BNB prices have experienced some compelling gains over the last few months, a period during which the Binance Smart Chain managed to accomplish some significant milestones.
The digital token, which serves as the native cryptocurrency of BNB Chain, reached more than $365.00 last night, CoinMarketCap figures show.
At this point, the cryptocurrency, which is a utility token, was up roughly 53% after falling below $240 in mid-December, additional CoinMarketCap data reveals.
This price appreciation materialized during a time when several of the BNB Smart Chain’s leading indicators showed notable improvement, a development that independent cryptocurrency analyst Armando Aguilar emphasized via emailed comments.
Substantial Improvements
Average daily transactions, for example, reached 4.6 million during the final quarter of 2023, an approximately 31% increase from the prior quarter’s figure of 3.1 million, according to figures supplied by Messari.
Weekly trading volume has also experienced some impressive gains, rising to $5.45 billion in mid-January, which was more than double the figure of $2.71 that existed in mid-December, additional Messari data indicates.
The revenue generated by the BNB Smart Chain also increased notably in the final quarter of last year compared to the previous period, rising roughly 27% from $30.9 million to $39.2 million.
The Big Picture
While Aguilar offered a data-driven assessment, another analyst took a broader view of the cryptocurrency markets when explaining what drove BNB’s gains over the last few months.
“The recent increase in BNB’s price reflects broader confidence in the industry and Binance’s response to regulatory challenges, including the discontinuation of BUSD support in the US and adjustments in its leadership,” said Joshua de Vos, research lead at CCData.
In November, Richard Teng, who previously served as head of regional markets for Binance, became CEO of the major exchange, after Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who founded the company in 2017 and served as its first chief executive, stepped down as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“These actions, coupled with the expansion of DeFi, elevated trading volumes, and partnerships within the BSC ecosystem, will have all contributed to a rise in BNB’s value,” de Vos stated.
Andrew Rossow, attorney and CEO of AR Media Consulting, also weighed in on the broader cryptocurrency markets, commenting on the shifting sentiment of investors.
While he emphasized that the crypto/blockchain industry as a whole is experiencing an uphill battle as it struggles with regulatory headwinds, the attorney expressed optimism that investors are growing more confident in Binance, a development which he credited with providing tailwinds for BNB.
‘No News Is Good News’
Yet another analyst highlighted the latest news related to CZ, specifically the fact that global investors have yet to learn what sentence he will receive after pleading guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering program.
The Binance founder’s sentencing, which was originally scheduled to take place later this month, was pushed back to April, according to several media reports.
“BNB is an interesting token because its value is so directly tied to Binance and CZ,” Tim Enneking, managing partner of Psalion, stated via comments submitted through email.
“Bad news about either of them, and the token plunges; good news (or no news) and the token follows the market,” he said.
“So, in my opinion, the biggest factor affecting BNB is the absence of bad news (and ‘no news is good news’ given CZ’s current status in the US) and the tremendous bull market move that BTC specifically, and crypto over all, has been experiencing lately,” Enneking added.
Recently, the value of the entire digital currency market neared $2 trillion, its highest since early 2022, CoinMarketCap data reveals.
This represents a more than 100% increase from the figure of roughly $925 trillion last March.
Disclosure: I own some bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, ether, EOS and SOL.