BNB’s “mindshare” has jumped more than 250% in the past week, according to data from Messari, as analysts highlight a growing market preference for high-throughput, low-cost blockchains.
The native token of BNB Chain surpassed $1,330 for the first time on Wednesday, rising over 27% in the last seven days, per CoinGecko data. This milestone comes less than a week after it hit its previous high of $1,111.
Crypto market intelligence firm Messari noted in an X post that BNB’s mindshare — a metric tracking public attention, discussion, and awareness — surged 251% to 5.09% over the past week. The report added that the rally has been accompanied by “very bullish sentiment.”
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Rachael Lucas, an analyst at Australian crypto exchange BTC Markets, said the surge in sentiment likely reflects BNB’s advantage amid a broader market shift toward high-throughput, low-cost blockchains with vibrant ecosystems.
According to Token Terminal, average transaction fees on BNB Chain sit at around $0.46. A recent network upgrade — activated on Tuesday — increased the gas limit to 100 million per second and cut block times to 750 milliseconds, down from the previous three seconds and 47 million gas limit per second.
Memecoins and market cap gains drive investor enthusiasm
Two major catalysts behind BNB’s strong momentum this week are its expanding market capitalization and renewed interest in memecoins.
BNB’s market cap, which hovered near $140 billion on Oct. 1, surged to more than $183 billion by Wednesday — solidifying its position as the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
“Its recent overtaking of XRP and Tether in market capitalization highlights growing investor confidence in BNB’s long-term potential,” Lucas told Cointelegraph.
Meanwhile, traders have been raking in sizable profits from small-cap memecoins on the BNB Chain over the past week, with many of the top performers favoring BNB-native tokens over those on other networks.
“The memecoin boom has driven retail engagement, while innovations like onchain access to macroeconomic data are attracting DeFi developers.”
Ecosystem expansion and institutional interest drive momentum
On Wednesday, BNB unveiled a $1 billion builder fund aimed at supporting developers creating projects on its network — spanning areas such as artificial intelligence, trading, wallets, and payment services.
Lucas noted that initiatives like the builder fund “demonstrate a strong commitment to fostering developer growth,” adding that the recent surge in memecoin activity has propelled BNB Chain’s network fees and overall usage to record levels.
According to blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, BNB Chain currently leads the market in decentralized exchange (DEX) volume, recording over $6 billion in trades and $5.57 million in on-chain fees.
“Institutional participation — such as CEA Industries’ recent treasury allocation — further reinforces market confidence,” Lucas said. “While short-term technical indicators suggest BNB may be overbought, its strong fundamentals, real-world utility, and growing developer traction form a solid foundation.”
BNB has also rolled out key network upgrades this year, including the Maxwell upgrade in June — designed to deliver faster block production — and the Lorentz Hard Fork in April, which introduced reduced block times and improved validator networking.
User metrics on the rise
BNB Chain’s total value locked (TVL) has continued to climb, reaching $9.26 billion, while the number of active addresses surged to 73.24 million last month — the highest level on record.
“BNB’s outperformance amid broader market weakness signals that capital is rotating toward ecosystems demonstrating tangible usage and growth,” Lucas added.
“While comparisons to past cycles warrant caution, BNB’s fundamentals, not just price action, are driving this momentum.”
