Nasdaq Delists Biotech Firm Windtree After $700M BNB Treasury Play Fails To Boost Stock

Windtree Therapeutics, a Pennsylvania-based drug developer, is being kicked off from Nasdaq, roughly a month after its $700 million pivot into a digital treasury firm focused on Binance’s $BNB token failed to lift its stock above the stock exchange’s compliance requirements.

In a Tuesday SEC filing, Windtree confirmed trading of its shares on Nasdaq would be halted at the open on Thursday, August 21 after the Warrington, Pennsylvania-based biotech failed to meet the $1 minimum bid price required under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).

While some companies have soared after adopting a crypto treasury strategy, others like Windtree have not been as lucky. The company enjoyed a slight upsurge on July 16 after it unveiled its $BNB treasury bet, but has since slumped by over 90% from a July 18 peak and failed to maintain the important $1 mark to maintain its listing.

Late last month, Windtree announced plans to purchase up to $700 million worth of $BNB to put on its balance sheet, just a day after that the Binance-affiliated crypto entered a parabolic upsurge. The purchase made it the first U.S. public company to invest heavily in $BNB Chain’s native token.

$BNB is the fifth-largest cryptocurrency with a $118.4 billion market capitalization. It was recently trading for $849.44, according to data from CoinGecko. The coin a few hours ago hit a new all-time high price of $881.01, before taking a dip.

Windtree Therapeutics’ move was mirroring the Bitcoin playbook of Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which has amassed 629,376 BTC since adopting the benchmark crypto as its treasury reserve asset on August 11, 2020. But unlike Strategy, which remains a Nasdaq pacesetter, Windtree will now be transitioning to over-the-counter trading under its existing symbol “WINT” following the suspension, per the Tuesday filing.