- Crypto Pivot and Funding: Applied DNA Sciences (NASDAQ: BNBX) announced on Oct. 22, 2025 that it closed a previously announced private placement to raise gross proceeds of up to $58 million for a Binance BNB‑focused digital asset treasury strategy [1] [2]. The deal delivered ~$27.0 M to the company immediately (including cash, stablecoins, and OBNB trust units) and provides for up to an additional $31 M via future warrant exercises [3] [4].
- BNB Token Holdings: Under the PIPE, Applied DNA received 435,638 OBNB trust units representing ownership of 10,647 BNB tokens [5]. It also separately purchased 4,908 BNB (about $5.3 M at Oct. 20 prices) to jump-start its yield strategy [6]. These holdings (BNB’s native blockchain token) will underlie a “yield‑focused BNB treasury” combining DeFi and Binance‑native staking for high returns.
- Ticker & Rebrand: Effective Oct. 7, 2025, the company began trading under the new ticker BNBX (changed from APDN) on Nasdaq [7]. The change underscores the pivot from pure-play biotech into a broader platform integrating a crypto asset treasury with its DNA/RNA manufacturing business [8] [9].
- Strategic Partners and Advisors: The funding round was led by crypto-native and institutional investors (including Galaxy Digital, Silvermine Group, Off The Chain Capital and GAIA Digital Asset Fund) [10]. High-profile finance veteran Anthony Scaramucci (SkyBridge Capital) joined as an adviser, stating that ADNAS “provides a direct way to participate in the growth of BNB and its ecosystem” and lets investors “accumulate more BNB and steadily grow NAV per share” [11]. Applied DNA also signed Cypress LLC for asset management services and appointed Clay Shorrock (previously interim CEO) as Chief Executive Officer to drive the new strategy.
- Investor Awareness Campaign: On Oct. 15, Applied DNA became a featured company for B2i Digital, a capital-markets marketing platform [12]. The B2i program will broadcast Applied DNA’s rebrand and BNB treasury story across social media channels and investor networks. CEO Clay Shorrock said this partnership “will help investors understand how our approach to digital asset management supports both growth and balance-sheet strength” [13]. B2i’s CEO David Shapiro highlighted the shift as “a strategic move toward greater capital efficiency and digital integration” [14].
- Stock Performance: After the BNB strategy news, BNBX stock has rallied sharply. On Oct. 21, it closed at about $3.42 [15], recovering from lows around $3.00 earlier in October. By Oct. 22 morning the stock was trading around $4.49 [16]. This follows a 31.6% jump on Oct. 6, when the new BNBX ticker took effect [17]. Over the past month the stock traded in the mid-$3 to mid-$5 range (52-week range ~$2.13–$5.85 [18] [19]) as investors reevaluate the company’s bold pivot.
Recent Market Performance
Applied DNA’s share price has been extremely volatile amid its strategic shifts. According to market data, BNBX closed at $3.42 on Oct. 21 (down 2.0% that day) [20]. It then jumped after hours on Oct. 22 with news of the PIPE closing, trading around $4.49 by 8:43 AM EDT on Oct. 22 [21]. This recent pop follows a 31.62% surge on Oct. 6 when Nasdaq officially changed its symbol to BNBX [22]. Earlier in October the stock briefly spiked near $5.85 (intraday high) on Oct. 6 [23]. In summary, BNBX has climbed from the low-$3’s to the mid-$4’s over the past week, reflecting enthusiasm around the crypto funding news.
Longer-term, BNBX remains a microcap: its market cap is on the order of a few million dollars. The stock’s multi-year chart has seen dramatic moves: it briefly reached over $300 in late 2023 before massive reverse splits and losses (as noted on stock screener sites [24] [25]). The recent price action is largely driven by the new crypto strategy rather than underlying biotech revenues. (For context, Applied DNA did not report material product sales this quarter. Its latest quarterly results were from Aug. 2025, reflecting the wind-down of legacy testing services [26] [27].)
Recent Strategic Developments
The flurry of news over Oct. 2025 centers on Applied DNA’s strategic overhaul:
- $58M PIPE Offer and Close: On Sept. 29, Applied DNA announced up to $58M in a PIPE led by institutional and crypto investors [28]. The offering closed on Oct. 15 with ~$26.77M raised from investors including Silvermine Group and GAIA Digital Asset Fund [29] [30] (the Oct. 15 funding announcement was reported by S&P Capital IQ) and about $15.3M of that was in cash/stablecoins. In its Oct. 22 press release, the company confirmed the closing of the PIPE, yielding $27M gross proceeds (cash and crypto) and up to $58M total including future warrants [31]. The management said it will deploy the proceeds to buy BNB tokens and implement yield-generating strategies on the Binance ecosystem [32] [33].
- New BNB Holdings: Immediately after the raise, Applied DNA announced it acquired additional Binance Coin to bolster the treasury. On Oct. 22 it disclosed purchasing 4,908 more BNB (worth ~$5.3M at Oct. 20 prices) [34]. Combined with the PIPE’s 10,647 BNB equivalents in trust units, the company now directly holds nearly 15,555 BNB tokens. CIO Patrick Horsman commented, “We see BNB as the next institutional-grade blockchain and believe we’re well positioned to capitalize on its future growth” [35].
- Ticker Symbol Change: On Oct. 7 Applied DNA officially changed its Nasdaq ticker from APDN to BNBX [36]. The company says the new symbol “underscores [its] strategic commitment to a BNB-based treasury strategy” [37]. Management does not expect any corporate actions beyond the ticker change; the listing and CUSIP remain the same. The announcement (via BusinessWire) emphasized that the firm is executing “a yield-focused BNB digital asset treasury strategy” alongside its biotech work [38].
