A tiny nicotine vape company is going parabolic on Monday on a plan to be the latest firm to join in on the crypto treasury craze.
CEA Industries, which produces nicotine vapes and primarily serves Canada’s market, announced a strategic pivot Monday morning.
A company statement said that CEA is taking steps to establish what will become the world’s largest publicly traded BNB treasury. BNB is the native token of Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. As of Monday afternoon, the token is the fifth-largest crypto, with a market cap of $116.3 billion.
CEA plans to fund the initiative through a Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE) offering that could raise as much as $1.25 billion in gross proceeds.
According to the statement, it “consists of a common equity PIPE delivering $500M in gross proceeds ($400M in cash and $100M in Crypto), plus up to $750M in cash which may be received from exercised warrants to be issued in the private placement.”
“BNB Chain is one of the most widely used blockchain ecosystems globally, yet institutional access has been limited until now. By creating a U.S.-listed treasury vehicle, we are opening the door for traditional investors to participate in a transparent way. This is a significant step in bridging digital assets and mainstream capital markets ,” the company’s incoming CEO, David Namdar, said.
Following the news, the stock ripped higher by as much as 833%, jumping from Friday’s closing price of $8.88 to an intraday high of $82.88.
The wild rally looks like a continuation of last week’s meme stock madness, with shares of CEA boosted by bullish traders online. According to the retail trader forum Stocktwits, mentions of the company on the site were up 12,000% on Monday, with sentiment spiking to “extremely bullish.”
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But there’s also more news driving the stock higher compared to the moves in the DORKs last week, which surged despite no updates from the companies.
Crypto treasuries have been in focus this year, with numerous companies announcing plans to start hoarding cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum in corporate treasuries. The list includes Trump Media & Technology Group, which recently made a large bitcoin and related securities purchase.
Corporations appear to be aiming to replicate the success of Strategy, which has been amassing vast amounts of bitcoin on its balance sheet since 2020, helping send the stock to dizzying heights in recent years.
One of the market’s largest tokens by market cap, BNB is likely sparking similar enthusiasm, as investors hunt for the next big crypto treasury play. CEA’s statement says that it will provide the treasury with “opportunities to generate income and rewards on the BNB Chain and Binance ecosystem.”
