Original | Odaily Planet Daily ( @OdailyChina )

By Golem ( @web3_golem )

BNB Chain has been buzzing lately. BNB's price has repeatedly hit new highs, reaching a peak of $1,349, with a monthly increase exceeding 25%. BNB's market capitalization briefly surpassed USDT, ranking third among cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, the BNB Chain meme season has exploded again, sparking a global craze for Chinese language learning. This has not only attracted overseas meme investors to join the Chinese meme community, but has also inspired many overseas project developers to learn and speak Chinese.

On October 9th, Binance Wallet's newly launched Meme Rush platform garnered widespread market attention. Its successful launch of BNBHolder, the first meme token migrated to a decentralized exchange (DEX), saw its market capitalization surpass $100 million within half an hour. This demonstrates the current concentration of attention, capital, and traffic on BNB Chain.

A bull market for BNB Chain

There is no doubt that this bull market belongs to BNB Chain, and the on-chain indicators reflecting the prosperity of the ecosystem are "blossoming in all directions."

According to Artemis data, BNB Chain's on-chain DEX trading volume has been steadily increasing since September, rivaling Ethereum and Solana. Entering October, as the on-chain's popularity continued to grow, on October 8th, BNB Chain's on-chain DEX trading volume surpassed Ethereum and Solana for the first time, becoming the largest on the entire network. This momentum has continued, widening the gap between them. On October 8th, BNB Chain's on-chain DEX trading volume reached $6.38 billion, while Solana's was only $4.96 billion.

Meanwhile, DeFiLlama data shows that BNB Chain's TVL has been steadily increasing. In April 2025, BNB Chain's TVL was approximately $8 billion. In just six months, its TVL has reached $16.38 billion, a growth rate exceeding 100%. This growth in TVL not only reflects investors' trust in BNB Chain but also signifies the continued prosperity of the BNB Chain ecosystem, creating more investment opportunities for investors.

The enthusiasm for trading capital can be better reflected from the perspective of on-chain fees. Artemis data shows that BNB Chain's on-chain fees surpassed Tron to become the highest on the entire network on October 5th. Since then, it has been in a continuous lead. On October 8th, BNB Chain's on-chain fees reached $3.2 million, while Tron, ranked second, had $1.3 million.

Capital always seeks profit. The rise in user trading enthusiasm suggests a wealth effect on the BNB Chain, with meme users flocking to the platform. Data from the meme distribution platform Four.meme is also worth noting. According to Dune data , Four.meme's total revenue currently exceeds 35,231 BNB (approximately $45 million). Its revenue over the past seven days has surpassed Pump.fun, and it boasts over 70,000 daily unique users.

Of course, BNB Chain isn't just a "meme chain." It also played a key role in the previously popular Prep DEX market. Artemis data shows that on September 23rd, Aster's on-chain contract trading volume surpassed Hyperliquid to become the largest on the network, with a peak single-day contract trading volume reaching $99 billion.

Aster's success is inseparable from the support of BNB Chain. Its current TVL is US$2.44 billion , of which US$2.167 billion is on BNB Chain, accounting for as much as 88%.

The widespread prosperity of BNB Chain has instantly eclipsed other public chains. Previously, BNB Chain seemed to be a perpetual third-place performer, often overshadowed by Ethereum and Solana. People even habitually assumed that Solana's only competitor was Ethereum. This time, BNB Chain's rise to the top across all metrics was unexpected.

Solana shared 50 Cent's "Many Men (Wish Death)" on social media, expressing its unwavering commitment to "not being defeated." BNB Chain responded with 50 Cent's "Window Shopper," expressing its commitment to "proving myself through hard work and fighting back against the onlookers." The two parties are both rivals, each pursuing their own goals, and also fellow crypto industry players.

BNB Chain Immortal Cultivation Journey

However, some believe that BNB Chain's recent surge in popularity is merely a statistical phenomenon, driven entirely by the meme-fueled market created by CZ and He Yi's "calls," rather than BNB Chain's own success. After the meme craze dies down, BNB Chain will likely be surpassed by Solana, or even fade into obscurity.

Regarding the meme call, CZ responded that the BNB Chain meme coin boom was not a deliberate endorsement by him, but rather a coincidence, not an endorsement. While the BSC meme coin boom may have been a coincidence of favorable timing, location, and people, the current prosperity of BNB Chain is definitely not a coincidence.

On October 10th, Binance co-founder He Zhang published a lengthy article on Binance Square, systematically expounding on his entrepreneurial philosophy of cultivating immortality through the principles of "Taoism, Dharma, Art, and Instruments." BNB Chain's current bull market performance is a testament to his advanced studies in these areas.

High-quality asset trading engine

Becoming a trading engine for high-quality assets has always been one of BNB Chain's ultimate goals. To achieve this, BNB Chain must possess sufficient throughput and sufficiently low on-chain fees. To this end, BNB Chain has undergone multiple technical upgrades this year. The Lorentz and Maxwell hard fork upgrades in April and June reduced BNB Chain's block time to 0.75 seconds, significantly improving network responsiveness and providing solid logistical support for the recent BSC meme craze.

