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BNB Smart Chain Shines In Q1: Triple-Digit Surges In Key Metrics

The Binance Smart Chain (BNB Chain), developed by the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance, experienced significant growth and performance in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024. 

As highlighted in a recent report by Messari, Binance Smart Chain has surged in market cap, revenue, average daily active addresses, decentralized finance (DeFi), total value locked (TVL), and average daily decentralized exchange (DEX) volume. 

BNB Outperforms Bitcoin In Q1 2024

During Q1 2024, BNB Smart Chain demonstrated notable market cap growth, soaring by 89% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ). It reached a market cap of $92.5 billion, securing the third position among all tokens, excluding stablecoins. Only Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed BNB in market cap. 

Interestingly, the report notes that BNB’s performance surpassed that of Bitcoin, which saw a 65% increase in outstanding market capitalization over the same period.

BNB

Revenue generated by the Binance Smart Chain experienced a substantial boost in Q1. The network collected $66.8 million in revenue, marking a 70% QoQ increase. 

According to Messari, this surge in revenue was primarily driven by the appreciation of BNB’s price. Notably, Q1’s revenue exceeded that of any quarter in 2023. DeFi transactions, particularly gas fees, were significant in revenue contributions, accounting for 46% of the total.

Despite a slight decrease in average daily transactions, BNB Smart Chain experienced a 27% year-over-year (YoY) increase, demonstrating sustained growth in network activity. 

Average daily active addresses surged by 26% QoQ, reaching 1.3 million. Several protocols on the BNB Smart Chain witnessed increased transaction volumes and active addresses, with Tether’s USDT and decentralized exchange (DEX) PancakeSwap leading the way.

DEX Trading Volume Explodes

BNB Smart Chain’s DeFi TVL, denominated in USD, experienced a 67% QoQ surge, reaching $7.2 billion. This growth positioned the Binance Smart Chain as the third-highest chain regarding DeFi TVL, denominated in USD. 

However, when denominated in BNB, TVL decreased slightly by 12%. This indicates that the surge in USD value was primarily driven by BNB price appreciation and capital inflows.

BNB

Decentralized exchanges on the Binance Smart Chain witnessed a staggering 193% QoQ increase in average daily trading volume. The total DEX volume for Q1 reached $1.1 billion, with PancakeSwap emerging as the dominant DEX on the platform. 

PancakeSwap’s average daily DEX volume surged by 140% QoQ, surpassing other competitors and solidifying its position as the preferred DEX on the BNB Smart Chain.

Overall, Binance Smart Chain’s performance in the first quarter of 2024 showed significant growth across various parameters, reinforcing its position as an important blockchain platform. 

BNB

The exchange’s native token, Binance Coin, is currently trading at $607, reflecting a 2% price increase over the past 24 hours and a 10% increase over the past 7 days. 

These positive price movements bring the token closer to its all-time high of $686, reached in May 2021.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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BNB Resilience: Holding Firm At $560 – What’s Next?

The price of BNB hasn’t fallen below its previous low, and it’s showing some strong signs of heading up. After a spell of moving downward, the Binance Smart Chain’s native token is aiming for an upward bounce back towards its earlier high.

Technical Indicators Point Toward Sustained Uptrend For BNB

To figure out where the BNB price might be headed next, several indicators can be used to examine the chart:

BNB

4-Hour MACD: A technical look at the MACD indicator from the 4-hour timeframe, the MACD histograms are trending above the zero line, and both the MACD line and the Signal line have crossed and are heading towards the MACD zero line, indicating a bullish trend. This can be seen in the above image.

RSI 4-hour Timeframe: The formation of the Relative Strength Index (RSI) in the below image also suggests an upward movement as the RSI signal line is seen trending above the 50% level. This indicates that buyers are still very active in the market therefore overpowering the strength of sellers.

4-hour alligator: A look at the alligator indicator from the 4-hour time frame shows that BNB is trading above the alligator lines as the alligator lip and teeth have both successfully crossed above the alligator jaw, suggesting that the price might be starting a new rally.

BNB

At the time of writing, the price of BNB was up by 1.35% and was trading around $561 in the last 24 hours. BNB price is showing bullish signs and also forming a base above the $508.1 support level. Also, the price is trading above the bearish trend line and below the 100 Simple Moving Average (SMA) on the 4-hour chart.

Final Thoughts

From the previous downward movement, the price of BNB has managed to create one major resistance level of $635 and one major support level of $508. Currently, BNB is moving toward this resistance level and if it breaks above this level, the price might go even further to create a new high. 

On the other hand, if the price fails to break above this major resistance, it will reverse and start a downward movement toward its previous support and if it manages to break below this support level, the price might move further downward thereby starting a new downward trend.

BNB

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BNB Price Soars As Binance Smart Chain Implements “BEP 336” Upgrade, Inspired By Ethereum’s Dencun

Binance Smart Chain (BSC), commonly known as BNB Chain, has announced the “BEP 336 upgrade”, inspired by Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade (EIP 4844), which aims to optimize data storage and processing on the blockchain.

The upgrade is expected to significantly reduce transaction costs, improve network performance, and drive the price of Binance Coin (BNB) towards its previous all-time high (ATH) of $686, reached in May 2021.

BNB Smart Chain Cost-Effective Data Solution

According to the protocol’s announcement, BEP 336 introduces an innovative concept called “Blob-Carrying Transactions” (BlobTx) that will change how large data blocks are handled. 

