SEC Filing Document

Company: Grayscale BNB ETF
Ticker: GBNB
CIK: 2106762
Filing Type: S-1/A
Document Type: S-1/A
Date Filed: 2026-05-15
Accession Number: 0001193125-26-227224
Exchange: 
SIC Code: 6221
SIC Description: Commodity Contracts Brokers & Dealers
URL: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2106762/000119312526227224/bnb_s-1_amendment_2.htm

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the Sponsor for review on an annual basis. General Controls on the Custodian’s Custody Environment: Data related to transaction activity executed on the Custodian’s platform is backed-up and saved to both an alternative location (besides the primary location) and to a “Disaster Recovery” Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) Account to enable recoverability in an event one of the regions becomes unavailable. Authentication requirements for the Custodian’s platform are restricted through two-factor authentication and encrypted network protocols, among others. User Entity Controls: In addition to security controls in place at the Custodian, the Sponsor expects to implement additional controls and procedures, including, but not limited to, (i) reviewing the Custodian’s SOC report to ensure private key management and other general controls are consistently applied and operating without exceptions, (ii) periodically reviewing Sponsor team members’ access to the custodial wallet environment to ensure appropriateness, and (iii) reviewing the Custodian’s third party management control.

The Sponsor also reviews the SOC report for one of the key sub-service providers, AWS, including specifically sections related to availability, security and confidentiality. Under its third party risk management framework, the Sponsor also performs other ongoing monitoring of the Custodian, including the completion of an assessment of the Custodian’s cybersecurity controls. In addition, the Sponsor expects to screen all eligible Staking Providers in a manner consistent with its practices in screening eligible custodians, including, but not limited to, by (i) conducting initial and, thereafter, annual reviews of the Staking Provider’s SOC report to assess controls relevant to the staking activities environment, (ii) conducting initial and, thereafter, annual reviews of the SOC reports of the Staking Provider’s cloud-based infrastructure service provider (for example, AWS) covering availability, security and confidentiality principles to ensure necessary controls governing continued service and “uptime” (i.e., the ratio of signatures provided by the Staking Provider to the total number of signatures it should have provided during a given time period), (iii) reviewing authority levels and access rights within the Staking Provider’s staking activities environment, and (iv) performing other ongoing diligence procedures, including periodic assessments of the Staking Provider’s cybersecurity policies and controls, monitoring the Staking Provider’s online environment for major security events and periodic discussions with the Staking Provider’s client-facing teams regarding new company initiatives.

The Sponsor expects that the Staking Arrangements will be set forth in an addendum to the Custodian Agreement between the Trust and the Custodian, a copy of which the Sponsor would file as an exhibit to a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, in connection with the commencement of Staking pursuant to the proposed Staking Arrangements (and subject to the satisfaction of the Staking Condition with respect thereto). The foregoing description of the Staking Arrangements does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such addendum to the Custodian Agreement.

See “Risk Factors—Risk Factors Related to Staking.”

Overview of the BNB Industry and Market

BNB Chain Ecosystem

The BNB Chain ecosystem is currently a multi-chain blockchain ecosystem designed to provide scalable, Ethereum Virtual Machine (“EVM”)-compatible smart contract execution and decentralized data storage. The BNB Chain ecosystem currently consists of three blockchains: BNB Smart Chain (formerly called the Binance Smart Chain), opBNB, and BNB Greenfield; it originally launched with the BNB Beacon Chain (formerly called the Binance Chain).

BNB Smart Chain

BNB Smart Chain is a layer 1 blockchain that serves as the main EVM-compatible execution layer of the BNB Chain ecosystem. It is designed to enable the development of decentralized applications (“DApps”), including in the decentralized finance space. It also supports BEP-20, a token standard that provides a technical blueprint for creating and deploying digital assets on BNB Smart Chain—similar to the Ethereum Network’s ERC-20 token standard.

