SEC Filing Document

Company: VanEck BNB ETF
Ticker: 
CIK: 2066824
Filing Type: S-1/A
Document Type: S-1/A
Date Filed: 2026-03-16
Accession Number: 0001628280-26-017834
Exchange: 
SIC Code: 6221
SIC Description: Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers
URL: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2066824/000162828026017834/vaneckbnbs-1a3.htm

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directed effort and resource commitment over a long period of time, such as scaling challenges. The BNB Chain's failure to overcome governance challenges could exacerbate problems experienced by the network or cause the network to fail to meet the needs of its users, and could cause users, miners, and developer talent to abandon the BNB Chain or to choose competing blockchain protocols, or lead to a drop in speculative interest, which could cause the value of BNB to decline. If the BNB community is unable to reach consensus in the future, it could have adverse consequences for the network or lead to a fork, which could affect the value of BNB. Digital Asset Networks Are Developed By A Diverse Set Of Contributors And The Perception That Certain High-Profile Contributors Will No Longer Contribute To The Network Could Have An Adverse Effect On The Market Price Of The Related Digital Asset.

Digital asset networks and related protocols are often developed by a diverse set of contributors but certain identifiable and high-profile contributors may be perceived as playing an impactful role. The perception that high-profile contributors may no longer contribute to the network may have an adverse effect on the market price of any related digital assets. For example, in June 2017, an unfounded rumor circulated that Ethereum core developer Vitalik Buterin had died. Following the rumor, the price of ETH decreased approximately 20% before recovering after Buterin himself dispelled the rumor. Some have speculated that the rumor led to the decrease in the price of ETH. In another example, FTX, one of the largest Digital Asset Trading Platforms at the time, experienced a high-profile collapse in November 2022. Along with its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Alameda Research (a digital asset trading firm also owned by Bankman-Fried), FTX had provided substantial financial and developmental support to the Solana project. Bankman-Fried was also a strong and vocal supporter of SOL and the Solana Network. It does not appear, however, that FTX, Alameda Research, or any other Bankman-Fried-affiliated entity had a formal relationship with Solana Labs or the Solana Foundation, or that Solana Labs or the Solana Foundation were involved in any of FTX, Alameda Research or Bankman- Fried's alleged misconduct. The price of SOL fell severely immediately following the news of FTX's insolvency and remained negatively affected by the perceived entanglement with FTX for some time.

In the event a high-profile contributor to the BNB Chain, or Binance or Changpeng Zhao (“CZ”), is perceived as no longer able to contribute to or be associated with the BNB Chain due to death, retirement, withdrawal, incapacity, or otherwise, whether or not such perception is valid, it could negatively affect the price of BNB, which could adversely impact the value of the Shares.

The Open-Source Structure Of The BNB Chain Protocol Means That The Core Developers And Other Contributors Are Generally Not Directly Compensated For Their Contributions In Maintaining And Developing The BNB Chain Protocol. A Failure To Properly Monitor And Upgrade The BNB Chain Protocol Could Damage The BNB Chain And An Investment In The Trust.

The BNB Chain operates based on an open-source protocol maintained by the core developers and other contributors. As new BNB are not sold on an ongoing basis to generate revenue to support development activity, and the BNB Chain protocol itself is made available for free rather than sold or made available subject to licensing or

subscription fees and its use does not generate revenues for its development team, the core developers are generally not compensated for maintaining and updating the source code for the BNB Chain protocol. Consequently, there is a lack of financial incentive for developers to maintain or develop the BNB Chain and the core developers may lack the resources to adequately address emerging issues with the BNB Chain protocol. Although the BNB Chain is currently supported by the core developers, there can be no guarantee that such support will continue or be sufficient in the future. The perception that high-profile contributors may no longer contribute to the network may have an adverse effect on the market price of any related digital assets.

Alternatively, some developers may be funded by entities whose interests are not necessarily the same as that of other participants in the BNB Chain. See “— BNB And BNB Chain Have Links To, And May Be Controlled By, Binance And Its Principals.”. In addition, a bad actor could also attempt to interfere with the operation of the BNB Chain by attempting to exercise a malign influence over a core developer. To the extent that material issues arise with the BNB Chain protocol and the core developers and open-source contributors are unable to address the issues adequately or in a timely manner, the BNB Chain and an investment in the Trust may be adversely affected.

Digital Assets May Have Concentrated Ownership And Large Sales Or Distributions By Holders Of Such Digital Assets, Or Any Ability To Participate In Or Otherwise Influence A Digital Asset's Underlying Network, Could Have An Adverse Effect On The Market Price Of Such Digital Asset.

As of March 5, 2026, the largest 100 BNB wallets held approximately 87% of the BNB in circulation. Moreover, it is possible that other persons or entities control multiple wallets that collectively hold a significant number of BNB, even if they individually only hold a small amount, and it is possible that some of these wallets are controlled by the same person or entity. As a result of this concentration of ownership, large sales or distributions by such holders could have an adverse effect on the market price of BNB. See "—The BNB Chain Could Be Vulnerable To Attacks on Transaction Finality and Consensus Processes, Which Could Adversely Affect An Investment In The Trust Or The Ability Of The Trust To Operate." Any such malicious behavior, if the bad actor or colluding bad actors had a sufficiently large portion of the total outstanding staked assets, could lead to an immediate loss of value of BNB.

The BNB Chain Could Be Vulnerable To Centralization Concerns Which Could Adversely Affect The Security And Stability of the BNB Chain As Well As The Value Of The Shares.

In the context of blockchain networks and digital assets, although there is no universally accepted definition of "centralization", concerns arise when a limited number of persons, entities, or software infrastructure have a disproportionate amount of control over the network's operations or governance or could serve as a single point of failure, thereby undermining the network's ability as a distributed system to continue functioning correctly even if some of its nodes or participants are faulty or malicious (also known as "Byzantine Fault Tolerance"). See also "—The BNB Chain Could Be Vulnerable To Attacks on Transaction Finality and Consensus Processes, Which Could Adversely Affect An Investment In The Trust Or The Ability Of The Trust To Operate."

The BNB Chain does not require governmental authorities or financial institution intermediaries to create, transmit or determine the value of BNB, although Binance does control certain functions, such as periodic burning. The source code of the BNB Chain is open-source and available to the public. As of March 5, 2026, more than 1,000 applications were built on the BNB Chain. As of March 5, 2026, bnbchain.org reports there were approximately 53 validator nodes on the BNB Chain, with no single validator node directly controlling more than 6% of the aggregate stake (Source: bnbchain.org/en/bnb-staking). However, the real figure could be higher because some entities may operate multiple nodes.

A Temporary Or Permanent "Fork" or a "Clone" Of The BNB Chain Could Adversely Affect The Value Of The Shares.

The BNB Chain operates using open-source protocols, meaning that any user can download the software, modify it and then propose that the users and validators of BNB adopt the modification. When a modification is introduced and a substantial majority of users and validators' consent to the modification (validators by voting, and users by staking their assets to such validators, who would generally be expected to vote in a manner consistent with the desires of the users who staked with them, although there is no formal requirement that they do so), the change is