These temporary and cost-effective memory segments, known as blobs, can capture data blocks as large as 128 KB. By streamlining the transaction verification process, the network only needs to verify that the attached blob contains the correct data rather than verifying each transaction within a block.

The introduction of blob transactions within the BSC, which is particularly beneficial for opBNB – the layer 2 network of the BNB ecosystem – offers several advantages. Blobs reduce network space consumption, resulting in lower storage costs and more affordable gas fees for users, similar to Etherem’s Dencun upgrade. This storage strategy allows for efficient data handling while managing blockchain bloat, ensuring data integrity and availability throughout its lifetime on the chain.

BEP 336 also includes two additional components. The Blob Market establishes a fee market for blobs, ensuring regulated storage and transmission costs based on network demand. The Precompile Contract adds a layer of security by verifying that the data in a blob matches the reference in the blob-bearing transaction.

While BEP 336 draws inspiration from Ethereum’s EIP 4844, it is tailored to meet BSC’s unique requirements. Notably, BSC’s design mandates that blobs be managed exclusively by the BSC client, distinguishing it from Ethereum’s approach. Moreover, BSC implements a dynamic gas pricing mechanism for blobs, ensuring reasonable transaction costs with minimum and maximum thresholds.

BEP 336 Integration With Phased Roadmap

BSC has outlined a phased roadmap for the integration of BEP 336. Beginning with the Testnet launch in April, developers can test and interact with the upgrade in a “controlled environment” to address potential issues. 

The subsequent Magnet phase in May will focus on further testing and optimization to ensure the “robustness” and “scalability” of BEP 336. Finally, in June, the mainnet hard fork will mark the official deployment of BEP 336 on the BSC mainnet, ushering in a new era of efficiency and cost-effectiveness for the network.

According to the announcement, the benefits of BEP 336 are expected to impact developers and users within the BSC ecosystem significantly. Gas fees will be reduced considerably as certain data types no longer require permanent storage, making transactions more affordable. 

The temporary storage mechanism will keep the blockchain lean and bloat-free, enhancing overall network performance. With lower costs and improved efficiency, BEP 336 aims to make the BSC ecosystem more accessible to a wider audience, including developers and newcomers to blockchain technology.

BNB

The announcement has boosted Binance Coin’s (BNB) price by over 8%, resulting in a current trading price of $588, just 15% below its all-time high of $686. 

In case of further price gains, the next resistance walls for the BNB price are placed at the $600 level and the $608 mark, which could prevent the token from further price appreciation in its mission to reach its current ATH. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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BNB Barrels Past $400, As Binance TVL Nears $5 Billion – Details

Recently, the Binance Smart Chain emerged as the top Layer 1 platform with the biggest number of BNB users. There has also been a noticeable increase in its volume.

The optimistic outlook for the cryptocurrency market as a whole has also contributed to BNB’s success. With a market capitalization of around $2.30 trillion, Bitcoin’s latest ascent beyond $63,000 suggests that investor confidence has increased.

BNB Approaches $5 Billion TVL

Total Value Locked (TVL) for BNB Chain increased steadily this year and is currently close to $5 billion. It’s crucial to remember that the current upward trend in BNB is what’s responsible for the TVL spike.

According to data from DefiLlama, this represents a notable rise over the $3.50 billion reported at the beginning of the year and illustrates the growing presence of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on the chain.

With 425 million unique users, BNB chain held the top spot at the time of publication, according to Crypto Rank data, which displayed the total number of unique users across the top 15 networks.

On-chain volume on BNB Chain saw a notable spike this week, peaking at about $1.4 billion. According to DefiLlama, this is the greatest volume seen in 2024 and the second-highest day volume on the chain in more than a year. An increase in activity suggests that users are more engaged and that the ecosystem has room to develop.

BNB Breaches $400 Level

The price of BNB has recently increased to levels not seen in months, which is quite notable. The coin has moved into previously unobserved price ranges as of April 2022.

The 24-hour period chart analysis showed that BNB ended trading on a high note. Though there has been a slight decline of less than 1% as of this writing, BNB is still trading at $405.

The excitement around the web3 game project Portal’s airdrop farming campaign is partly responsible for the recent increase in BNB’s price. Users were able to take part in Portal’s PORTAL token airdrop thanks to Binance’s Launchpool integration, which increased interest and engagement in the BNB Chain ecosystem.

Meanwhile, bulls will retake control and be ready to challenge the market’s upper resistance level of $420 this week if the price moves over the resistance level of $401. If the price stays there, the BNB coin will be ready to try testing its upper limit of $435 in the following weeks.

The notable variation in pricing is observed despite Binance being subjected to one of the most serious criminal penalties in the history of the United States. Following the consent of a judge, the exchange reached a plea agreement amounting to $4.3 billion, which pertained to allegations associated with violations of anti-money laundering regulations and penalties.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView

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Aave Joins Binance’s BNB Chain Ecosystem – Here’s How Users Benefit

In a significant development for the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem, Aave (AAVE), one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) market protocols, has announced its integration with BNB Smart Chain. Aave joins prominent projects such as Uniswap, Ambit Finance, PancakeSwap, and Lista DAO.

BNB Chain Welcomes Aave

According to the announcement, this latest development opens up new opportunities for BNB Chain users, giving them access to what the protocol calls “top-tier lending platforms” and enhanced liquidity.

With the launch of First Digital USD (FDUSD), users can now leverage “robust” liquidity, allowing them to explore different applications and opportunities in the Binance ecosystem.

