BNB Nears $250 Level As Market Suffers Volatility; What’s Driving It?

Binance’s utility coin BNB has posted significant gains, surprising investors as the broader crypto market slumps. Bitcoin and Ethereum, including most altcoins, have gone on recess while BNB surges amid rapid expansion plans on the Binance ecosystem.

BNB’s spike on Tuesday, August 1, hinged on Binance’s announcement about the asset’s debut in the Japanese market through its newly launched subsidiary, Binance Japan. BNB jumped dramatically from $236.8555 to $246.0655, a nearly 4% increase, immediately after the news circulated the market. 

BNB Price Bullish Amid Japanese Debut

It is noteworthy that BNB is launching on Binance Japan for the first time since the history of Binance. Moreover, Binance Japan is the only Japanese exchange offering the token on its platform. Therefore, venturing into a new market is like achieving a major milestone for BNB and could guarantee a wider user base and increased daily transactions for the token.

Alongside the announcement for the launch of Binance Japan, Binance is offering spot and leverage crypto trading on 34 cryptocurrencies. This vast list potentially entails more transactions on Binance, leading to more BNB spending as the platform’s utility token.

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But surprisingly, the price increase is not reflected in BNB’s trading volume, down over 47% in a 24-hour period. CoinMarketCap data shows BNB recorded over $1 billion in trading volume toward the close of Monday’s trading session. 

The token saw an over 253% surge in trading volume on July 31, which didn’t reflect its nearly 1% price decline during the same period. After the sudden surge in trading activity and price, BNB’s movement has stalled as 24-hour trading volume stands at $734 million, with a 0.6% price increase in the last 24 hours.

As of the time of writing, BNB trades at $242.9, inching closer to the $250 level as traders accumulate the token in anticipation of major rallies as it trades live on Binance Japan in the coming days. 

BNBUSD price chart

BNB Vies For More Rallies As It Prepares To Conquer Key Resistance Levels

Binance Coin (BNB) trades above three key support levels: $240.4, $242.0, and $243.3. The bulls found strength at $242.0 and $243.3 price levels, facilitating the sharp spike to $246.065 in the early hours of August 1.

The chart demonstrates heated strife between the bulls and the bears as they struggle to prevail over the market. However, the stiff resistance at the $246.5 price level allowed the sellers to trigger a trend reversal.

The bears have formed bearish candle sticks above the $243.3 price level and are striving to press the token further below.

BNB is in a critical conjecture as the next few hours determine whether a move to the $250 target is possible. A break above the $246.5 level will facilitate more rallies. Conversely, if the bulls relent, BNB could retrace to the $241.3 level, allowing the bears an opportunity to soar.

Binance To Enter Japan With A Bang, Will List More Tokens Than Any Local Exchange

According to Japanese-based crypto media outlet Coinpost, Binance will launch in Japan fully this month and intends to list 34 tokens on its exchange. This means the platform will offer more tokens than its local competitors in Japan, with major domestic exchanges Bitbank, GMO Coin, and Coincheck listing 30, 36, and 22 tokens, respectively. 

The largest crypto exchange by trading volume intends to list its native BNB token, making this the first time it will be available in the country. Some of the other tokens expected to be listed include Axie Infinity (AXS), Solana (SOL), and Avalanche (AVAX).

A Remarkable Re-entry

News of the re-entry into Japan was announced by the CEO of Binance via a Twitter video. According to him, the platform has been making efforts to re-enter the Japanese market for a while now. He was effusive with his praises and noted that since 2017, Japan had established crypto exchange regulations, including the recent stablecoin regulations enacted in June. He also stated it was “fantastic to see Japan being a leader in the Web3 regulatory environment.”

He further added that Binance was glad to once again partake in the Japanese market after its purchase of the Sakura Exchange BitCoin (SEBC) platform in November last year. Following the acquisition, SEBC changed its name to Binance Japan Inc. 

The purchase of the exchange was instrumental in paving the way for the re-entrance of Binance in Japan. Binance will initially offer sport trading services. However, the exchange will not render leveraged trading services since this will require a Type 1 Financial Instruments Business license, with more restrictive standards. 

Additionally, cryptocurrency users in Japan will also be offered access to Binance Earn, a specially designed program that enables participants to earn interest on their cryptocurrency deposits. The exchange will also render Japanese crypto traders an opportunity to trade on its NFT marketplace.

Binance Coin (BNB) price chart from Tradingview.com

Major Regulatory Win for Binance

This recent announcement marks a major regulatory win for Binance. In the recent past, the platform has faced various regulatory challenges and was recently made to drop its license application in Germany

In France, the exchange also faces regulatory investigations, with French authorities accusing Binance of being involved in offering illegal digital assets services and failing to curtail money laundering. 

Therefore, this latest announcement of a re-entry into the Japanese market heralds a major regulatory win for the embattled exchange.