Applied DNA Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:BNBX) saw its shares soar 50% in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the biotech firm announced it had successfully closed a private investment in public equity (PIPE) financing, raising roughly $27 million in gross proceeds.
The financing round, led by a mix of institutional DeFi and TradFi investors, consisted of $15.3 million in cash and stablecoins, along with units of the OBNB trust valued at $11.71 million. The company also noted that it could secure up to an additional $31 million from future warrant exercises.
As part of its BNB digital asset treasury strategy, Applied DNA purchased an extra 4,908 BNB tokens, valued at approximately $5.3 million as of October 20.
“We are excited to launch our yield-focused BNB treasury strategy with significant direct and BNB equivalent token exposure,” said Patrick Horsman, Chief Investment Officer at Applied DNA. “We see BNB as the next institutional grade blockchain and believe we’re well positioned to capitalize on its future growth.”
The company said it intends to allocate the net proceeds toward expanding its BNB treasury strategy, supporting working capital, and covering transaction-related expenses.
CEO Clay Shorrock emphasized that the company has “taken decisive steps to streamline our cost structure and position the Company for long-term sustainability.”
Lucid Capital Markets acted as the sole placement agent for the deal, with multiple legal advisors involved in the transaction.