEC filings, fundraising through additional offerings, and completion of purchases. Position yourself at lower levels before the news, and when the news materializes, consider taking profits in batches.

Attention to BNB price linkage: 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 rose accordingly, and conversely, the stocks may also experience a certain pullback. Therefore, BNB’s market performance can be used as a leading indicator. If it is determined that BNB will start a new wave of rises, one can correspondingly increase holdings in related stocks and wait for resonance. However, it should be noted that if BNB experiences significant fluctuations, the stocks may undergo more severe roller coaster trends.

Pay attention to the relationship between concept stocks and Binance: some stocks gain more market confidence because of the involvement of Binance or CZ. Therefore, it is essential to monitor whether there is any further cooperation support from the officials for 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 their valuations.

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

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, utilizing exchange activities is equivalent to transforming BNB from a purely investment asset into a tool for obtaining diversified returns, allowing one to enjoy the appreciation of BNB itself while also gaining additional profits.

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

You can choose a suitable strategy based on your own capital size and time investment:

Conservative Holding Type: If you have substantial funds and do not wish to invest too much effort, you can adopt the “BNB Holding Party” strategy. This involves holding a certain amount of BNB for the long term and actively participating in Launchpool as well as periodic HODLer airdrop activities. This strategy focuses on generating coins from coins, with returns coming from both the appreciation of BNB and the dual accumulation of new airdropped coins.

Active participation type: If funds are limited but time is ample and hands-on skills are strong, you can try the “Alpha Points Party” route, aiming to reach the points threshold for airdrops/TGE, Pre-TGE, and Booster. After completing the tasks, exit in a timely manner to secure profits. It is important to emphasize that this strategy must account for costs to avoid losses due to high 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, fee discounts, voting for new listings, and cashback from Binance Pay. For example, in Binance spot and futures trading, using BNB to pay for transaction fees provides discounts. Moreover, BNB holders can participate in exclusive financial products from Binance Earn, allowing for the accumulation of various benefits.

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

Regardless of the type of gameplay, the vast majority of paths ultimately revolve around holding BNB. The reason why holding BNB is favored by many is due to the core factor of the BNB deflationary token economic model, which is the only deflationary token among the top market cap tokens. As of July 2025, approximately 60 million BNB have been destroyed (accounting for about 31% of the initial supply), and the circulating supply has decreased from 200 million to about 139 million. It is expected that in the coming years, BNB will achieve a constant supply target of 100 million.

Source: bnbburn.info, Binance Research

Automatic Burn Mechanism: The earliest method of burning BNB was based on the trading volume of BNB on the Binance exchange. 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 generated on the BNB Chain. For example, in the recently completed 32nd BNB quarterly burn, a total of 1,595,599.78 BNB were burned, valued at approximately $1.024 billion at the execution price.

The formula for the automatic destruction mechanism is shown in the figure below. B represents the amount of BNB to be destroyed this quarter, N represents the total number of blocks produced by the BNB Chain this quarter (the quantity is determined by a 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 destroyed is less, and vice versa. The essence of this mechanism is to increase the intensity of deflation when the market is sluggish, maintaining the value peg of BNB by reducing circulation; while in a hot market, it automatically reduces the destruction intensity to avoid excessive tightening of supply.

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

For retail investors, the deflation of BNB means an increase in scarcity. Assuming demand remains stable or grows, a reduction in supply will elevate the intrinsic value of each token. This is similar to how publicly listed companies continually buy back shares, enhancing earnings per share and net assets, which benefits stock prices. 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 shifting to maintain a constant inflation rate, etc. However, at least in the coming years, the deflationary trend is clear.

06. BNB Value Re-evaluation 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 a report this May that BNB’s price is expected to double by the end of 2025, reaching about $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 provide additional support for its value, further driving the market’s upward adjustment of its valuation model. Binance’s payment application, Binance Pay, has already been promoted globally, making BNB 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 is conducted using BNB. For example, in the French Riviera region, Binance partnered with fintech Lyzi to enable over 80 local merchants to support cryptocurrency payments, including multiple 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 re-evaluation. Institutional accumulation has granted it the narrative of “digital gold reserve”, ecological prosperity has given it the narrative of “leading public chain”, and payment expansion has added the narrative of “utility currency”. The overlapping multiple narratives provide BNB with the potential for further market capitalization growth. 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 and maintain innovation and steady operations in a constantly changing market.

07. Conclusion

From the initial platform token and popular public chain tokens, BNB has transformed into a crypto asset allocated by traditional institutional investors, reflecting 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, participating in exchange activities, and holding BNB. As the slogan goes “Build and Build”, the value of BNB will be shaped by everyone’s participation. Looking ahead, with the combined efforts of institutions and retail investors, can BNB usher in a new era of innovation? Let’s wait and see.