YZi Labs, the family office of Binance co-founders Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Yi He, has launched an activist campaign to seize control of BNB Network (BNC), a Nasdaq-listed company formerly known as CEA Industries. YZi Labs is taking action after expressing concerns that the company's rollout has stalled and investor communication has broken down.

YZi Labs, which manages approximately $10 billion in assets, has filed a Schedule 14A outlining several complaints against the current management. The firm accuses the management of slow execution, minimal investor relations outreach, delays in core regulatory filings, and a near-total absence of institution-facing marketing. Furthermore, YZi Labs claims that CEO David Namdar has been promoting other digital-asset treasury ideas while BNB Network's rollout has faltered. The filing also challenges the influence of 10X Capital, which YZi Labs says has a dominant presence on the board while acting as an asset manager tied to the project.

The move by YZi Labs represents a sharp reversal from the cooperative tone surrounding a $500 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) that YZi Labs and 10X Capital backed just months prior. The PIPE transformed CEA Industries, formerly a nicotine-vape manufacturer, into BNB Network (ticker: BNC), with the aim of providing institutions with long-term exposure to BNB. Following the PIPE, BNB Network's stock jumped over 600% in July. At the time, executives like CEO David Namdar and former CalPERS CIO Russell Read, who were brought in during the transaction, promoted the plan as a means to create a transparent institutional entry point into the Binance-linked ecosystem.

However, YZi Labs now asserts that the rollout has fallen off track and that management has not acted swiftly enough to address investor concerns or provide clear reporting during a volatile period for the BNB token. The firm also points out that the gap between the share price and the underlying treasury is a critical issue for a vehicle meant to mirror BNB's value.

To rectify the situation, YZi Labs is seeking to expand the board, reverse recent bylaw changes, and install a new set of directors through a written-consent process. If most outstanding shares approve, control would shift to Zhao's family office without the need for a shareholder meeting. The activist move represents a sharp reversal from the cooperative tone surrounding the PIPE just a few months earlier.

BNB Network's treasury currently holds approximately 515,000 BNB, valued at around $412 million at an average cost of $851. The company's shares fell nearly 11% in early trading on Monday to $6.35, widening the discount to its reported net asset value (NAV) of $8.09 per share. This decline has pushed the stock's multiple of NAV to roughly 0.8x, a level that tends to draw scrutiny when a company's primary purpose is transparent asset exposure.

The situation is further complicated by falling BNB prices and thinning liquidity, which amplify the impact of any delays in reporting or messaging. The months ahead will reveal whether BNB Network can stabilize its rollout or whether control shifts to YZi Labs, potentially setting a new course for the publicly traded BNB treasury.

The outcome of this situation could have significant implications for the future of BNB Network and the broader trend of corporate and institutional adoption of BNB as a treasury asset.