29th July 2025 > > BTC price action & BNB treasury reserves.

tl;dr

Choppy BTC price action. The BNB treasury reserve race is on.

Market Snap 

Market Wrap

That was interesting BTC price action on Friday, dropping rapidly to $115k in response to the news that an OG whale had moved $9bn worth of BTC to a centralised exchange.

This seemed odd to me, as advertising to the world that you are a seller of an asset is the most stupid way of doing so. If you don’t believe me, ask Gordon Brown, who sold much of the UK’s gold reserves at basement prices. A very smart man is Brown, but his naivety and total lack of understanding of how the real-world works, should surely have disqualified him from making such decisions.

It was also odd, as a private sale via an OTC desk into the voracious maw of the spot BTC ETFs is the most obvious route to maximise the proceeds. Perhaps the owner was Gordon Brown himself.

Whatever. The subsequent price action can be interpreted in two different ways.

Naysayers will point to the rapid sell-off and state that this proves how vulnerable cryptos are to any bad news, perceived or otherwise. Supporters of the principles of liberty, privacy, and freedom will point to the rapid recovery and state that this proves the resilience of cryptos to external shocks.

You probably know which side of that discussion I am on.

Curious Cryptos’ meme corner

Curious Cryptos’ Commentary – BNB (Binance Coin) Treasury Reserves

During July alone, 26 companies have added BTC to their balance sheet. A not dissimilar number have done the same with ETH. Now it’s BNB’s turn.

10x Capital, a crypto treasury company, has sold a private placement to the tune of $500mm for the sole purpose of buying BNB (*):

The details of the private placement have not been publicly disclosed though we do know that it is an equity placement and not debt. If you recall from an earlier discussion (https://www.curiouscryptos.com/post/30th-june-2025-bitcoin-strategic-reserves) the fears of crypto-driven bankruptcies are vastly overblown as long as the company is issuing shares or convertible bonds to make the investment. There is the ongoing risk of dilution for current shareholders, but bankruptcy due to movements in crypto prices seems most unlikely to me, in almost all situations.

If a company issues normal debt solely for the purpose of adding material amounts of cryptos to the balance sheet, that then becomes a problem, for the interest payments must be made, and the principal repaid at maturity. It is not difficult to see how that might become an issue for the company in the future.

Hans Thomas, CEO of 10x Capital, explains the strategic thinking behind this initiative:

“Treasury companies have proven to be the cleanest, most transparent gateway for institutions to access digital assets”.

Let’s hope that 10x Capital lives up to its name.

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Inspired by Hans, Liminatus Pharma Inc. has followed suit, also raising $500mm to invest in BNB. In a press release, the company stated that:

“Liminatus emphasized that while it remains fully committed to its core business — advancing cancer therapeutics and developing pancreatic cancer diagnostics — the company believes that expanding into the digital asset space is a necessary step to support long-term growth and enhance shareholder value.”

Chris Kim, CEO of Liminatus, explains the choice of coin:

“BNB Coin was selected over numerous digital assets due to its robust technology, global user base, value generating features such as Launchpool participation and staking models, and the ongoing expansion of the BNB Chain.”

Again, there are no public details to date of the capital-raising exercise. With a market cap of only $220mm, the company surely only has the option of issuing convertible bonds, or some form of equity linked investment. Note that a separate vehicle wholly owned by Liminatus will be the legal owner of BNB, separating the crypto investment from its day-to-day activities.

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(*) For disclosure purposes, the CCC Treasury has been invested in BNB since the first quarter of 2019.