BioNexus Pivots Ethereum as Primary Treasury Asset

BioNexus Gene Lab Corp. (NASDAQ: BGLC), a Wyoming-based healthcare technology company, announced that its Board of Directors had formally approved Ethereum (ETH) as its primary treasury asset. This decision marks BioNexus as the first NASDAQ-listed company to prioritize Ethereum over other cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, for its treasury strategy.  Alongside the announcement, the company released an Ethereum Strategy Whitepaper, outlining the rationale behind this move and positioning it as a leader in blockchain-integrated corporate finance.

Ethereum staking offers several benefits, particularly since the network transitioned to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism with the Merge in September 2022. For a company like BioNexus Gene Lab Corp., which has approved Ethereum (ETH) as its primary treasury asset as of March 5, 2025, staking provides a compelling financial and strategic advantage.

BioNexus highlighted several key factors driving its choice of Ethereum

Ethereum has gained traction among major financial players like BlackRock, Grayscale, and Fidelity, lending it legitimacy and long-term viability. Yield-Generation: Through its Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mechanism, Ethereum offers staking rewards of 3-5% annually, turning it into an income-generating asset unlike Bitcoin, which lacks similar yield opportunities.

Utility and Dominance: Ethereum underpins trillions in stablecoin transactions (e.g., USDT, USDC) and powers decentralized finance (DeFi), making it a versatile financial infrastructure platform. Upcoming upgrades like Pectra and Layer-2 solutions (e.g., Arbitrum, Optimism) enhance Ethereum’s efficiency and reduce costs, boosting its appeal for corporate use.

CEO Sam Tan emphasized, “Ethereum offers high liquidity, utility, and stability compared to other digital assets, positioning BGLC as a leader in blockchain-integrated corporate finance.” The company also benefits from Wyoming’s blockchain-friendly regulations, including the Wyoming Stable Token Act, which supports digital asset innovation.

While companies like MicroStrategy and Tesla have adopted Bitcoin as a treasury asset, BioNexus’s focus on Ethereum sets it apart, emphasizing ETH’s programmable capabilities over BTC’s store-of-value narrative. This aligns with Brazil’s Me?liuz, which recently allocated 10% of its cash to Bitcoin, but differs from Coinbase’s exploratory tokenization of COIN stock, which faces U.S. regulatory hurdles.

BioNexus reported $9.26 million in trailing twelve-month revenue and a market cap of $5.88 million, but its stock trades at $0.32 (down 61% in 2024). Facing a NASDAQ delisting risk due to a sub-$1 bid price, it plans a reverse stock split by April 7, 2025, to comply by May 1. Its liquidity (current ratio of 4.98) supports this crypto pivot, though Ethereum’s volatility could impact stability. Ethereum’s price spiked within an hour of the March 6 announcement, with trading volume on exchanges like Binance and Coinbase jumping from 200,000 ETH to 350,000 ETH, reflecting market enthusiasm.

U.S. Context: Unlike Coinbase’s tokenization efforts, which grapple with SEC securities rules, BioNexus’s direct ETH holding avoids such complexities. The U.S. lacks a unified crypto law, but Wyoming’s progressive stance (e.g., legal frameworks for digital custody) enables this strategy, contrasting with the stricter federal oversight Tether faced freezing $27M USDT on Russia’s Garantex.

BioNexus’s move validates Ethereum’s growing corporate appeal, potentially inspiring other firms to explore crypto treasuries. It leverages ETH’s unique features—staking, DeFi, and scalability—over Bitcoin’s more static role, though the lack of disclosed allocation size or timeline tempers full assessment. Amid Ethereum’s inclusion in a rumored U.S. “Crypto Strategic Reserve” under the Trump administration, this could signal a shift in institutional adoption trends.