BNB Smart Chain utilizes a proof-of-staked-authority consensus mechanism. The proof-of-staked-authority consensus mechanism is supported by a group of active validators that are authorized to validate transactions and create new blocks. The proof-of-staked-authority consensus mechanism selects the top 45 validators by total stake, including both self-staked BNB and BNB delegated by other BNB holders, to be the group of active validators each day in the first block produced after 00:00 UTC. This design is intended to permit faster block confirmation times and lower transaction fees than some other blockchain networks; however, this design may result in greater centralization compared to networks with larger, more distributed validator sets.

If validators attempt to engage in activity that is viewed as misconduct or violate the validation specifications, they may incur a penalty known as slashing. The penalty depends on the severity of the violation.

opBNB

opBNB is a layer 2 blockchain built on top of the BNB Smart Chain. opBNB was built using the Optimism OP Stack and employs Optimistic Rollup, a layer-2 scaling solution whereby nodes process transactions off-chain and then submit them to the BNB Smart Chain. Transactions processed by the nodes are assumed to be valid, but are subject to a seven-day “challenge period” during which users can raise challenges against the validity of the transactions or the execution results.

BNB Greenfield

BNB Greenfield is a layer 1 blockchain with decentralized data storage capabilities. BNB Greenfield is designed to offer users greater freedom in creating, owning, sharing, executing, and trading their data assets, while also providing transparency on how their data is owned and used. BNB Greenfield itself does not have smart contract functionality.

BNB Greenfield has a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. The proof-of-stake consensus mechanism is supported by a group of validators that are authorized to validate transactions and create new blocks. Validators on BNB Greenfield are also responsible for relaying cross-chain information to BNB Smart Chain and for testing the integrity and availability of data provided by service providers by challenging their data availability.

BNB Greenfield is also supported by storage providers. Storage providers provide publicly accessible application programming interfaces that allow users to upload, download, manage, and authenticate data.

BNB Beacon Chain

The BNB Beacon Chain was launched in April 2019 and retired in November 2024. It was built using Cosmos SDK to be a single-purpose chain for fast, high-volume trading on Binance DEX, and thus lacked other smart contract functionality and was not Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible.

A native cross-chain bridge (the “BSC Token Hub”) connected the Beacon Chain to the BNB Smart Chain and thus allowed BNB and other digital assets to move between the blockchains. In October 2022, the BSC Token Hub suffered an exploit, resulting in the loss of approximately two million BNB. In response to the exploit, Binance paused the system for several hours and introduced a software update that contained a hardcoded function that blacklisted the hacker’s wallet address, preventing it from signing on-chain transactions and liquidating the stolen funds.

In 2024, the BNB Beacon Chain’s functionality and digital assets (including BNB) were migrated to the BNB Smart Chain (the “BNB Chain Fusion”), and the BNB Beacon Chain was retired. The stated goals of the BNB Chain Fusion were to streamline the network, improve efficiency, reduce security risks, and align the BNB Chain ecosystem’s architecture with current technological demands and future growth.

BNB Supply

BNB is the native digital asset of the BNB Chain ecosystem. It was initially launched as an ERC‑20 token on the Ethereum Network with a total supply of 200 million. No additional BNB may be minted. BNB has since migrated to the BNB Chain ecosystem blockchains, and now exists primarily on the BNB Smart Chain, with residual ERC‑20 supply on the Ethereum Network used mainly for bridging. After its creation, Binance issued the 200 million BNB as follows: 10% (20 million BNB) to angel investors in Binance, 40% (80 million BNB) to the founding employees of Binance Exchange subject to a four-year vesting, and 50% (100 million BNB) in an Initial Coin Offering in exchange for Ethereum or the equivalent Ethereum price in Bitcoin in three consecutive tranches in mid-2017.

The total supply of BNB is designed to decrease through token burn mechanisms that permanently remove BNB from circulation. These mechanisms include:

Gas Fees Burn. Ten percent of all the portion of transaction fees earmarked for validators incurred on BNB Smart Chain are burned automatically at each block. This mechanism was introduced through BEP-95, and the percentage can be changed through the on-chain governance process.

Pioneer Burn. The Pioneer Burn Program is designed to address the accidental loss of BNB by users. If users can prove they lost BNB on the BNB Smart Chain and their case qualifies, Binance will reimburse those users. An equivalent amount of BNB to that reimbursement is then burned as part of the quarterly Auto-Burns.