Written by: yinan_on
0. Preface
In the turbulent world of blockchain, there was a chain that took on the most complex trend of the times in a very simple way. It may not be the most advanced, it may not be the most elegant, and it was even regarded as a "hotbed for speculators", but it single-handedly supported the prosperity of an era.
This chain is called BNB Chain .
Now, as the traffic focus shifts to public chains such as L2, Solana, and Sui, BSC quietly restarts its strategy, and Binance also turns the steering wheel again, betting heavily on ecological reconstruction. Is it a desperate gamble, or a rebirth of an old tree with new buds?
In this drama of "Empire Fights Back", we see not only the update of the chain, but also a multiple confrontation of faith, strategy and destiny.
1. Empire Building: From Binance Chain to Grassroots Rise
---"The great river flows eastward, its waves wash away everything." ---
1.Binance Chain
In April 2019, Binance launched Binance Chain , but it was an "unintelligent chain" - its goal was to support Binance DEX, focusing on transfer speed and stability, and not supporting smart contracts, let alone ecological construction. At that time, it was just a "chain-filling work" of the Binance system, and no one regarded it as a real Ethereum rival.
2. BSC (Binance Smart Chain)
However, in September 2020, everything changed. BSC (Binance Smart Chain) was born.
This is an EVM-compatible chain with low gas fees, fast block generation, and low deployment threshold . But what really made it step onto the historical stage are two weapons: Binance's resource integration capabilities and the narrative dividend of the times .
BSC has some innovations in consensus algorithms. The PoSA (Proof of Stake Authority) consensus algorithm it adopts combines the functions of the Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA) mechanisms. It is built on a network of 21 verification nodes, and the second-level block time can establish a high-speed infrastructure for the DeFi protocol. As of now, the BNB Smart Chain has 50 validators.
3. BNB Chain
In February 2022, BNB Chain was officially launched, which was formed by the merger of BNB Beacon Chain (formerly Binance Chain) and BNB Smart Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain). BNB Beacon Chain focuses on governance (staking and voting), while BNB Smart Chain continues to serve as the infrastructure to support the construction of a large DApp ecosystem.
4. opBNB
opBNB is a Layer 2 scaling solution that aims to enhance the performance of the BNB Smart Chain using the Optimism OP Stack. The solution provides high throughput, low transaction fees, and extremely high transaction processing efficiency, making it suitable for large-scale Web3 applications.
Its scalability exceeds the limitations of Layer 1, with over 4,000 transactions per second (TPS).
With an average gas fee as low as $0.001, opBNB provides high throughput and cost-effective transactions, which can greatly enhance the user experience.
5. BNB Greenfield
BNB Greenfield is a decentralized storage and blockchain storage solution that aims to leverage the power of decentralized technology in the fields of data ownership and data economy. The main features are: native cross-chain programmability, EVM-compatible storage, high-speed decentralized storage, and seamless migration from Web 2.0.
6. BNB
BNB stands for " Build and Build". In addition to providing fuel for transactions on the BNB chain (similar to Gas on Ethereum), BNB also acts as a governance token. Holding BNB confers the right to express opinions and is a necessary condition for participating in the decentralized on-chain governance of the BNB chain.
7. MVB (Most Valuable Builder, referred to as "MVB") Most Valuable Developer Program
In February 2021, Binance announced the launch of the Most Valuable Builder (MVB) program under the $100 million DeFi seed fund to connect the two fields of DeFi and CeFi. The main purpose of this program is to help high-quality entrepreneurial projects on the Binance Smart Chain to make more innovative changes, obtain mature industry experience and financial support, and accelerate the coordinated development of the community and projects.
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That year was the first year of DeFi . SushiSwap, Yearn, and Curve were all on fire on Ethereum. Ethereum was also becoming a "purgatory" for developers due to high fees and severe congestion. In this context, BSC took over the first wave of developers who "fled Ethereum".
What followed was the dual-wheel drive of "chain game + Meme": CryptoBlades, PancakeSwap, Safemoon, BabyDoge. For a time, a hundred flowers bloomed, TVL skyrocketed, and daily active users soared.