BNB

On the other hand, Aave users can now benefit from BNB Chain’s fees and the ability to integrate with one of the largest DeFi ecosystems, fostering increased collaboration between the two communities. The announcement also noted the following about the Aave integration:

This not only complements but strategically aligns with BNB Chain’s 2024 outlook. Focused on mass adoption, high-frequency DeFi applications, and network efficiency improvements, the ecosystem is set for an exciting evolution.

2024 Goals

Looking ahead, BNB Chain has set numerous goals for 2024. The introduction of opBNB – the Layer 2 (L2) scaling solution for the BNB Smart Chain – aims to achieve a transaction processing capacity of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) by doubling the gas limit to 200 M/s.

Enhanced security measures accompany this increase in capacity through multi-proof mechanisms. In addition, implementing Ethereum’s EIP4844 and Greenfield’s data availability upgrades will reduce gas fees by 5-10 times, providing users with a more cost-effective experience.

In a move called “BNB Chain Fusion,” the BNB Beacon Chain will be merged with the BSC, further enhancing the efficiency and security of the network. The expansion of the number of validators, which will increase from 40 to 100 by 2024, is also expected to contribute to the stability of the network.

Market Cap And Token Holders On The Rise

According to Token Terminal data, the BNB chain has experienced significant growth, evidenced by several key metrics.

One notable metric is the fully diluted market cap, which stands at $75.71 billion, representing a significant increase of 23.9% over the past 30 days, highlighting the confidence in the protocol. 

The circulating market cap, another crucial indicator, currently sits at $54.73 billion, showing a solid 11.6% growth over the same 30-day period. 

BNB

On the other hand, the number of BNB token holders has shown a positive trend, reaching 113.51 million, with a significant increase of 3.5% in the last 30 days, demonstrating interest in the ecosystem.

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com

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Uniswap Expands Reach: Deploys v2 Protocol On Six New Chains Including Arbitrum And Polygon

Uniswap (UNI), one of the largest decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEX) by trading volume, has made an important announcement regarding deploying its v2 protocol on six additional chains. 

The chains on which the v2 protocol has been deployed include Arbitrum (ARB), Polygon (MATIC), Optimism (OP), Base, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Avalanche (AVAX).

Uniswap Widens v2 Protocol Deployment

According to a recent post on X (formerly Twitter) by Uniswap Labs, the software product developer working on the protocol, the decision to deploy the v2 protocol on more chains is primarily driven by the desire to simplify the experience for Liquidity Providers (LPs).

While the protocol’s v3 offers advanced features tailored for active liquidity providers, the development team believes the v2 protocol offers a more “straightforward approach.” 

By default, v2 pools cover the entire price range, reducing the need for upfront decisions and minimizing the active involvement of liquidity providers. This simplification streamlines the process and makes it more accessible to a broader range of users, according to the announcement. 

Another benefit of using the v2 protocol on multiple chains, according to Uniswap Labs, is its cost efficiency. Creating pools on v2 is more gas efficient than other versions, resulting in lower gas costs to add liquidity. 

This cost reduction can be translated into savings for users, making swaps on the platform “incredibly affordable.” In addition, the use of v2 on Layer 2 scaling solutions significantly reduces the risk of frontrunning and manipulative practices known as Miner Extractable Value (MEV). 

Ultimately, by offering an official v2 deployment directly accessible through the Uniswap interface, the developers suggest that users can be assured of a safe and secure environment for their swaps.

UNI Price Dip, Platform Metrics Remain Solid

Despite the recent developments that could attract investors’ attention and drive broader adoption of the Uniswap protocol, the exchange’s native token, UNI, is currently undergoing a significant correction in line with the overall market trend.

Currently, UNI is trading at $7.22, representing a 4.4% price drop in the past 24 hours and a 1.1% decline in the last trading hour. However, it’s worth noting that UNI has been one of the better-performing tokens in the market, with price increases of 14.7% and 16.8% in the past fourteen and thirty days, respectively.

Uniswap

Furthermore, according to data from Token Terminal, the Uniswap ecosystem continues to exhibit substantial growth in key metrics. 

The fully diluted market capitalization of Uniswap stands at $7.56 billion, reflecting the total value of all tokens if they were fully in circulation. This figure has experienced a notable increase of 18.4% over the past month. 

In contrast, the circulating market capitalization, which considers the currently circulating tokens, is valued at $6.94 billion, indicating a 19.9% increase over the same period.

Uniswap

Despite the overall surge in market capitalization, the trading volume of the UNI token has experienced a significant decline of 69.3% over the past 30 days, amounting to $2.79 billion. 

The total value locked (TVL), a measure of the value of assets locked within Uniswap’s smart contracts, has also experienced a 14.4% increase, reaching $4.76 billion. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Market Cap Hits New Milestone, Registering 48% QoQ Surge

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) has demonstrated notable growth in key metrics during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023, as highlighted in a comprehensive report by Messari. 

As the third-largest Layer-1 protocol by market capitalization, BSC experienced positive progress across its financial indicators, signaling a productive quarter for the blockchain ecosystem.

Binance Smart Chain Record-Breaking Transactions

The report reveals that BSC’s market capitalization witnessed a 48% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) surge. This surge reflects renewed interest in BNB (Binance Coin), the native asset of BSC, following two consecutive quarters of decline.

