BNB Surges 2.159% as VanEck Files for Spot ETF in U.S.

BNB's latest price was $598.16, up 2.159% in the last 24 hours. This surge in price comes as VanEck, an investment firm managing over $110 billion in assets, filed on May 2 to debut a BNB ETF in the U.S. This marks the first time a firm has applied to offer a spot BNB ETF to U.S. investors. The S-1 registration statement for the fund, which offers investors exposure to Binance Coin without requiring them to directly hold the asset, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. BNB is the native token of Binance, the world’s largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volumes. Traders can use the asset across the Binance ecosystem to receive discounts on transaction and trading fees, interact with decentralized applications and pay for goods and services, among other use cases. VanEck’s latest crypto ETF proposal comes as asset managers increasingly seek regulatory approval for digital asset-based funds in the U.S. amid the country’s ratcheted back crypto industry regulations and as investor demand for crypto-focused products has grown. The election last year of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose family has strong financial ties to the digital assets industry, kicked off a filing frenzy among investment firms for an array of ETFs based on various cryptocurrencies. Although VanEck is the only asset manager to have officially proposed a spot BNB ETF in the U.S., at least one investment firm is already managing a BNB-based investment vehicle in Europe. Since 2019, Switzerland-based 21Shares has offered its 21Shares Binance BNB ETP, which is listed on several European exchanges.

Changpeng Zhao, the cofounder of the Binance exchange and its former CEO, frequently known simply as cz to crypto fans, has taken to the X platform to share an important post. CZ proposes BNB and BTC as basis for Kyrgyzstan’s crypto reserve. CZ revealed that during his recent visit to Kyrgyzstan, he had proposed that the government make Binance Coin (BNB) and Bitcoin the basis for its Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve. Notably, a month ago, CZ accepted the invitation of the Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov to become a member of the country’s National Crypto Committee. Now, CZ has helped to sign a partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Binance to help the country launch internal cryptocurrency payments. Many countries are now considering the launch of their own Strategic Crypto Reserve, following the example of the U.S., which already has 200,000 Bitcoins for it. Thanks to CZ’s role as an intermediary, Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kyrgyzstan, and is now getting ready not only to launch crypto payments but also educational programs about blockchain and crypto in the country. The latter will be achieved by Binance Academy. The memo was signed on April 3, according to CZ’s earlier X post. CZ accepted the official invitation to join the crypto committee in Kyrgyzstan on Sunday. CZ shares his view on gold vs. Bitcoin. Over the weekend, CZ, who is a well-known long-term supporter of crypto, Bitcoin and BNB in particular, took to social media to share his take on gold as an asset. As a crypto proponent, it looked as if he indirectly opposed Bitcoin to gold without naming BTC but naming its key feature instead — scarcity. On May 3, CZ tweeted: “Not against gold, but it’s not a limited supply asset.” This tweet ignited Bitcoin fans among his followers, who started touting BTC as an asset with a capped supply of 21 million. When it comes to crypto holdings, Zhao once tweeted that he only holds Bitcoin and BNB, and for this reason he in unable to buy any BTC dips — he is 100% in crypto.

Binance Smart Chain Maintains Strong Fundamentals As Stablecoin Activity Booms, Generating Record On-Chain Fees. Despite a quiet market, BNB Chain continues to prove its resilience. It boasts over $5 billion in total value locked and supports more than 1 million active addresses, ranking just behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana in network activity. In the past week, the BNB Chain led all major blockchains in stablecoin growth. The network saw a 17.66% rise in stablecoin market cap, now totaling $9.25 billion. It also generated $1.7 million in transaction fees within the last 24 hours, the highest among major chains. VanEck filed for a Spot BNB ETF, the first attempt to create an exchange-traded fund based on this token. The wave of altcoin ETF applications is intensifying, spurring optimism across the industry. At present, it’s difficult to assess how likely the SEC is to approve this filing. In a recent conference, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao theorized that this market cycle is currently focused on the Bitcoin ETF but that altcoin offerings will grow in prominence. Compared to the long fight for a Bitcoin ETF, the floodgates are open right now. Two weeks ago, there were over 70 active altcoin ETF filings, and the market is overwhelmingly confident that several of them will win approval. In this environment, CZ announced VanEck’s filing for a BNB spot ETF. VanEck first laid the groundwork for a BNB ETF a little over a month ago, registering a relevant statutory trust in Delaware. This is a standard practice for new crypto ETFs; VanEck did the same thing in March for its attempt at an AVAX ETF. At present, it’s difficult to assess how likely approval is, but BNB is one of the largest cryptoassets. That might give it an advantage. Binance even considering a US-based ETF shows how far BNB has come lately. In 2023, US exchanges began reconsidering BNB listings due to Binance’s legal troubles. However, major exchanges like Kraken are starting to list it again. BNB has some forward momentum.