At the same time, many competitors such as OKT Chain, HECO Chain, TRON Chain, Polygon, etc. appeared one after another, but except for Polygon (which successfully transformed later), most of them disappeared. BSC, on the other hand, defeated its rivals with three tactics: "cheap, efficient, and traffic-carrying", and finally survived to the next era.
2. The throne tilts: from the peak of traffic to the edge of silence
1. Peak painting: brilliant presentation
- In May 2021, BSC's total DeFi locked volume exceeded US$20 billion , second only to Ethereum among all public chains.
- With more than 2 million daily active addresses, PancakeSwap's 24-hour transaction volume has ranked first in the entire network for several consecutive months.
- Memes such as Safemoon and BabyDoge have driven the on-chain community into a frenzy, attracting a large number of retail investors to “refine coins” and “mine.”
2. Sudden changes in traffic: Solana and the siphon effect of L2
Solana’s “retail investor magnet” :
- Since Q4 2024, Solana's daily active addresses have been rising, reaching an average of about 1.7 million on May 7, 2025, for the first time being on par with BSC in terms of activity.
- Pump.fun ’s extremely low-threshold Meme on-chain issuance model has attracted an influx of creators from Telegram and TikTok, driving the activity of tens of millions of long-tail wallets.
L2 Hundred Flowers Blooming :
- More than 60 Ethereum L2s, including Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, Mantle, and Scroll, are developing in parallel, which on the one hand reconstruct the EVM security narrative, and on the other hand, divide developers, TVL, and users into smaller groups.
- The industry began to worry about "liquidity fragmentation" . Several researchers pointed out in the Cointelegraph column that although the surge in the number of L2s is a sign of ecological prosperity, it also directly reduced the stickiness to a single L1.
3. BSC’s Silence on the Edge: Innovation and Regulation
TVL and revenue:
- As of June 6, 2025, BSC TVL is approximately US$5.9 billion , only one-third of its peak.
- In the past year, BNB Chain TVL has shrunk by 11% in 30 days, and DApp weekly transaction volume has dropped by 25%.
Innovation and business card:
- When Solana repackages the "retail investors' wealth-making story" with high performance + Meme, and Ethereum L2 attracts developers with security and modularity, BSC seems to lack its own phenomenal identity.
Regulatory and brand pressure :
- Binance CEX suffered a series of heavy blows from global regulators. CZ handed over the baton to Richard Teng, and the BSC ecosystem was under pressure from public opinion. Developers and funds gradually moved to compliance-friendly or new narrative chains.
"To prosper without maintaining it, to decline without perishing, this is the normal state of an empire."
- BSC has been the second largest lock-up chain in the world since the DeFi boom in 2021. Then, it compares the traffic siphoning and capital fragmentation brought about by Solana's "retail magnet" effect and the flourishing of Ethereum L2 between 2024 and 2025, depicting its multiple silhouettes of declining TVL, decreasing daily activity, brand narrative vacuum and regulatory haze. The decline after prosperity and the wait for prosperity are the norm of the empire - all of this lays the groundwork for the "reignition" below.
3. Dynasty rises again: Can BSC become the focus of the new order again?
---"When luck is gone, heroes are helpless; when luck comes, heaven and earth are on your side."---
1. Confidence restored: CZ returns and builds!
- On September 28, 2024, CZ was released and his cousin returned. After his release, Zhao Changpeng posted his first tweet in four months, greeting the cryptocurrency community with a simple "gm".
- Later, the active interaction between CZ and Yijie on X ignited the enthusiasm of the community. For example, CZ forwarded a post by community user Mubarak Meme, and Yijie worked online, becoming Binance's top customer service representative and actively responding to community users. This directly promoted a surge in Meme coin trading volume, with Mubarak's single-day trading volume reaching nearly $100 million.