Moreover, BSC’s revenue measured in USD experienced a significant QoQ growth of 27%. This revenue surge, amounting to over $39 million in Q4, indicates increased activity on the protocol and the implementation of various initiatives throughout the year.

Binance Smart Chain

Gas fees burned in BNB, a metric reflecting network activity, also saw a notable QoQ increase of 21%. The rising number of transactions and smart contract interactions contributed to increased gas fees burned, further reinforcing the Binance Smart Chain ecosystem.

In addition to financial metrics, BSC showcased impressive improvements in other areas. The number of active validators increased by 25% QoQ, highlighting growing trust and participation in securing the network. BSC’s commitment to decentralization was evident as the protocol experienced a 54% YoY increase in active validators.

According to Messari, throughout 2023, BSC demonstrated its ability to handle heightened activity while simultaneously reducing costs for users. Daily transactions on the network witnessed a 35% year-over-year (YoY) increase and a 30% QoQ surge, averaging around 4.6 million transactions per day in Q4. 

These spikes in transaction volume were attributed to inscription-related activity, with BSC processing a record-breaking 32 million transactions on December 7, 2023.

BSC’s DeFi Ecosystem Reaches $4.6 Billion TVL

Despite a decline in daily average active addresses and new unique addresses, primarily due to users exploring alternative chains like opBNB, BSC’s on-chain activity remained robust. 

The protocol’s ecosystem of stablecoins, dominated by Tether’s USDT, reached a total value locked (TVL) of $4.6 billion in Q4, showcasing a 33% QoQ increase in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) TVL.

Binance Smart Chain

While Non-Fungible Token (NFT)- related metrics declined in Q4, Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum (ETH) witnessed a resurgence in activity toward the end of the quarter, indicating a potential upward trend in the next market cycle.

Binance Smart Chain

In addition to BSC’s growth, BNB also experienced notable price movements. After a sharp drop, BNB surged from $238 to reach the $338 level. However, it later retraced to $287 following a correction. 

In the past 24 hours, BNB has recorded a growth of 3.7%, pushing its current trading price above $302. 

Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com 

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How To Buy, Sell, And Trade Tokens On The BSC Network

The captivating Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Network has morphed into a powerful force within the blockchain ecosystem, offering various benefits and opportunities for users and developers alike. Introduced by Binance, a top player in the global cryptocurrency exchange realm, BSC provides a robust and efficient infrastructure for decentralized applications (dApps) and digital asset transactions.

The key advantage of the BSC network is its high-speed and low-cost transactions. With its standout consensus mechanism, BSC achieves fast block confirmations, enabling quick and seamless transfers of digital assets. This scalability advantage makes BSC an attractive choice for users who value speed and efficiency in their transactions.

Advantages Of The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) Network

The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) offers several advantages that have contributed to its popularity and growth within the blockchain ecosystem. Here are some key advantages of the BSC network:

High Speed and Low Transaction Fees: BSC is known for its fast block confirmations, which result in quick transaction processing times. This speed is achieved through its unique consensus mechanism. Additionally, BSC’s low transaction fees have made it a preferred platform for developers and users.

Compared to other popular blockchain networks, BSC offers significantly lower transaction costs, making it more accessible for individuals and businesses of all sizes. This cost-effective system has aided the exponential growth of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on the BSC network by providing a wide range of financial services to users around the world.

Scalability: BSC has been designed to handle high transaction volumes, allowing for the smooth and efficient execution of decentralized applications (dApps). This advantage enables BSC to accommodate the growing demands of users and developers without compromising performance.

Compatibility with Ethereum: The compatibility of BSC with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) has made it easy for developers to port their existing Ethereum-based projects to BSC, expanding the pool of available applications.

This opens up a world of possibilities, as it expands the range of applications available on BSC, offering users a greater selection of innovative and diverse decentralized applications to choose from. This interoperability has fostered innovation and attracted a diverse range of projects, including decentralized exchanges, yield farming platforms, and NFT marketplaces.

The close integration between BSC and the Binance exchange also creates a host of advantages for users. The seamless connection between these two platforms facilitates effortless token swaps and transfers.

Related Reading: Celestia Network: How To Stake TIA And Position For 5-Figure Airdrops
This integration enhances overall liquidity, ensuring that users have quick and convenient access to a diverse range of digital assets. Whether it’s trading, diversifying portfolios, or exploring new investment opportunities, the close relationship between BSC and Binance empowers users with a seamless and detailed experience in the world of digital assets.

Trading On The BSC Network

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network provide traders with a range of features and opportunities to enhance their trading experience. Here’s an elaboration on the features of DEXs on BSC:

Automated Market Makers (AMM): DEXs on BSC leverage AMM protocols to enable token swaps. AMM algorithms automatically set token prices based on supply and demand dynamics within liquidity pools. This feature eliminates the need for traditional order books and enables continuous liquidity, allowing traders to execute swift and efficient trades.

Yield Farming: Yield farming is a popular practice in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, and many BSC DEXs offer yield farming opportunities where traders provide liquidity to specific token pairs by depositing their assets into smart contract-based liquidity pools. In return, they receive liquidity provider (LP) tokens, which represent their share of the pool.

Traders can then stake these LP tokens in yield farming programs to earn additional tokens or rewards. Yield farming enables traders to earn passive income by utilizing their idle assets effectively.

Liquidity Pools: These are fundamental components of DEXs on BSC which consist of pairs of tokens that are used for trading. Traders can contribute their assets to these pools and become liquidity providers.