- Investor Relations Push: Seeking to broadcast this strategy shift, Applied DNA partnered with B2i Digital. A B2i press release on Oct. 15 described the firm as a “Featured Company” in B2i’s investor outreach programs [39]. B2i Digital will produce digital content, presentations and social media campaigns to highlight Applied DNA’s rebrand and crypto focus. CEO Clay Shorrock noted that this exposure helps “investors understand how our approach to digital asset management supports both growth and balance-sheet strength” [40]. B2i’s CEO David Shapiro praised the “BNB-centric digital asset treasury” as an innovation in corporate finance and capital efficiency [41].
- Leadership and Advisory Changes: In late 2024 the company overhauled its management. It named Judith Murrah as President and Clay Shorrock as President of LineaRx (now CEO) [42], and formed a new advisory board. The recent funding round brought on noted industry figures: former hedge-fund manager Anthony Scaramucci joined as Strategic Advisor, and Cypress Management (a crypto asset manager) signed multi-year service agreements. Scaramucci’s statement was bullish: “BNB is one of the most exciting yet under-owned tokens among U.S. investors… APDN provides a direct way to participate in the growth of BNB and its ecosystem,” he said [43].
Crypto Strategy and Blockchain Focus
Applied DNA’s pivot is notable: a company founded to commercialize DNA tagging and security solutions is now allocating most of its capital to cryptocurrency assets. The mission is to build an “institutional-grade” BNB treasury that generates yield. According to the company, it will use both DeFi lending/staking protocols and Binance Chain specific methods to earn returns on its BNB holdings [44] [45]. This is unorthodox for a biotech, and carries high risk – management warned shareholders that results will depend on volatile crypto markets. However, executives believe the move can “unlock access to high-performance digital assets for investors” traditionally shut out of crypto [46].
Financial commentators have noted the unusual merger of biotech and crypto in Applied DNA’s case. The company’s press materials emphasize that it will still “commercialize proprietary nucleic acid production solutions” even as it builds a crypto balance sheet [47] [48]. To an investor, Applied DNA now offers exposure to two very different growth stories: the biotech trend of synthetic DNA/RNA manufacturing, and the digital-asset trend around Binance’s ecosystem. For example, Applied DNA’s LineaRx subsidiary is advancing platforms like LineaDNA (cell-free DNA printing) and LineaIVT (an integrated DNA-to-mRNA system) for drugs and diagnostics [49] [50].
Biotech Business Context
Prior to this pivot, Applied DNA was best known for its DNA-based security and manufacturing tech. Its LineaDNA™ platform uses large-scale PCR to create high-fidelity synthetic DNA as an alternative to plasmid DNA, aimed at biotherapeutics and diagnostics [51] [52]. LineaRNAP™ is a next-generation RNA polymerase to boost mRNA yields [53]. And LineaIVT™ combines the two for streamlined mRNA production [54]. In late 2024, a Czech regulator approved a Phase I CAR-T cell therapy trial (for AML leukemia) that uses Applied DNA’s Linea DNA in manufacturing [55], highlighting real-world use of its biotech products.
However, Applied DNA had been struggling financially with its legacy business. In Q3 FY2025 (ended June 2025) it reported minimal revenues and significant restructuring costs. The CEO at the time, Judy Murrah, stated the company would “reposition [itself] as a single business aligned with our core competencies” in synthetic DNA/mRNA manufacturing [56]. The Q3 report noted a ~25% reduction in cash burn year-over-year due to cost cuts, and booked a follow-on $600K order for LineaDNA from a global IVD manufacturer [57]. (For investors, the top-line biotech business remains very small; the crypto treasury strategy is now the driver of market interest.)
Expert Commentary and Outlook
Market reaction has been mixed. Some analysts view Applied DNA’s crypto pivot with skepticism, noting the company’s share price is now effectively a proxy for Binance Coin prices. But management and aligned investors are optimistic. CEO Clay Shorrock told investors that, beyond the crypto play, the firm has “taken decisive steps to streamline our cost structure and position the company for long-term sustainability” [58]. He expects the combined biotech/crypto model to deliver “durable value to shareholders” as the new strategy unfolds [59].
Crypto-sector experts see potential upside: SkyBridge’s Scaramucci said APDN provides retail investors “a direct way to participate in the growth of BNB” [60], implying the stock could benefit if the Binance ecosystem expands. Digital-marketing head David Shapiro called the shift “a strategic move toward greater capital efficiency” [61]. However, the company itself warns that BNBX is speculative and very sensitive to cryptocurrency volatility. The success of the yield strategy will depend on execution (via Cypress, etc.), market acceptance of BNB, and regulatory factors in crypto.
As of Oct. 22, 2025, no independent analysts have issued new price targets for BNBX since the crypto strategy took shape. (Notably, many prior reports on APDN were written before 2024 and did not anticipate this pivot.) The stock’s near-term trading is likely to remain volatile as news rolls out and investors weigh this unconventional business mix. In summary, Applied DNA’s story now spans two worlds – cutting-edge DNA biomanufacturing and high-stakes crypto finance – and its stock performance will reflect events in both arenas.
Sources: Official company press releases and filings [62] [63] [64]; Nasdaq and market sites [65] [66]; industry newswire reports [67] [68] [69]; financial news analysis [70] [71]. (All data current as of Oct. 22, 2025.)
References
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