The BNB (BNB) price rose 7% between September 11 and September 13, breaking $550 for the first time in two weeks. This move significantly outpaced the 2% gain seen across the broader altcoin market cap over the same period, indicating a specific dynamic related to the BNB chain and the Binance exchange.
In a broader sense, BNB has struggled to maintain levels above $600 for the past three months, but that has been enough to solidify its position as the third-largest cryptocurrency outside of stablecoins. The last time Solana (SOL) surpassed BNB was on August 8, and the gap is still comfortably $17.7 billion.
CZ’s Release from US Detention and Development of Binance Launchpad
According to X user MJ, the BNB price surge is partly due to the release of Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao from detention on September 29.
A U.S. federal judge has sentenced the former CEO of Binance to four months in prison after pleading guilty to failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program while supervising the cryptocurrency exchange. CZ was detained on May 31, but was recently transferred to a residential reentry facility in California.
MJ also mentioned that the upcoming BNB re-staking program and two new Binance Launchpad pools are contributing factors to the increase.
The Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) Launchpool will run for 3 days, and users can stake both BNB and FDUSD. The Telegram mini-app game is said to have over 100 million players, and Binance will distribute 3 billion HMSTR tokens to depositors.
In Hamster Kombat, players take on the role of a cryptocurrency exchange CEO, with the goal of growing the company through strategic investments, upgrades, and daily challenges. The goal is to earn HMSTR tokens, and no downloads are required other than the Telegram app.
Likewise, the Catizen (CATI) Binance Launchpad will run for 4 days. The cat-themed gaming platform on Telegram is also distributing 90 million CATI tokens to BNB and FDUSD depositors. As for the BNB re-staking program, there is currently no official confirmation from Binance, and it is only a rumor.
The increase in BNB chain activity also includes projects beyond DeFi.
Attributing the BNB rally solely to the launchpad and the anticipation of the official BNB re-staking program ignores a key aspect of the token’s value: demand within BNB chain applications. Beyond decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases, every smart contract running on the network will require BNB payment processing fees.
Successful examples leveraging the BNB chain include Cellula, an immersive metaverse game where users create and evolve digital assets in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs); StarryNift, a multiplayer metaverse with gaming and social networking features; QORPO World, a gaming platform with an integrated NFT marketplace and Web3 wallet; and ApeBond, an on-chain launchpad for upcoming projects.
According to DappRadar, BNB Chain decentralized application (DApp) transaction volume increased by 12% in the week ending September 13, reaching $5.45 billion. In comparison, Ethereum’s transaction volume decreased by 23% in the same period, while Ton Network’s volume was flat at $645 million.
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The main takeaway from BNB Chain was PancakeSwap’s 26% increase in volume, while Avalon Finance saw an 88% increase. On the other hand, 0x Protocol saw the biggest drop, with a 86% decrease in volume week-over-week. According to DappRadar, there was a 20% increase in active addresses interacting with BNB Chain DApps.
Notable highlights include Balance, a Web3 gaming platform with 87,350 active addresses, and GombleGames, an app that turns classic Web2 games into immersive Web3 adventures, which amassed 19,170 active addresses in just 7 days.
The recent increase in BNB chain activity, including use cases beyond DeFi, has been a significant factor behind the recent BNB price surge. With the launch of CZ and strong anticipation surrounding the rumored BNB re-staking program, the possibility of BNB reaching $600 in the near term looks promising.
This article is for general information purposes only and is not intended to be, and should not be taken as, legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.