By providing liquidity, traders help ensure that there is sufficient liquidity available for trading. In return for their contribution, liquidity providers earn a portion of the trading fees generated by the DEX. This incentivizes traders to provide liquidity, as they can earn fees from the trading activity in the pool.

Token Trading: DEXs on BSC offer traders the ability to trade a wide range of tokens. These tokens can include native tokens of projects built on the BSC network, as well as tokens that have been bridged from other blockchains, including Ethereum.

Traders have access to various trading pairs, allowing them to buy and sell tokens directly from their wallets. The availability of diverse tokens and trading pairs provides traders with abundant opportunities to explore various markets and investment opportunities.

Additionally, the  Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a modified Ethereum fork which simply means that it is compatible with the Ethereum network. Both of these blockchain networks have similar infrastructure, which is why they have the same address in your wallet.

This is to ensure that your funds are not permanently lost when you send them via the wrong network. Simply put, if you send a token to your ETH via the BSC network, the funds will still be on the blockchain and you’ll be able to retrieve them.

How To Get Started On The BSC Network

To buy and sell tokens on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network, you will first need to get a Metamask wallet and fund it with BNB tokens. MetaMask is a popular browser extension wallet commonly used for interacting with blockchain networks like Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). It is available as a browser extension for popular browsers such as Google Chrome.

Ensure your Metamask Wallet has been added to your browser as an extension by clicking on the “Add to Chrome” icon on the top right as shown below:
BSC Network Metamask

Once installed and set up, MetaMask allows users to manage their cryptocurrency wallets, interact with decentralized applications (DApps), and securely execute transactions on supported blockchain networks directly from their browsers. (Make sure to write down your seed phrase on a piece of paper and keep it safe. Do not store it online).

Next, add the BSC network to your Metamask wallet by following the instructions provided on the Metemask website here.

Getting BNB Tokens To Trade On The BSC Network

Once that is done, you need to fund your wallet with BNB before you can begin trading on the BSC network. You can buy BNB on centralized exchanges such as Binance, copy your wallet address from Metamask, and then send the BNB from Binance to your Metamask wallet. 

You can also purchase BNB directly within the Metamask wallet using traditional payment methods such as credit or debit cards, PayPal, bank transfer, CashApp, etc.

Just click on the “Buy/Sell” button within Metamask which will open up the interface. Here, you can put how much BNB you want to buy in terms of dollar terms, pick your payment method, and then click “Buy”.

Note that to buy crypto directly within Metamask, you will need to provide info such as your country and state. However, it is a straightforward process that only takes a minute.

Metamask buy BNB

It’ll only take a couple of minutes at most for your BNB to arrive in your wallet. Once the BNB arrives, you are all set to begin trading tokens on the BSC network. So head over to Pancakeswap to get started on your trading journey.

How To Trade Tokens On The BSC Network Using PancakeSwap

PancakeSwap is the leading decentralized exchange on the BSC network. Here, users are able to buy and sell a large range of tokens, and it is a straightforward process.

Make sure you are on the correct Pancakeswap website to prevent your wallet from being drained. The next step is clicking on the “Connect Wallet” option on Pancakeswap at the top right corner as illustrated below:

Pancakeswap

Connect to your preferred wallet as shown below. (In this case, it’s Metamask):

BSC network

Once connected, switch Metamask to the BSC network. (If you’re already on the BSC network, you do not need to switch):

switch network

With MetaMask connected to the BSC network, go to PancakeSwap, then you can start trading on the BSC network using PancakeSwap. Search for the token you want to purchase using the name or the contract address. 

Set slippage to auto to avoid having to manually set it with each swap. Once done, pick how much BNB (at the top) you want to convert to the new token (at the bottom), click on “Swap,” and confirm the transaction in your Metamask wallet.

Once the transaction is confirmed, the tokens will be sent to your wallet. To convert your tokens back into BNB, repeat this process by putting the new token at the top and picking BNB at the bottom. Click Swap and BNB will be sent to your wallet.

Tokens

Buying And Selling Tokens With The Metamask Wallet

BSC Network users can also buy and sell tokens using the Metamask extension wallet already connected to the BSC network. 

To do this, make sure you’re connected to the BSC network and have BNB to swap and pay for gas fees. Then navigate to the “Swap” button as shown below. This will take you to the Swap interface inside Metamask.

Metamask wallet

Here, you can also search for tokens using the name or the contract address, just like on Pancakeswap. Input the amount of BNB you want to swap, confirm that you have the correct token, and then click “Swap.” Once the transaction is confirmed, the tokens you just bought will be sent to your wallet.

Tracking Token Prices On The BSC Network

BSC network users can leverage on-chain tools such as Dextools to access detailed market insights about a particular token such as price and contract information to enable them to make informed trading decisions.

Charts

 Dextools offers a range of features that are particularly beneficial for users on the BSC network. One notable feature is the ability to check charts, providing real-time and historical price data for various tokens. These charts enable users to analyze price trends, trading volumes, and other relevant metrics, helping them identify potential entry or exit points for their trades, as shown below:

Dextools BSC network

In addition to charting capabilities, Dextools provides a “Contract Audit” feature that is especially valuable for BSC users. This feature allows users to check the audit score of a smart contract before investing in a token. Audits assess the security and reliability of a contract’s code, highlighting potential vulnerabilities or risks. 

