Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

By Wenser ( @wenser 2010 )

No one expected that the "hoarding strategy" that has always been regarded as a golden rule by listed companies has "failed" for the first time. According to US SEC documents, Windtree Therapeutics (WINT), a US-listed BNB treasury company, received a notice on August 19 that because its stock price has stayed below $1 for too long, after multiple reverse splits and not meeting the usual grace period, its common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Capital Market on August 21 and transferred to the OTC market for trading.

Affected by this news, WINT's stock price closed down 77.21% to $0.11. It has fallen by more than 99.98% from the stock price of over $517 a year ago. Compared with its peak price of $567,000 per share at the beginning of its listing in 2020, it is even more miserable.

It is worth noting that the company announced the establishment of a BNB strategic reserve in July, and its stock price once rose to US$1.28. However, due to the long-term sluggish stock price and the emergence of concept stocks such as "Binance-supported BNB Treasury Company CEA", it ultimately could not escape the fate of delisting.

This incident has also brought a key industry question to the forefront: Is the coin hoarding strategy effective for all listed companies? Odaily Planet Daily will analyze this in this article.

The first delisted "BNB strategy listed company" has appeared, sounding the alarm for the "coin and stock dual cultivation" industry

Public information indicates that Windtree Therapeutics Inc. (WINT) is a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for respiratory diseases, particularly acute lung injury and cardiovascular disease, such as istaroxime and aerosolized KL 4 surfactant. Founded in 1992, the company is headquartered in Pennsylvania, USA. According to its website , final results from its Phase 2B clinical trial for istaroxime have been released, but achieving its goal of "addressing markets with significant unmet needs" remains a long way off.

Windtree Therapeutics Inc., a small biopharmaceutical company, has several clinical-stage projects that are still far from commercialization. According to the latest data, the company's net income for the most recent quarter was -$10.64 million, a significant increase from -$4.04 million in the previous quarter.

On July 16, the company announced it had signed a $60 million securities purchase agreement with Build and Build Corp., with future subscriptions potentially increasing to $200 million. The funds will be used to purchase BNB as a company reserve for the company's treasury, aiming to diversify its assets and create value . At the time, Windtree's claim to be "the first Nasdaq-listed company to offer direct investment exposure to the BNB token" sparked market fear of loss, sending its stock price soaring to $1.86. On July 25, it announced it had signed a new $520 million financing agreement to purchase BNB, but market reaction was lukewarm, and the stock price plummeted to around $1.

A month later, what it received was a delisting announcement from Nasdaq.

Nasdaq rules take effect, Windtree faces delisting

According to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2), if a listed company's stock price has been below the minimum bid price requirement of $1 for 30 consecutive trading days, Nasdaq has the right to delist the listed company's stock (i.e., force it to delist).

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Nasdaq has issued an "ultimatum" to the company. Earlier this year, Nasdaq granted the company a 180-day extension to restore compliance, but it still failed to meet the corresponding requirements as scheduled and could not escape delisting.

The direct reason for Windtree's delisting may be due to its failure in the "ecological niche" competition.

Windtree Falls as a Victim in the Battle for Legitimacy as the "BNB Treasury Company"

One of the most obvious reasons for Windtree's delisting is the emergence of a better "BNB Treasury Company" investment target on the market - the Binance-backed CEA Industries (later renamed BNB Network Company, with the stock code BNC).

On July 28, CEA Industries and 10X Capital, both US-listed companies, announced a $500 million private placement with support from YZi Labs to establish a BNB treasury. The two institutions are reportedly expanding the scale of their PIPE offerings, with over 140 subscribers participating. In addition to YZi Labs, other investors include Pantera Capital, Arche Capital, GSR, Borderless, Arrington Capital, Blockchain.com, Hypersphere Capital, and Kenetic.

In early August, CEA Industries announced it had raised $500 million in private funding and would change its name to "BNB Network Company," with its stock ticker changing to "BNC" on August 6th. YZi Labs led the investment, with participation from over 140 institutions, including Pantera Capital and Blockchain.com. The company also appointed David Namdar, former co-founder of Galaxy Digital, as CEO, and Russell Read, former Chief Investment Officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), as Chief Investment Officer.

At this point, the orthodox dispute over the "BNB Treasury Company" has come to a temporary end, with BNC becoming the winner and WINT becoming the "abandoned child".

Notably, Nano Labs, another US-listed company promoting the concept of a "BNB treasury company," also participated in CEA Industries' previous funding round, spending nearly $5 million to acquire 495,050 Class A common shares , along with an equal number of 495,050 warrants with an exercise price of $15.15 per share. If all warrants are exercised, Nano Labs will hold a maximum of 990,100 shares of the company. Therefore, Nano Labs, with its BNB holdings of 128,000, has become one of the financial backers of BNC, thereby remaining a key player in the market.

As of press time, BNC's closing price was $21.02, a 24-hour increase of 8.8%, with a market capitalization of $895 million. Nano Labs (NA) closed at $4.5, a 24-hour increase of 4.9%, with a market capitalization of $104 million. In contrast, WINT's market capitalization has fallen to approximately $3.15 million.

It is said that the business world is like a battlefield, and this is particularly direct and cruel in the stock market.

Industry warning: The effectiveness of the coin hoarding strategy also requires prerequisites, it is not a "perpetual motion machine for stock prices"

Windtree's delisting clearly demonstrates that, for most listed companies, hoarding cryptocurrency isn't a panacea for boosting stock prices. The ability of US and Nikkei-listed companies like Strategy and Metaplanet to achieve a dual takeoff in both cryptocurrency and stock trading requires certain prerequisites. In my opinion, these three conditions must be met:

First, BTC is the preferred target for accumulating coins. As the "one true god" in the cryptocurrency industry, BTC's value is relatively stable and easily accepted by the market and investors. A accumulating coin strategy can boost stock prices more directly and sustainably. After all, the current price of just over 110,000 BTC per coin still falls short of the expectations of many traditional and crypto institutions. Over the next 5-10 years, or even longer, BTC is still expected to rise by 50% or even 100%. For cryptocurrencies, the key is price-to-dream ratio, and BTC is undoubtedly unique in its ability to combat inflation, diversify risks, and boost expectations.

Second, niche competition is unique. In a capital market with countless targets, niche competition is undoubtedly fierce. After all, across most industries and investment sectors, the phenomenon of "only knowing first place, not second place" is all too common. This is especially true when it comes to whether or not a company is supported by legitimate institutions, which can be a completely different concept for market users. While the investment targets themselves may not differ significantly, the influence of market sentiment and long-term judgment is objectively present. Therefore, if you choose a coin other than BTC for your holdings, you need to consider the public awareness and acceptability of the corresponding token, as well as the direct influence of the project.

Third, they are backed by genuine business. Unlike the various publicly listed companies that have recently gone public through backdoor listings, companies like Metaplanet and Cangu Group have genuine business backing. Therefore, they are more resilient to other risk factors like price fluctuations and technical security, and are less subject to the strict control of regulators in the stock market and even traditional financial markets, without having to worry too much about risks like delisting. Simply put, self-sustaining publicly listed companies have more confidence in buying cryptocurrencies than those relying on financing.

Windtree's delisting is just a snapshot of the current state of the industry. The emergence of "ETH-reserving listed companies" like Bitmine and Sharplink may be the true disruptors of what Ethereum founder Vitalik called the "over-leveraged game." Whether the "hoarding strategy" will prove ineffective for listed companies remains to be seen.