Nano Labs, a China-based Web3 company, announced Tuesday that it has entered into a $500 million convertible notes purchase agreement as part of a broader strategy that includes developing a $1 billion BNB (formerly Binance Coin) treasury.
“Nano Labs Ltd (Nasdaq: NA) becomes a $BNB-only strategic reserve public co, bringing $500 million to BNB,” said Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao on X (formerly Twitter) this morning. CZ added that while he and affiliated entities did not participate in this round, they remain “extremely supportive.”
The company’s stock jumped as much as 64% after the announcement, but later pulled back and is now trading at $15.66, still up 48% on the day. Meanwhile, BNB, issued by cryptocurrency exchange Binance, increased by 2% in the last 24 hours and is currently trading at around $643, according to CoinGecko.
According to a press release viewed by The Defiant, Nano Labs plans to issue unsecured convertible notes that mature in one year. The notes won’t earn interest and can be converted into the company’s Class A shares at $20 per share; however, this is “subject to adjustment,” the release noted.
The move is a part of Nano Labs’ commitment to developing on-chain infrastructure. The company said it aims to acquire up to $1 billion worth of BNB through convertible notes and private placements.
The end goal, according to the release, is to hold 5% to 10% of the token’s circulating supply over time. Currently, the BNB token has a market cap of $93 billion and a circulating supply of roughly 146 million, according to CoinGecko.
The move comes just one day after Nano Labs revealed plans to expand into the stablecoin space. In a June 23 post on X, the company said it is applying for licenses to issue Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and offshore Chinese Yuan (RMB) stablecoins in Hong Kong.
“In parallel, Nano Labs plans to develop a technical framework for stablecoins, focusing on blockchain networks such as Bitcoin and BNB,” it said on X. “Nano Labs looks forward to forming partnerships and providing support to foster both the stablecoin ecosystem and the broader Web 3.0 industry.”
Currently, the stablecoin sector is one of the most rapidly growing in the cryptocurrency space. Stablecoins currently in circulation have a market capitalization of over $251 billion, according to DeFiLlama. Tether’s USDT holds the top spot with a current market capitalization of nearly $156 billion, representing 62% of the stablecoin market.
