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Spot BNB ETF Launch
VanEck launched the first U.S. spot BNB ETF, with the fund trading on Nasdaq under the ticker VBNB starting May 28.
“VanEck bets BNB’s real-world usage can stand out in a crowded crypto ETF market VanEck says BNB’s user activity and revenue generation make it a stronger long-term crypto investment case than many blockchain projects still selling a vision”
The ETF provides direct exposure to BNB tokens held in cold storage by Anchorage Digital Bank, and it launched with approximately $2 million in assets under management.
VanEck’s VBNB started trading in a range between $21 and $23 out of the gate, and the expense ratio sits at 0.39%.
VanEck originally filed the S-1 for VBNB on May 2, 2025, and regulators gave it the green light over a year later.
In the initial structure, VanEck excluded staking due to regulatory sensitivities, while highlighting staking potential in supplementary materials and leaving the door open for a future amendment.
Utility Pitch and Adoption
VanEck is pitching BNB’s real-world usage as a differentiator in a crowded market of crypto ETFs, arguing the underlying token does more than “sitting in a wallet and appreciating.”
In its utility argument, the BNB Chain processes over 14 million transactions daily and supports more than 2.5 million daily active users.
CoinDesk reports that VanEck expects staking will eventually become an integral part of the ETF's value proposition.
CoinDesk also frames VanEck’s approach around blockchain-derived revenues, and it notes that VanEck is increasingly focusing on blockchain-derived revenues as a key indicator for investors.
CoinDesk further says VanEck expects that staking will eventually become part of the ETF’s value proposition, aligning the firm’s long-term thesis with the ETF’s evolving structure.
Stakes, Metrics, and Competition
VanEck Director of Digital Assets Product Kyle DaCruz said the firm focuses on blockchains with measurable adoption rather than purely technical promises, and he said the ETF has attracted roughly $2 million in assets since launch.
“VanEck bets on BNB’s real-world usage to differentiate its ETF offering from the altcoin pack The asset manager's VBNB fund is the first US spot BNB ETF, pitching utility over speculation in a crowded market VanEck just became the first asset manager to bring a spot BNB ETF to the US market”
DaCruz cited BNB Chain’s 33 million monthly active users and 2.1 million daily active users, and he also cited roughly $100 billion in monthly stablecoin transfer volume and $16 billion in stablecoins minted on the network.
DaCruz said VanEck’s investment thesis centers on identifying chains with active users and economic activity rather than what he called “ghost chains,” and he described BNB and Hyperliquid as examples of “revenue chains” generating tangible economic value.
The Crypto Briefing adds that Grayscale is pursuing its own BNB ETF amendments, signaling that the opportunity VanEck is targeting is drawing other major players.
It also notes that VBNB showed an approximate decline of 12.52% by early June, while VanEck’s own framing emphasizes that the $2 million AUM at launch is tiny and that institutions generally avoid products with low liquidity.
