SEC Filing Document

Company: Grayscale BNB ETF
Ticker: GBNB
CIK: 2106762
Filing Type: S-1/A
Document Type: S-1/A
Date Filed: 2026-04-07
Accession Number: 0001193125-26-145494
Exchange: 
SIC Code: 6221
SIC Description: Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers
URL: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2106762/000119312526145494/bnb_s-1_amendment_1.htm

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and, consequently, the value of the Shares. Further, there can be no guarantee that slashing penalties and resulting lost opportunity to receive staking rewards will not occur as a result of the activities of a Staking Provider. Furthermore, a Staking Provider’s liability to the Trust is expected to be limited, and a Staking Provider may lack the assets or insurance in order to support the restitution for of any lost opportunity to receive staking rewards. While the Staking Arrangements may provide for indemnification up to a specified cap, slashing insurance or other reimbursement programs, there can be no guarantee that the Trust would recover any lost opportunity to receive staking rewards, if it is subject to penalties imposed by the BNB Smart Chain. If the Trust were permitted to engage in Staking in the future, beneficial owners of Shares could incur tax liabilities without receiving corresponding distributions from the Trust.

There can be no assurance that the Staking Condition will be satisfied or that the Trust will stake any of its BNB tokens. If the Staking Condition is satisfied and the Trust engages in staking, Shareholders may suffer adverse tax consequences. In particular, the IRS provided in the 2023 Staking Guidance that the receipt of staking rewards will, under certain circumstances, give rise to current, ordinary income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and, although the 2023 Staking Guidance contemplates a different from of staking, it is likely that the receipt of staking rewards from BNB staking on the BNB Smart Chain would similarly give rise to taxable income. Assuming that the Trust is properly treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes, beneficial owners of Shares will likely be required to take their ratable share of any such income into account in determining their own tax liability, regardless of whether the Trust makes any corresponding distributions. Shareholders should therefore expect that, if the Staking Condition is satisfied, other sources of funds may be needed to satisfy any associated tax liability. Moreover, if the Staking Condition were satisfied and the Trust were to sell BNB to fund cash distributions in respect of that tax liability, a Shareholder generally would be treated as having sold its pro rata share of those BNB for their fair market value at that time (which, in the case of BNB sold by the Trust, generally will be equal to the cash proceeds received by the Trust in respect thereof), and the Shareholder generally would recognize gain or loss on such sale as described in the section entitled “Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”

Risk Factors Related to Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise among the Sponsor or its affiliates and the Trust. The Sponsor and its affiliates have no fiduciary duties to the Trust and its shareholders other than as provided in the Trust Agreement, which may permit them to favor their own interests to the detriment of the Trust and its shareholders.

The Sponsor will manage the affairs of the Trust. Conflicts of interest may arise among the Sponsor and its affiliates, on the one hand, and the Trust and its shareholders, on the other hand. As a result of these conflicts, the Sponsor may favor its own interests and the interests of its affiliates over the Trust and its shareholders. These potential conflicts include, among others, the following:

The Sponsor has no fiduciary duties to, and is allowed to take into account the interests of parties other than, the Trust and its shareholders in resolving conflicts of interest, provided the Sponsor does not act in bad faith;

The Trust has agreed to indemnify the Sponsor and its affiliates pursuant to the Trust Agreement;

The Sponsor is responsible for allocating its own limited resources among different clients and potential future business ventures, to each of which it owes fiduciary duties;

The Sponsor and its staff also service affiliates of the Sponsor, including several other digital asset investment vehicles, and their respective clients and cannot devote all of its, or their, respective time or resources to the management of the affairs of the Trust;

The Sponsor, its affiliates and their respective officers and employees are not prohibited from engaging in other businesses or activities, including those that might be in direct competition with the Trust;

Affiliates of the Sponsor have substantial direct investments in BNB that they are permitted to manage taking into account their own interests without regard to the interests of the Trust or its shareholders, and any increases, decreases or other changes in such investments could affect the Index Price and, in turn, the value of the Shares;

There is an absence of arm’s-length negotiation with respect to certain terms of the Trust, and, where applicable, there has been no independent due diligence conducted with respect to the Trust;

Several employees of the Sponsor and the Sponsor’s indirect parent company, DCG, are FINRA-registered representatives who historically maintained their licenses through Genesis and currently maintain their licenses through Grayscale Securities;

DCG is (i) the sole equity holder and indirect parent company of the Sponsor; and (ii) a minority interest holder in Kraken, one of the Digital Asset Trading Platforms included in the Index, representing less than 1.0% of its equity;

DCG has investments in a large number of digital assets and companies involved in the digital asset ecosystem, including trading platforms and custodians. DCG’s positions on changes that should be adopted in the BNB Smart Chain could be adverse to positions that would benefit the Trust or its shareholders. Additionally, before or after a hard fork on the BNB Smart Chain, DCG’s position regarding which fork among a group of incompatible forks of the BNB Smart Chain should be considered the “true” BNB Smart Chain could be adverse to the Sponsor's determination for purposes of the Trust Agreement and adverse to positions that would most benefit the Trust;

DCG has been vocal in the past about its support for digital assets other than BNB. Any investments in, or public positions taken on, digital assets other than BNB by DCG, could have an adverse impact on the price of BNB;

The Sponsor decides whether to retain separate counsel, accountants or others to perform services for the Trust;

While the Index Provider does not currently utilize data from over-the-counter markets or derivatives platforms, it may decide to include pricing from such markets or platforms in the future;

The Sponsor may appoint an agent to act on behalf of the shareholders, and such agent may be the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor; and

The Sponsor has historically and may again select an Index Provider that is an affiliate of the Sponsor and the Trust.

By purchasing the Shares, shareholders agree and consent to the provisions set forth in the Trust Agreement. See “Business—Description of the Trust Agreement.”

For a further discussion of the conflicts of interest among the Sponsor, the distributor, the marketer, Authorized Participant, Liquidity Providers, the Trust and others, see “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

DCG is a minority interest holder in Kraken, which operates one of the Digital Asset Trading Platforms included in the Index Price.

DCG, the sole equity holder and indirect parent company of the Sponsor, holds a minority interest of less than 1.0% in Kraken. The Sponsor values its digital assets by reference to the Index Price. The Index Price is the price in U.S. dollars of a BNB derived from the Digital Asset Trading Platforms that are reflected in the Index developed by CoinDesk Indices, Inc. as of 4:00 p.m., New York time, on each business day. Kraken is one of the Digital Asset Trading Platforms included in the Index.

Although DCG does not exercise control over Kraken, it is possible that investors could have concerns that DCG could influence market data provided by this Digital Asset Trading Platform in a way that benefits DCG, for example by artificially inflating the values of BNB in order to increase the Sponsor’s fees. This could make the Trust’s Shares less attractive to investors than the shares of similar vehicles that do not present these concerns, adversely affect investor sentiment about the Trust and negatively affect Share trading prices.

Shareholders cannot be assured of the Sponsor’s continued services, the discontinuance of which may be detrimental to the Trust.

Shareholders cannot be assured that the Sponsor will be willing or able to continue to serve as sponsor to the Trust for any length of time. If the Sponsor discontinues its activities on behalf of the Trust and a substitute sponsor is not appointed, the Trust will terminate and liquidate its BNB.