2. Meme rekindles: TST and MUBARAK’s wealth effect
$TST
- The origin of the matter is that in February 2026, bnb chain released the FourMeme demonstration video and created the $TST token. The subsequent clarifications and constructions by Big Cousin were joked by the community as "just like the first time going to Shang K and wanting to touch it but feeling a little embarrassed." Big Cousin also said that he was still learning, but after some twists and turns, $TST went directly to spot, shaping the wealth effect of BNB CHAIN!
$MUBARAK
- On March 12, Abu Dhabi investment company MGX spent $2 billion to acquire a minority stake in Binance.
- On March 13, CZ himself retweeted the media news that Binance accepted MGX investment.
- On March 13, at 2:38 pm (UTC+8), Binance Chinese posted a message with a picture of "an image of a piece of cloth on the head".
- On March 13, at 5:20 pm (UTC+8), CZ only sent out the word "MUBARAK" (meaning "blessing" in Arabic) and quoted the Binance Chinese tweet, thus kicking off the $ MUBARAK !
3. Collaborative expansion: USD1 stablecoin ignites new narrative
The strategic position of stablecoins has risen :
- In the post-FTX era, on-chain liquidity is increasingly concentrated in stablecoins; the U.S. Senate passed the GENIUS Act (Stablecoin Act) with a vote of 66-32. This milestone progress marks the imminent implementation of the U.S. stablecoin regulatory framework.
USD1 endorsed by the Trump family:
- USD1 is a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, launched by @worldlibertyfi (WLFI) in March 2025, minted on Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and listed on Binance spot on May 23, 2025.
- The introduction of USD1 not only supplements BSC's dollar-denominated asset portfolio, but also provides a new value anchor for DeFi, GameFi and Meme tracks.
“$B” Ignition Effect :
- Initially, $B’s narrative was the BNBCHAIN mascot. In May, the BUILDon project officially announced that $USD1 would be added as a core trading pair. This move directly linked $B to the WLFI project, turning it into a core token bound to USD1 and beginning to take over the liquidity of USD1.
- Two days after adding the USD1 trading pair, BUILDon announced that it would co-host a USD1 trading competition with the Fourmeme platform. In the following days, $B accounted for more than 50% of the $USD1 trading volume on the entire chain, becoming the de facto main USD1 pool.
- Subsequently, BUILDon was launched on Binance Alpha, WLFI announced the purchase of $B, and a series of favorable announcements directly pushed up its market value, with the highest FDV reaching 460 million US dollars, further igniting BSC sentiment.
4. Binance Alpha: The flywheel of “new listing” under the liquidity dilemma
Background dilemma :
In 2024-2025, once many projects are listed on Binance spot, they often "open high and close low", becoming the end point for the exit of institutions and early round liquidity. Retail investors' confidence is frustrated, the secondary transaction volume of the platform drops sharply, and community users continue to FUD.
Alpha Section is here:
On December 17, 2024, Binance Wallet launched Binance Alpha , which aims to discover emerging crypto projects and provide users with an entry point to discover early projects that shape the future of the crypto ecosystem. The launch of Binance Alpha, which cuts in with earlier and lower-market-value projects, not only removes the restrictions of Binance's stricter spot standards, but also provides more options for community users with higher risk preferences and project parties who are racking their brains to go public on Binance.
AlphaPoints mechanism:
On April 25, 2025, Binance Alpha Points scoring system was launched. At the beginning, as long as users had traded tokens in the Alpha sector, they would be airdropped tokens. The launch of Alpha Points started a daily scoring frenzy. Users must reach the points threshold to have the opportunity to obtain airdrops of newly launched Alpha projects or participate in the Binance Wallet IPO.
The launch of Alpha Points further broadens the moat of Binance and BNB CHAIN. This move has multiple effects:
First, it has opened up new channels :
In view of the visible benefits in the early stage, from 18-year-old college students to 90-year-old grandmothers, community users have mobilized their aunts and uncles, and the loving family has brushed Alpha together. It seems to have become a new revenue-generating channel in the current liquidity recession. Community users even ask every day: Have you Alpha today?, which shows the effectiveness of Alpha in attracting new users.