Contract checking

By accessing the audit score through Dextools, users can evaluate the level of trustworthiness and credibility of a token’s underlying smart contract, minimizing the chances of falling victim to scams or vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

The BSC network has become popular within the blockchain ecosystem due to its advantages and has attracted a diverse range of projects and users. BSC’s compatibility with Ethereum facilitates seamless token transfers between the two networks, enhances diversification of development and usage, and promotes collaboration within the broader blockchain ecosystem. 

Additionally, it offers interoperability, allowing developers to easily port existing Ethereum-based applications and assets to BSC. This compatibility grants access to the extensive Ethereum ecosystem, enabling users to leverage the infrastructure and liquidity of Ethereum while benefiting from BSC’s faster transactions and lower fees. 

BSC’s combination of interoperability, accessibility to liquidity, and enhanced transaction efficiency makes the BSC network a compelling choice for both developers and users, solidifying its position as a prominent player in the evolving blockchain landscape.

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The $200 Million BNB Bridge Exploiter Just Got Liquidated On Venus

According to Coinglass, the crypto market witnessed more than $1.04 billion in liquidations during this period. Of this, a BNB position on the Venus lending protocol belonging to the perpetrator of the BSC bridge $560M hack was liquidated.

The BSC Bridge Hack: Understanding One of Crypto’s Biggest Exploits

The BSC brdige hack in October 2022 was one of the biggest exploits in crypto and DeFi history, with the hacker stealing nearly $593 million in BNB. But the story didn’t end there as the hacker tried to launder as much money as they could. 

After the attack, the hacker deposited 900,000 BNB worth $200 million on Venus as collateral to borrow $150 million worth of stablecoins. With more than $598.25 million in TVL, the Venus protocol is the second-largest DeFi protocol on the Binance Smart Chain. 

According to DeFi researcher Ignas, the position was the “single largest potential liquidation in all #DeFi that cannot be closed.” This is because, while the BNB Chain was halted and the network upgrade after the exploit, the ecosystem was put at risk, as liquidation of such an amount could lead to a further plummet in the price of BNB. 

As a result, the Venus DAO voted to whitelist BNB Chain as the sole liquidator of the hacker’s address in case of a margin call. Notably, a drop in the price of BNB to $220 would see the hacker’s collateral liquidated. 

Now, with the price of the token experiencing a selloff in the past few days, the team has chosen to manually liquidate the position to reduce the impact of a margin call on the BSC ecosystem. 

On-chain data from PeckShieldAlert shows that the position has been liquidated for 5.6 million BNB tokens worth $52.3 million, a fraction of the total position. 

What’s Next For BNB?

Since that time, the price of BNB has dropped below $220. Now, the cryptocurrency is trading at $215.00, reflecting a drop of 10.76% in the past 7 days. 

Although the token has had a tough time with its price in the past few months as the industry awaits the outcome of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance.US, the toke still manages to stand strong than most would expect. 

At this time, BNB has a market cap of $33 billion, making it the fourth-largest cryptocurrency. 

BNB price chart from Tradingview.com (Binance)

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BNB Chain’s Q2 Performance Sparks Optimism Amidst Regulatory Uncertainty

Binance Smart Chain (BNB) has seen significant growth in its daily active addresses and transactions in the second quarter of 2023, according to a report by blockchain analytics firm Messari. 

The increase in activity was primarily driven by LayerZero, a cross-chain messaging protocol that enables lightweight and efficient communication between different networks.

However, BNB’s market cap declined by 25.2% after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that BNB is a security in its regulatory actions against Coinbase and Binance. 

Despite this, the total cryptocurrency market cap increased by 2% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), primarily driven by Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

BNB Q2 Revenue Declines

Per the report, BNB’s revenue in BNB decreased by 6.1% QoQ as average transaction fees declined 25.5% after BSC validators voted to reduce gas fees from 5 to 3 Gwei. 

Nevertheless, staking on the network remained stable. BNB Chain plans to increase the number of validators from 29 to 100 with a new validator reward model (balanced mining) and a validator reputation system.

BNB

On the other hand, the Binance Smart Chain saw a decrease in total value locked (TVL) denominated in USD during Q2 2023, decreasing by 26.3%. However, TVL denominated in BNB was relatively flat at -2.8%.

While PancakeSwap remained the most prominent protocol by TVL on the BNB Chain, its dominance decreased from 45% to 37% during the quarter, indicating a shift in TVL concentration towards a more robust DeFi ecosystem. 

In the stablecoin space, Binance Smart Chain has the third-highest total stablecoin market cap of approximately $5.7 billion, trailing behind Ethereum and TRON. The BUSD market lost some of its users after regulators forced Paxos to cease the issuance of BUSD, resulting in a decline of approximately 54% in the BUSD market cap on the BNB Chain during Q1.

Developer engagement also showed positive growth during Q2, with the number of unique contracts verified growing by 51.9% QoQ, and full-time developers on the BNB Chain increasing from 130 to 133 QoQ.

Despite the decline in TVL denominated in USD, the BNB Chain’s continued expansion of its DeFi ecosystem and the shift in TVL dominance towards a more diverse range of protocols signal a promising outlook for the ecosystem’s future.

Binance Smart Chain Outlines Ambitious Plans For 2023

Despite the regulatory challenges, BNB Chain has laid out robust plans for 2023, including increasing the network’s gas limit to boost throughput and reducing the data footprint through state offload. 

BNB Chain also plans to further decentralize by introducing a new validator reward model and a validator reputation system to increase the number of validators from 29 to 100.

