China-based Web3 infrastructure firm Nano Labs has unveiled a bold strategic move to accumulate up to $1 billion worth of Binance Coin, signaling one of the most aggressive altcoin treasury plays by a private company to date. The firm announced this week that it has signed a convertible promissory notes purchase agreement worth $500 million with a group of unnamed investors, marking the first phase of a broader digital asset accumulation plan.
According to the announcement released Tuesday, the convertible notes mature in 360 days, carry no interest, and are repayable unless converted prior to maturity. Investors will have the option to convert the notes into Nano Labs’ Class A ordinary shares at a fixed price of $20 per share, subject to customary adjustments.
The deal is unsecured and is still subject to standard closing conditions, meaning there’s no guarantee it will be completed in full.
If successful, this raise would provide Nano Labs with half the capital needed for its target to acquire 5–10% of BNB’s total circulating supply, positioning the company among the largest non-Binance holders of the token globally. While no timeline has been specified for full deployment, the firm made it clear that this is just the initial stage of a long-term strategy aimed at integrating BNB into its broader ecosystem and treasury management model.
“This capital raise marks a significant step in our strategy to deepen our exposure to digital assets and align with blockchain ecosystems that demonstrate sustainable utility and security,” the company stated.
Unpacking the Deal: Strategic Timing and Structure
The decision to structure the raise via convertible promissory notes - rather than traditional equity or debt - offers multiple benefits. For investors, it provides potential upside if Nano Labs’ equity appreciates. For Nano Labs, it delays equity dilution and avoids immediate debt obligations, assuming conversion takes place.
Notably, the notes do not accrue interest, which reflects strong investor confidence in the company’s growth and asset acquisition thesis.
The absence of named investors in the disclosure may raise transparency questions, but such anonymity is not uncommon in private placements of this scale, especially in jurisdictions like China where capital controls and regulatory sensitivities are significant.
The $500 million raise will be directed primarily toward acquiring BNB, though the company emphasized it will also undergo a comprehensive evaluation of BNB’s long-term utility, network robustness, and role within Web3 infrastructure before executing the entire plan.
BNB: A Strategic Asset Despite Market Caution
BNB, the native token of Binance’s ecosystem, has had a turbulent year marked by U.S. regulatory scrutiny, legal challenges against Binance executives, and heightened concerns over centralized tokenomics. Still, BNB remains among the top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, and its usage spans transaction fees, staking, and governance within Binance Smart Chain (now BNB Chain).
At the time of Nano Labs’ announcement, BNB was trading around $610, placing the firm’s $1 billion target at 1.6 to 2.6 million BNB, depending on price volatility. BNB’s circulating supply is currently around 147 million tokens, which means Nano Labs’ target would represent up to nearly 10% of the total market - a highly significant accumulation that could potentially influence token liquidity and on-chain governance.
The move comes amid a renewed wave of altcoin treasury strategies from non-crypto firms, particularly those seeking to hedge against fiat volatility or align themselves with specific blockchain ecosystems.
Earlier this month, Interactive Strength, a Nasdaq-listed AI fitness tech firm, announced plans to raise $500 million to accumulate Fetch.ai tokens, citing a desire to build alignment with decentralized AI ecosystems. This model, sometimes called a “protocol-aligned treasury”, is gaining popularity among firms operating in AI, IoT, and Web3 infrastructure spaces.
Likewise, France-based Blockchain Group revealed plans to raise $340 million for a digital asset reserve, and Mercurity Fintech Holding, also listed on Nasdaq, declared an $800 million fundraise to establish a long-term Bitcoin treasury.
These moves suggest a bifurcation in corporate treasury strategies: while Bitcoin remains the dominant digital reserve asset, a parallel narrative is emerging around selective altcoin exposure, particularly in verticals where specific tokens offer more than speculative value - such as integration with infrastructure, utility in decentralized apps, or alignment with technological roadmaps.
Bitcoin Maximalists Remain Skeptical
Still, the surge in altcoin treasuries is not without its detractors. In a recent post on X, Blockstream CEO Adam Back dismissed the trend as short-lived, declaring the end of “Altcoin Season” and coining the phrase “TSRY SZN is the new ALT SZN” - referring to the shift toward Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related equities as the preferred institutional exposure.
“The market is beginning to realize that Bitcoin is the only true treasury-grade crypto asset. The rest are tech equity bets in disguise,” Back added.
His view is not isolated. According to BitcoinTreasuries.net, over 240 public companies now hold Bitcoin, collectively owning nearly 4% of the total BTC supply. This figure has nearly doubled in the past month, amid strong inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs and rising interest from family offices and corporates in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Nano Labs’ move also reflects China’s evolving stance on blockchain infrastructure, even as it maintains a strict ban on cryptocurrency trading and mining. The Chinese government continues to support blockchain innovation and Web3 enterprise development, especially in areas like supply chain finance, public records, and decentralized data storage.
Nano Labs positions itself as a blockchain-native infrastructure company, offering cloud computing solutions, distributed data networks, and on-chain developer tools. Its expansion into BNB acquisition aligns with this mission - particularly given BNB Chain’s strong focus on scalable Web3 applications, DeFi integration, and interoperability.
However, the regulatory ambiguity in China remains a risk. Companies engaging in large-scale crypto transactions, even for strategic treasury purposes, often operate through offshore structures or with heavy compliance compartmentalization, leaving them vulnerable to abrupt policy shifts.
What Comes Next?
Nano Labs has not specified when the convertible note deal will officially close, nor when it will begin deploying capital toward BNB acquisitions. However, the company's statement indicates this is just the first step in a multi-phase initiative that could eventually reshape its balance sheet and operational scope.
Should the full $1 billion plan materialize, it would not only impact BNB’s liquidity and investor perception, but also set a precedent for other mid-sized infrastructure firms seeking to embed token assets directly into their growth model.
With macroeconomic uncertainty still high and inflation hedges growing more attractive, digital asset treasuries - especially ones aligned with strategic utility - may become a recurring theme in the next wave of institutional crypto involvement.