Second, it increased transaction volume :
The demand for brushing points directly increases the number of DEX transactions and on-chain gas consumption, especially the transaction volume of BNB CHAIN, because brushing Alpha points only doubles the transaction volume on BSC.
The third is the suppression of competing platforms :
By locking in community user traffic through AlphaPoints, we can weaken the siphoning of retail investors by competitors such as pump.fun and other trading platforms.
4. Who will be the winner in this betting?
---"Everything can be distributed, and sovereignty ultimately belongs to the user."---
In the past two years, high regulatory pressure and black swan events have repeatedly reminded the market:
Decentralization is not just a slogan, but the fundamental value of blockchain .
CZ stated bluntly in his long article on October 9, 2022 - Centralization vs. Decentralization (2022) :
Decentralization is not binary, nor is it one-way. Decentralization has multiple aspects. Each aspect is a gradient scale, not simply black and white.
It’s also important to remember that decentralization is a means to an end, not the end in itself. The ends are freedom, security, and ease of use.
---“not your keys, not your coins”. Why decentralization? ---
Because we don’t want a few centralized entities to have unlimited power over us, charge us exorbitant fees, control how we spend our after-tax dollars, etc. We want to give power, control, and freedom to the people.
1. Decentralization is unstoppable: wallet is sovereignty
Web3 Wallet & WalletTGE :
The new version of the wallet embeds cross-chain bridges, TGE Launchpad and ZK identity modules, striving to put all “entry-application-assets” back on the chain.
AlphaPoints × Self-Hosted :
Points accumulation can be completed on the chain, guiding users to actively learn signature and private key management.
2. AI empowerment: BNBChain’s second growth curve
According to the official "BNBChain Technology Roadmap 2025" blog, AI is listed as one of the three key directions for the future, and the core focus includes a complete closed loop of "data → computing power → application → tool".
Currently, AI applications on BNB Chain are developing across multiple industries, including:
- AI agent platforms and launchpads: Myshell , Eliza , Revox
- AI-powered games: World of Dypians , Xterio , SERAPH: In the Darkness
- AI-driven decentralized social networks: Tako , Jam.AI
- AI-driven decentralized finance: Termix , Anon
3. Betting scheduling: four fronts interweave into a network
- Emotions — $MUBARAK and Meme are instrumentalized to attract users’ attention;
- Value ——USD1 is deeply bound to BNB Chain, complementing the depth of stablecoins;
- Incentives — MVB + AlphaPoints + opBNBGas returns to stabilize developers;
- Entry point ——Web3 Wallet+WalletTGE, expanding on-chain traffic;
Once the four lines merge, and with the addition of AIHub and Greenfieldv2's hard technologies, BSC may gain the position of "AI native traffic portal in the era of multiple chains."
5. With sails hoisted high, where is the way home?
In the triple vortex of "decentralization × AI × high liquidity", BSC is using USD1 to replenish its blood, AlphaPoints to create waves, and AIHub to plan for the future, trying to write a "new chapter of the empire."
Binance's empire chose to return to its most familiar territory and ignite a new fire.
This bet is about:
Is the echo of faith still there? Can the clamor of the grassroots rise again? Can the engine of narrative still run?
If you still remember the first time you used PancakeSwap,
If you have ever felt the warmth of “convenience, speed and fireworks” in on-chain transactions,
Maybe you will see a glimmer of hope in the return of BSC.
History is loading, waiting for that moment to be “confirmed on the chain.
Related Links:
What is the difference between Binance and bnb-chain?
Introduction to BNB Chain: The Evolution of Binance Smart Chain
CZ on Centralization Vs. Decentralization (2022)
Binance Launches Most Valuable Developer (MVB) Accelerator Program
The GENIUS Act, a stablecoin bill, was voted through. Which crypto assets will benefit from it?
BNBChain Blog: https://www.bnbchain.org/zh-CN/blog
BNBChain official website: https://www.bnbchain.org/zh-CN