The roadmap highlights other initiatives, including increased scalability through modular architecture, creating a data storage network, and implementing consumer protections provided by blockchain security firms. 

In Q2, BNB Chain validators and projects discussed the integration of miner extractable value (MEV) within the BSC network, with some validators piloting MEV in various formats. With its wide-reaching plans, BNB Chain aims to remain competitive for the rest of 2023.

While the regulatory challenges faced by Binance and Binance.US directly impact the entire crypto ecosystem, Binance and BNB Chain are separate entities. Binance, Binance Labs, and the Binance Launchpad help grow the BNB Chain ecosystem through asset listings, liquidity provision, investment, and project launches. 

The outcomes of the ongoing lawsuits are unpredictable, and adverse outcomes could slow the advancement of the BNB Chain ecosystem and bring continued volatility to its native BNB token.

BNB

Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView.com 

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Binance Smart Chain User Activity Tanks, Why BNB Price Could Suffer

BNB Price has been seeing a lot of declines since Binance came under fire for the audit published by Mazars. Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) had spread like wildfire, leading to more than $5 billion in withdrawals from the crypto exchange. Nevertheless, Binance was able to withstand the onslaught and amid all of this, activity on the Binance Smart Chain has fallen drastically, painting a bearish picture for the BNB price.

Binance Chain Activity Drops By 15%

Last week, there had been a lot of activity on the Binance Smart Chain which saw daily active addresses climb as high as 1.2 million at the start of the weekend. However, as the new week is ushered in, this metric has taken a swift beating and the number of daily active addresses has declined dramatically.

Data from YCharts show that in the last 24 hours, Binance Smart Chain active addresses were down by more than 15.70%. This showed a complete reversal in the high usage recorded between Friday and Saturday when activity on the chain had surpassed all other blockchains. Currently, the number sits at 947,414 daily active addresses on the blockchain. So from Friday to now, active addresses are down by more than 150,000. 

BNB Price

New unique addresses per day were also down during this time and are down by 15.27% in the 24-hour period. Likewise, transactions per day also took a beating, falling 15.27% during this time while transaction fees realized on the network declined by 10.86%.

Interestingly, the daily active BEP-20 addresses on the Binance Smart Chain saw the most upside for the time period with a 9.84% growth, as well as the BSC average transaction fee seeing a 6.58% rise to $0.1457 per transaction.

How Will BNB Price Respond?

At the start of the weekend when activity on the Binance Smart Chain had begun to surge, there was a notable increase in the BNB price during this time. The digital asset had clocked a local peak of $264 on Friday before active addresses had begun to lose momentum.

BNB price chart from TradingView.com

By Saturday, the more than 100,000 declines in daily active addresses were followed by a sharp drop in the price of BNB. This drop to the $220 territory showed a correlation between the activity on the blockchain and the price of the coin.

If the cryptocurrency were to keep up with this trend, then BNB’s price could see a possible decline today. However, just like the weekend, such a decline would only be temporary and a sharp recovery will expectedly follow not much later. Another 10% drop from current prices will see the digital asset revisit the $220 territory once more.

BNB is changing hands at a price of $246 at the time of this writing. It’s down 0.49% in the last day and 12.37% in the last week, according to data from Coinmarketcap.

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Arthur Hayes Questions PoS Ethereum’s Decentralization, Suggests Rising Price

The controversial Arthur Hayes asks a burning question in his latest blog post. Is the PoS Ethereum prone to centralization? The former BitMEX CEO compares it to the Binance Smart Chain, that’s famously and admittedly centralized. Arthur Hayes also describes how the validator’s disagreements with the majority are going to go, and predicts disaster for the dApps that build over a platform that doesn’t prioritize censorship resistance. In the short term, though, he’s bullish on Ethereum.

Before getting into all of that, Artur Hayes describes a concerning reality that many people in crypto Twitter have noticed and discussed. It has to do with the validators:

“As of 21 September, Lido Finance, Coinbase, and Kraken together control slightly over 50% of all ETH staked on the beacon chain. This means they are the most powerful validators and, in essence, they could censor what sorts of transactions are processed. What do all three of these centralized entities have in common? They are all US-owned companies or DAOs with major investments from US venture capitalists.”

For those keeping score, that’s a centralizing factor and a few single points of failure. All of those companies are under US jurisdiction, one of the most restrictive in the world. And of course, Arthur Hayes recognizes  “protections in place to help ensure decentralization” and that the system punishes validators that censor transactions. Nevertheless, the PoS system seems fragile. Big institutions that the government can sue are the validators. And the biggest validators will control the whole system. 

Arthur Hayes Sees Centralization 

How will the slashing mechanism that punishes unruly validators play out? According to Arthur Hayes, this is how the system will deal with rebels: 

  • “There is a way to slowly lose your ETH if < 33% of the network refuses to attest to blocks. Slowly losing your ETH means that a validator is punished by reducing the deposit on a node. Should the deposit drop below 16 ETH, that validation node is removed from the network. This capital becomes dead capital as for the foreseeable future you cannot unstake ETH.”
  • “There is a fast way to lose your ETH if > 33% of the network refuses to attest to blocks. The penalties get exponentially worse quickly such that opposing validators quickly fall below the 16 ETH threshold and are booted from the network.”

Hayes predicts that everyone will let that happen again and again, and compares it to the original DAO story. Ethereum’s developers decided to fork and “everyone at the time tacitly went along with the devs who forked the protocol so that folks could get their money back, rather than staying true to Ethereum’s supposed “code is law” ethos.”

