Source: Deepchain

In 1606, the Netherlands issued the world's first stock, marking the beginning of a new form of public fundraising that created publicly shareable value. Nowadays, NVIDIA, with a market cap of $3 trillion, stands as a profound echo of this 400 years later.

As times have changed, while the mainstream investment choice remains the stock market, the majority of people and small countries are unable to participate. Cryptographic assets like Bitcoin are more suitable for small countries to participate in the global mainstream asset pricing system. From El Salvador in the distance to Bhutan's official entry into Bitcoin mining, the trend is clear.

With Trump's return, apart from Bitcoin as a singular currency and mining form, the United States and many countries are attempting to establish cryptocurrency reserves for the first time in human history. This has traditionally been the role of precious metals like gold and silver and the US dollar.

Coincidentally, CZ, who is embarking on a new journey, also tweeted that Bhutan may consider adding ETH and BNB to its reserves. Seizing the opportunity, on January 8, Bhutan GMC officially included BNB along with BTC and ETH in its reserves. However, compared to digital gold and the unique value of "ETH is Money," what does BNB truly represent?

It goes without saying that BTC has given cryptocurrency value and is the source of its legitimacy. ETH has been proven valuable through retail investors and Trump's frequent buying. However, BNB has long been overshadowed by Binance's halo, and its unique value in the on-chain ecosystem has not been fully explored.

Today, starting from Binance, let's trace back the ups and downs of these 8 years. The value contained within will impact the blockchain industry for decades to come.

Origin: BNB is Binance

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto single-handedly created Bitcoin, ushering in a decentralized value paradise for humanity. Like the founders of ancient civilizations, his identity remains elusive but deeply influential. The most important aspect is the transactional nature, a peer-to-peer electronic currency inherently embodying value exchange.

Thus, starting from the foothills, the era of a thousand battles began, and the most crucial players were undoubtedly Binance and Coinbase. The former represents a deep cultivation of the on-chain ecosystem, viewing CEX as a stage toward liberating value. The latter embraces the existing system, heading towards listing.

In 2017, Binance emerged as a rising star in the world of exchange platforms. At the launch of its platform, it announced BNB's role, embodying tokenomics and a blockchain-centric ethos from the start. Embracing blockchain and tokens has always been ingrained in Binance's DNA.

If you look through Binance's whitepaper, in addition to the usual trading platform itself, it emphasizes the various functions of BNB, which can be divided into two main functions: transaction fee discounts and participation in platform governance. Among them, transaction fee discounts mainly refer to platform token holders being able to enjoy fee discounts within different holding ranges, equivalent to growing with the platform and sharing the trading bonus.

Participation in platform governance mainly refers to the need to hold platform tokens or deposit a certain amount of platform tokens as collateral when applying for listing with the project team, as well as the role of platform token holders being able to vote on project team listing selections.

The price of the platform token needs to be strongly controlled by the trading platform itself as the most basic source of the platform token's value. In addition to this, there are two main specific ways to implement the burning mechanism and expand the usage scenarios.

Beyond the most basic function, the BNB burning mechanism has been running efficiently. Every quarter, Binance will use its own profits to repurchase BNB and burn it. Currently, the circulating supply of BNB is around 145 million, and at the current burn rate, in about four years, its total supply will decrease to 100 million.

Using the most recent quarterly burn as an example, on January 23, the BNB Foundation conducted the 30th quarterly burn, publicly burning 1,634,200.95 BNB, with a market value of approximately 1.16 billion USD.

More importantly, the value discovery of BNB and Binance is closely integrated. From the Launchpad, which is derived from traditional finance, to the Megadrop that references the industry's native practices, Binance has always led the trend of crypto asset discovery and issuance.

Upon closer inspection, it can be seen that in 2019, Binance launched the Binance Launchpad, creating a new form of cryptocurrency crowdfunding, which is the familiar IEO model. It not only avoids on-chain disorder and fraud but also provides BNB holders with the "privilege" of participating in new token offerings.

In 2020, Binance quickly followed up by launching Launchpool, supporting users to stake BNB to receive new token rewards and, in conjunction with Launchpad, maximize sharing the benefits of new coins.

By 2024, Binance had conducted a total of 21 Launchpool events, with the total staking amount reaching 1.53 billion USD by the end of 2024, with over 6.1 million participants.

Throughout history, Binance's IEOs have boasted a 13x ROI, placing it at the top, and BNB holders have also reaped significant rewards.

But this is not the end. How to better connect to the on-chain ecosystem has become Binance's focus going forward. In 2024, Binance introduced Megadrop, seamlessly integrating Binance Earn products with the Binance Web3 Wallet, redefining the airdrop experience.

Binance Select Projects prioritize high-quality projects, with a key focus on the amount of BNB locked and the lockup period. The longer the lockup period and the greater the amount locked, the more points one receives.

