BNB Chain has been at the centre of discussion this week as its decentralised exchange (DEX) volume surpassed Ethereum and Solana. Let’s break down what happened and what drove this surge.
Total Value Locked Growth and Decentralised Exchange Domination
According to DefiLlama, BNB Chain’s total value locked (TVL) has grown by approximately 6% over the past week, surpassing the growth rates of many major Layer 1 and Layer 2 blockchains. This indicates growing confidence in the network, with more crypto liquidity being locked into its decentralised finance applications and staking protocols. The surge in TVL reflects the expanding user base and heightened activity across various projects within the ecosystem.
BNB Chain also secured the #1 position in daily decentralised exchange (DEX) volume, recording a 38% increase over the week. This impressive performance stands in stark contrast to other leading blockchains, which saw their trading volumes decline by 20-50% during the same period.
PancakeSwap Surpasses Uniswap
Building on this momentum, on 20 March 2025, PancakeSwap, the native decentralised crypto exchange of BNB Chain, generated around $2.7 billion in daily trading volume, surpassing Uniswap. This significant increase reflects the growing adoption of PancakeSwap among traders and liquidity providers. As one of the most widely used decentralised exchanges, PancakeSwap benefits from BNB Chain’s lower transaction fees and faster processing times, making it an attractive option for users looking to maximise their trading efficiency. The price of PancakeSwap’s native token, CAKE, also surged by 40% on March 17, indicating heightened investor confidence and increased demand for the platform’s services.
Memecoin Mania
The excitement around PancakeSwap's success has been further amplified by the growing craze for memecoins on BNB Chain. From Changpeng Zhao’s dog-inspired memecoin, $BROCCOLI, to the rapid rise of $MUBARAK, BNB Chain has become a hotspot for memecoin traders. Binance has also started listing more native BNB memecoins.
Memecoin launchpads like GraFun, Four.Meme or Flap, which DWF Labs partnered with in December 2024, continue to build and support the BNB Chain community, strengthening the memecoin momentum and driving on-chain volume. These platforms provide essential infrastructure for launching and trading new tokens, attracting both developers and investors looking to capitalise on the latest trends.
Major Catalysts for BNB Chain
The mentioned wave of activity has been driven by several key factors that are shaping BNB Chain’s current success and potential. These include:
- Strategic expansion into memecoins;
- Fresh verticals for ecosystem growth;
- Positive news.
Each of these factors plays a crucial role in shaping the future of BNB Chain. Let’s delve deeper into each of them.
Strategic Expansion into Memecoins
The first significant driver of BNB Chain’s growth has been its strategic focus on memecoins. BNB Chain has recognised the potential of memecoins and has actively embraced this trend.
Changpeng Zhao has been engaging with memecoins on BNB Chain, buying tokens like $TST and $Mubarak, which has sparked discussion and increased crypto trading activity. BNB Chain has also launched various campaigns to attract blockchain developers, crypto liquidity providers, and retail investors. Notably, they announced a $4.4 million BNB Chain Meme Liquidity Support Program last month, on February 2025.
Fresh Verticals for the Ecosystem
While memecoins have added excitement to the ecosystem, BNB Chain is not solely reliant on them.
It is expanding into new areas. Beyond DeFi and memecoins, BNB Chain is expanding into new areas like Decentralised Science (DeSci), which helps researchers use blockchain for funding and collaboration. It is also exploring Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN), which refers to Web3 protocols that bring together and provide services or resources from a decentralised network of physical machines and devices, and Real World Assets (RWA), which bring traditional assets like property and commodities into the blockchain space.
Positive News for BNB Chain and Binance
And the last but not least catalyst of continued expansion of BNB Chain would be one of the most impactful recent announcements is that Binance Wallet has introduced zero crypto trading fees for all trading pairs for six months. Lower fees encourage higher transaction volumes, fostering crypto liquidity and user engagement across the BNB Chain ecosystem.
Further reinforcing confidence in Binance and BNB Chain, MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment firm, has announced a staggering $2 billion investment into Binance. This marks the largest single investment ever made in a cryptocurrency company and underscores the growing institutional interest in blockchain and digital assets.
Finally, one of the most significant drivers of BNB Chain’s growth has been the upcoming Pascal Hardfork upgrade that enables EIP-7702 smart contract wallets on BNB Chain, offering features like social recovery, paymasters, multi-signature security, and gasless transactions for a seamless Web3 experience. These enhancements will not only improve security and user accessibility but also attract more crypto projects and developers to build on the BNB Chain, further strengthening its position in the blockchain ecosystem.
Wrap Up
As BNB Chain continues to thrive, it has also attracted interest from key investors looking to support projects building on its network.
DWF Ventures has expressed interest in supporting projects built on BNB Chain. Founders looking to build on BNB Chain are encouraged to reach out for potential crypto venture funding opportunities.
Related Articles
DWF Labs has committed to invest $7.5 million in AirDAO, a Layer 1 blockchain, to further drive
With memecoins gaining popularity on networks like Solana and Tron, BNB Chain could be the next
Zignaly, a social investment platform using the Z-Score technology to connect fund managers with