At the end of September, BNB Chain's transaction fees were reduced from 0.1 Gwei to 0.05 Gwei. This improvement attracted more users and developers. Recently, BNB Chain's daily gas usage exceeded 5 trillion, primarily driven by 24 million Swap transactions, accounting for 77% of the total network transaction volume, bringing it one step closer to becoming a high-performance public transaction chain.

Sufficient funding and builder support

In addition, BNB Chain provides ample financial support for ecosystem development. On October 8th, BNB Chain announced the establishment of a $1 billion Builder Fund, backed by YZi Labs, to strengthen support for founders of BNB ecosystem projects. The fund will support projects in areas including trading, RWA (Real World Assets), artificial intelligence (AI), DeSci (Decentralized Science), DeFi, payments, and wallets, enabling project developers to fully leverage BNB Chain's high-performance, low-cost infrastructure.

At the same time, BNB Chain's flagship accelerator program, Most Valuable Builders (MVB), has also been helping builders within the ecosystem grow. In the past ten quarters, MVB has supported over 200 projects, helping founders and builders improve their products, obtain funding, and reach millions of users.

RWA, stablecoins, and AI are still gaining momentum

While BNB Chain's on-chain memes and decentralized exchanges currently attract much of the market's attention, the platform also offers comprehensive infrastructure support for RWAs, stablecoins, and AI. BNB Chain boasts the most comprehensive RWA stack, encompassing everything from compliant issuance and secondary liquidity to DeFi functionality, all within a single ecosystem. BNB Smart Chain ensures secure, low-cost, and real-time transaction execution and settlement, while opBNB facilitates high-throughput rollups and Greenfield provides decentralized data storage. Many major companies, including Circle, VanEck, and Ondo, have chosen BNB Chain to issue RWAs.

At the same time, BNB Chain's "One BNB" architecture (consisting of BSC, opBNB, and BNB Greenfield) also provides strong infrastructure support for the development of AI projects, providing the scalability, speed, and secure data management required for advanced AI applications.

BNB Chain is also actively promoting the development of the stablecoin ecosystem. BNB Chain launched a "0 Fee Transfer" promotion for stablecoins. Until October 31st, transfers of USDT and USD 1 on BNB Chain will be free of gas fees. Since the launch of this promotion on September 20, 2024, BNB Chain has covered over $5 million in gas fees for users. In addition to eliminating fees, BNB Chain is integrating USD 1 into more protocols and strengthening partnerships with more exchanges, wallets, and bridges. These initiatives not only save users substantial funds but also contribute to making stablecoins more accessible and widely used.

In short, BNB Chain's current success isn't accidental; it's the result of years of continuous development. Without BNB Chain's support, Four.meme wouldn't have surpassed Pump.fun, and Aster wouldn't have surpassed Hypeliquid. Similarly, thanks to BNB Chain's continued support, the RWA, AI, and stablecoin sectors could also see similar success in the future as Meme and DEX have today.

"Dual Cultivation of Coins and Stocks"

In addition to building its ecosystem within the crypto-native sector, BNB Chain is also actively expanding BNB's reach within traditional finance. Many traditional financial institutions have recognized BNB's long-term value and are actively building BNB DAT treasuries. "We've reached out to approximately 50 potential DAT teams, but will only support a handful of strong companies," CZ stated in mid-September, stating that while many institutions are interested in BNB, he will not blindly support it.

The BNB treasury company that currently holds the highest market value of BNB is CEA Industries, which raised $500 million in private financing in July with the support of YZi Labs. It currently holds 480,000 BNB, worth over $600 million.

In the past few years, Binance and BNB have been under continuous regulatory criticism. However, as regulatory attitudes have shifted, BNB Chain, which has flourished in ecological fields such as Meme, DeFi, stablecoins and AI, is being recognized and "buyed in" by traditional finance.

The Evolving BNB Chain

Even if we take a step back, the current BNB Chain meme craze started with a familiar formula: the familiar "CZ-style build." In February and March of this year, CZ leveraged his personal influence to drive massive traffic and a meme craze for BNB Chain. Meme concepts like CZ's pet dog and his Arabic image became popular, only slightly surpassing the current Chinese meme craze.

However, BNB Chain was often criticized by the community at the time. On the one hand, the on-chain transaction experience was poor, with frequent delays. On the other hand, there was no timely marketing support to cope with the huge traffic brought by CZ. Therefore, after the market sentiment faded, BNB Chain returned to calm.

Having learned its lesson, BNB Chain is no longer the "new kid on the block" it was at the beginning of the year. Building on its accumulated infrastructure, BNB Chain has remained stable despite the increased popularity and influence it has received. No complaints have been raised about the chain's performance. Furthermore, BNB Chain officials are collaborating more closely with CZ, actively addressing community concerns and fostering a fair trading environment for users.

A day in the cryptocurrency world is like a year in the real world. In this environment, self-renewal is paramount. While there's no eternal champion in this market, the ever-evolving BNB Chain has provided the answer to maintaining its position in each cycle.