Binance Coin (BNB) surged nearly 12 percent in a day, drawing attention in the cryptocurrency market. As of 9 a.m. on May 31, BNB was up 11.92 percent from the previous day at $720, based on Coin360. At the same time, bitcoin (BTC) rose 0.58 percent to $73,957 and ether (ETH) gained 0.47 percent to $2,025, posting only a modest rebound. Ripple (XRP) was up 0.86 percent and solana (SOL) added 0.9 percent, staying in a narrow range.

The direct catalyst for BNB's jump was asset manager VanEck's launch of a U.S. spot BNB ETF. VanEck chose BNB as its third spot cryptocurrency ETF after bitcoin and ether and listed it on the U.S. market. This is the first official launch in the United States of a spot ETF backed by BNB, and the market is taking it as an achievement that comes just 3 weeks after Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) publicly said at Consensus Miami on May 7 that he was "considering a revival of Binance.US" and expressed his intention to re-enter the U.S. market.

The launch of a BNB ETF appears to have shifted market sentiment despite macro headwinds including the prolonged Iran situation and a surge in U.S. Treasury yields.

Still, Binance has been under compliance monitoring since a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2023, and regulatory uncertainty remains over any re-entry into the U.S. market. Along with whether the BNB ETF can sustain inflows, the June FOMC decision and the outcome of Iran negotiations are seen as key variables that will determine the durability of a broader market rebound.