ETH price chart on OkCoin | Source: ETH/USD on TradingView.com
Bullish On Ethereum Short-Term

Don’t get Arthur Hayes wrong, despite the criticism of the platform and PoS systems, he still thinks Ethereum will do well in relation to the dollar. 

“ETH as a financial asset — fully tethered to the US-led financial system and under the pretense of “decentralization” — could still do extremely well in the near future. The issue that I wrestle with is whether truly decentralized financial and social dApps can exist at scale (i.e., with hundreds of millions of users)”

In the end, it all goes back to the most important factor: scarcity. According to Hayes, the only thing that matters in the next three to six months is “how ETH issuance per block falls under the new Proof-of-Stake model. In the few days post-merge, the rate of ETH emissions has dropped on average from a +13,000 ETH per day to -100 ETH.” If this continues, Arthur Hayes is optimistic: 

“The price of ETH continues to get smoked due to deteriorating USD liquidity, but give the changes in the supply and demand dynamics time to percolate. Check back in a few months, and I suspect you’ll see that the dramatic reduction in supply has created a strong and rising floor on the price.”

Is the former BitMEX CEO right about this? We’ll find out soon enough.

Featured Image by GuerrillaBuzz Crypto PR on Unsplash | Charts by TradingView

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Binance Coin Dubbed “Winner Of 2021” By Crypto Research Firm

It’s official, this was Binance Coin’s year. There are no two ways about it, BNB crushed it throughout 2021 and cemented itself as the third more popular coin in the world by market capitalization. Not a small feat, considering the phenomenal year that altcoins had. Several projects had their moment in the sun, capturing capital, headlines, and attention. No one got near Binance Coin, though.

Binance Coin’s stellar performance | Source: The Weekly Update

According to Arcane Research’s The Weekly Update:

“Bitcoin may have beaten the stock market in 2021, but it has been left in the dust by other cryptocurrencies. Binance Coin (BNB) is the best performer of the three biggest cryptocurrencies by market cap, with a 1344% gain. The Binance Smart Chain ecosystem has seen massive growth in 2021, taking some market share from Ethereum.”

That’s why they dubbed Binance Coin as “the winner of 2021,” and their point is well taken. However, there’s more to the story. Binance as a company was in hot water for a while there. And their own validators blasted the Binance Smart Chain, saying things like, “There doesn’t appear to be any reasonable testing process in place. Every update appears to make things worse.”

Let’s explore the Binance Coin ecosystem’s tumultuous year.

Big Projects Decided To Operate On The Binance Smart Chain

There’s no denying it. As The Weekly Update says, “Ethereum has lost its indisputable position as the “one and only” smart contract platform.” And Binance has a lot to do with that. A controversial project from the start, the Binance Smart Chain has been dubbed a centralized Ethereum clone. And the critics have a point. However, even though the Binance team did fork Ethereum’s code, they were always upfront with the direction of the project. 

In BSC’s documentation, the team shamelessly claims that the “Binance Smart Chain uses a consensus model called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA). (…) This consensus model can support a short block time and low fees, and it only requires 21 validators to run.” Contrast that with the 11.000 nodes that reportedly support the Ethereum ecosystem.  

However, their plan worked and projects flocked to it:

“Binance Smart Chain was developed explicitly to solve Ethereum’s rising gas fees and offers faster, scalable, and cheaper transactions. In the past, several alternative blockchains have tried to become ‘Ethereum Killers’ but couldn’t succeed in capturing new project’s interest. However, Binance Smart Chain is hosting numerous blockchain, Defi, and crypto projects.”

Problems And Connection To The Binance Coin

However, as in Ethereum’s case, success came with scalability problems. A set of validators took to GitHub to raise concerns about the state of the network and how running a complete node’s cost has increased tremendously.  “There is no code review, patches are simply committed, in most cases even without a proper description of what they do or what problem they try to solve,” the original poster said. 

“I’ve rarely seen something handled so unprofessionally,” the OP accused. “I have many full nodes running there and now all of them are unable to sync. Each of these servers costs me $800 per month (previously only $200), then you told me that I need faster bandwidth and disk which means the cost will keep rising,” a commenter claimed. 

What does this have to do with the Binance Coin? Everything. As the native currency of the Binance ecosystem, BNB’s success is tied to the success of the whole network. Binance is still doing amazing, but, can Binance Coin holders count on that to be the case in 2022?

BNB price chart for 12/29/2021 on Binance US | Source: BNB/USD on TradingView.com
Make No Mistake, Binance Coin Won 2021

It was an action-packed year, but Binance Coin rose to the test. Besides the validators uprising, the Binance team took care of these flash loan hacks and kept BNB’s price rising throughout the year. When CZ himself called for other entrepreneurs to create their own coins, NewsBTC was the voice of reason:

“Binance is not only the biggest exchange in the world; it also has the most activities, features, things to do. BNB powers all of that. How many coins support that huge of an ecosystem? How many coins have that many use cases? And yes, BNB provides its user with superpowers while in the Binance ecosystem and helps them save money. How many other coins can do something similar?”

Let’s not kid ourselves, the Binance Coin AKA BNB is a unicorn. A one-of-a-kind project that did many things right and rewarded the early believers with a phenomenal year. A 1344% increase in price is not something we see every day. Congratulations to Binance Coin for owning 2021.

Featured Image: Foundry on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView & The Weekly Update