Changpeng Zhao Rings the Opening Bell at Nasdaq, What’s Behind BNC?

By Biteye

On October 26, CZ @cz_binance appeared at Nasdaq, joining the management team of BNB Standard (ticker: BNC) for the opening bell ceremony.

A year ago, BNC had become a star project in the coin stock boom with a financing plan worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Since then, the company has experienced stock price declines, governance controversies, and board restructuring. Today, it has not only changed its name but also welcomed a new CEO from YZi Labs, beginning to explore new development directions.

Marking this opening bell event, let’s review what BNC has gone through over the past year and chart its path forward post-bell.

The Path BNC Has Come From

The story of BNC begins in July 2025.

At that time, it was still a US-listed company operating in the e-cigarette business. With the backing of YZi Labs @yzilabs, the company announced a partnership with 10X Capital to launch a roughly $500 million financing plan, transitioning into a BNB treasury company. The ticker symbol was changed from VAPE to BNC, temporarily making it a standout player in the coin stock craze.

However, the story did not unfold as expected. What many do not know is that while BNC gradually faded from market view over the past year, a battle for corporate control was actually taking place behind the scenes.

As the stock price fell from its peak, the conflict between YZi Labs and 10X Capital, which managed the assets, gradually became public. According to SEC filings, the two parties had previously signed a 20-year asset management agreement with an annual fee rate of 1.75%.

YZi Labs argued that the management fees were too high and pointed out governance issues, even accusing the original management team of considering abandoning the BNB treasury strategy in favor of other assets like SOL. The disagreements between the two sides escalated, ultimately evolving into a fight for board control.

In May 2026, BNC even took 10X Capital to court, demanding the invalidation of the asset management agreement and seeking reimbursement of related fees.

The turning point came in June this year. BNC reached a governance cooperation agreement with YZi Labs, allowing three individuals, including YZi Labs head Ella Zhang @ellazhang516 and former investment partner Alex Odagiu, to join the board. Subsequently, Alex officially assumed the role of CEO. The company was renamed BNB Standard and announced plans to operate BNB Chain validator nodes, attempting to shift from merely holding BNB to more deeply participating in ecosystem operations.

After experiencing a series of changes from the coin stock boom to governance disputes and finally leadership restructuring, BNC finally entered a new phase of development this October. On October 26, CZ appeared at Nasdaq to ring the opening bell, writing a new chapter for this transformation saga that has spanned over a year.

From YZi Labs Investment Partner to BNC CEO: Who Is Alex?

Amid BNC’s months-long governance overhaul, the newly appointed CEO Alex Odagiu @odagius is a figure worth noting.

Alex Odagiu graduated from the University of St Andrews in the UK. Early in his career, he worked in the investment banking division at Goldman Sachs before moving to tech investment firm LetterOne. In 2021, he joined Binance Labs’ investment team, which then consisted of only about five people. He climbed the ranks from investment manager to eventually becoming an investment partner at YZi Labs in 2025.

During his five years at YZi Labs, Alex primarily focused on token, equity, and strategic investments. He participated in funding well-known projects such as Aptos, Sui developer Mysten Labs, Canton, Hemi, and Concrete, covering sectors like DeFi, RWA, stablecoins, and blockchain infrastructure.

Beyond investing, he served as a mentor and judge for the BNB Chain MVB accelerator for ten consecutive seasons, facilitated investments in ecosystem projects like Avalon and Aspecta, and participated in YZi Labs’ EASY Residency startup incubation program.

Interestingly, Alex was not new to BNC this year. As early as 2025, he participated in BNC’s governance discussions and was recommended by YZi Labs to serve as interim CEO at the end of that year, though he lacked support from the original board at the time. It wasn’t until both parties reached a governance cooperation agreement in June this year that he joined the board as interim president, subsequently assuming the CEO role officially in October.

It took Alex nearly a year from engaging in BNC’s governance talks to officially taking over the company. Previously, he mainly focused on investing and incubating projects; now, he must directly confront the operations and shareholder returns of a publicly traded company.

What’s Next for BNC After Ringing the Bell?

When Alex Odagiu officially took over as CEO on October 19, he outlined two objectives: first, to increase the amount of BNB per share, and second, to establish real-world businesses on BNB Chain, starting with operating validator nodes.

First, how else can BNC increase its BNB exposure?

Last year, BNC adopted the most common approach for coin stocks: raising capital by issuing shares to institutional investors and then using the proceeds to buy BNB.

In August 2025, BNC completed a private placement worth approximately $500 million, quickly building up a reserve of over 510,000 BNB tokens and becoming the largest publicly listed holder of BNB globally.

Second, how to make the held BNB generate its own revenue?

BNC chose to start by operating BNB Chain validator nodes. Under the official plan, the company will bring in professional infrastructure service providers to manage node operations, while the BNB will remain securely stored with qualified custodians.

Unlike simply delegating BNB to third-party nodes, BNC plans to operate its own nodes. This allows it to earn rewards through staking its own BNB while also attracting other token holders to delegate their stakes, enabling BNC to collect commission fees from these delegation rewards.

Validator nodes on BNB Chain derive their rewards primarily from network transaction fees rather than continuous BNB inflation. Therefore, node returns are tied to on-chain transaction fees, the scale of delegated staking, and block production performance. If application and trading activity on BNB Chain continue to grow in the future, BNC’s node business stands to benefit accordingly.

Based on current reference staking APRs of approximately 0.6%–1% for BNB Chain, if BNC dedicates its entire existing reserve to staking, it could theoretically generate an additional 3,000–5,200 BNB annually, equating to roughly $2.3–3.8 million USD at current token prices.

From Exchanges to Nasdaq: What Can BNC Bring to the BNB Ecosystem?

The value of coin stocks to public chains may extend far beyond adding buying pressure for tokens. A notable reference case is Solana treasury company Forward Industries, which not only holds SOL and operates validator nodes but has also begun directly investing in Solana ecosystem projects.

In May 2026, Forward Industries co-led a $5 million Series A funding round for OnRe, a Solana on-chain reinsurance project, alongside RockawayX, committing to provide liquidity support of up to $25 million.

Unlike simply purchasing SOL, this capital flowed directly into specific applications within the Solana ecosystem. This approach offers potential returns for the company while providing necessary funds for on-chain financial products to develop.

This presents a new development paradigm: publicly listed treasury companies can attract capital through traditional markets while simultaneously channeling those resources back to public chains via staking, infrastructure development, and ecosystem investments.

This may represent a significant evolution worth watching in the coin stock model: shifting from one-way holding of crypto assets toward a bidirectional relationship between public companies and public chain ecosystems. Public chain growth provides treasury companies with asset appreciation and operational opportunities, while listed firms leverage their fundraising capabilities, capital, and business resources to support ecosystem construction.

With its substantial BNB reserves and CEO Alex Odagiu’s extensive investment background at YZi Labs, BNC is already quite familiar with the BNB Chain ecosystem. BNC is highly likely to become a key participant bridging traditional capital markets with the BNB Chain ecosystem.

Final Thoughts

Looking back at the coin stock boom over the past year, the sector is undergoing a transformation—from the initial scramble to raise funds and buy tokens to the current exploration of staking, validator nodes, and ecosystem investments.

MicroStrategy proved that traditional capital markets can serve as a vital funding source for crypto assets, while a new wave of coin stock companies is now exploring how to generate sustainable yields from these holdings and potentially drive the development of public chain ecosystems in return.

This may well be the longer-term opportunity for coin stocks. Publicly traded companies are no longer mere holders of cryptocurrencies but are evolving into crucial bridges connecting traditional capital with on-chain economies.