However, being proactive is not enough. Binance also needs to actively engage with early-stage projects, discovering alpha projects before they launch or go public. Binance Alpha has been officially launched, primarily operating within the Binance Wallet. Projects that first launch on Binance Alpha have a certain probability of being listed on the main Binance platform.

Asset discovery and issuance to lead the industry's transformative trend is Binance's original intention. During this period, Binance also introduced financial products, creating the Binance Finance System with BNB at its core. Under the principles of capital preservation and high returns, BNB holders can choose from a variety of financial products and use BNB as principal to earn higher returns.

In addition to abstract scenarios and architectures, the actual value of BNB is a kind of pragmatic "utilitarianism." Taking Solv Protocol as an example, we will explain the seamless circulation of BNB in the Binance ecosystem. The correct practice of benefiting from multiple sources is to deposit BNB into the Binance Wallet and then continue to participate in on-chain staking and restaking activities.

In the matching of abstract and concrete, Binance has maximized the potential of BNB. However, it must be acknowledged that the existence of centralized exchanges is both the path to human freedom and a potential obstacle that can entrap individuals. Different choices are not contradictory but more of compromises based on circumstances.

Humanity yearns for freedom and decentralization while also pursuing efficiency and security. However, the development of the real world is always slow and fraught with trade-offs. The various options presented to people are not about freedom or lack of freedom, decentralization or centralization, but about choosing the best option among freedom, security, efficiency, and ease of use.

The selection of paths with different priorities became each participant's unique Odyssey.

Odyssey: BNB is BNB Chain

During a long season, a solitary traveler could only enter the lawless Western world without any frameworks or rules. In the public chain battle that began in 2021, trading platforms also joined, but only 3.5 truly survived: BTC/ETH, the BNB Chain (then known as BSC), and half of Solana, which was in a fierce battle with ETH.

To this day, the BNB public chain ecosystem, renamed after BSC, is collectively referred to as oneBNB, consisting of BSC, opBNB, and GreenField, which focuses on storage concepts.

BNB Chain is actually a very special product, distinct from Solana and FTX's strategic alliance form and different from the self-entertainment of various trading platform public chains. BNB Chain has indeed achieved all the characteristics that a public chain should have.

Serious Side: AI First Chain

BNB is not simply supported by the Binance trading platform, and BNB Chain is not either. More accurately, the BNB Chain ecosystem has a large number of on-chain users and transaction volume, as well as active developers.

In terms of on-chain transaction volume, BNB Chain and Tron are the only two public chains with real demand. Tron is mainly used for daily USDT transactions, while BNB Chain is the chain of innovation that keeps pace with the times.

BNB Chain currently has 5607 Dapps, nearly a million active addresses (UAW), a DeFi TVL of $3.6 billion, and several metrics that even surpass Ethereum.

For example, following CZ's retweet of Magic Eden's announcement of its platform's added support for BNB Chain, ME's price surged above $4.4 in the short term, showcasing the wealth effect of the BNB Chain.

BNB Chain is also the main DeFi market leader outside of ETH. In the BNB ecosystem, addressing urgent needs and anticipating user preferences has always been a way of working. It is precisely in the accumulation of the past few years that BNB Chain has defined its latest positioning: to be a public chain of the AI era.

From DeFi, NFTs to today's Meme and AI, BNB Chain has always been at the forefront of the times. Under the AI First ideology, BNB Chain is laying out the three foundational projects of computing power, data, and models needed for AI and launching new projects and tokens based on this to complete its commercial closed-loop.

One of the most typical examples is MyShell, as a veteran AI Agent project, MyShell has attracted a large number of users with its profound technical strength, successfully being selected for the 2023 BNBChain and Binance Labs' MVB Season 6 Incubation Program.

Although Memes have become strange, AI is very suitable for on-chain completion, such as using cheap labor for data labeling and carrying out wage payments in cryptocurrency, and BNB Chain's Greenfield can be used for storage, all of which can be completed within the BNB Chain.

For example, the leading data labeling project in the BNB Chain space, DIN, aims to emulate the Web2 giant ScaleAI, and the project has already received investment from Binance Labs.

In 2025, the BNB Chain will implement the established AI-first approach, empowering existing infrastructure from all processes related to AI circulation, creating the most active on-chain AI ecosystem.

Ecosystem prosperity is not chaotic hype but unique value support based on its own advantages. According to on-chain data, BNB DEX trading volume has reached a near three-year high, with weekly trading volume surpassing $17.74 billion.

For BNB-based on-chain protocols and DApps, they will have stronger value support, and through the mutual promotion of token price and value, BNB has become a long-term value target.

The Lively Side: Happy-Sci&Desci

In the on-chain ecosystem competition, it is not only a technical competition but also a traffic competition. However, beyond technical terms such as AI and public chains, the BNB Chain is still exploring more possibilities.

For example, the Happy-Sci event initiated by Binance Labs researcher @cyodyssey has sponsored 500 PhD students, making small payments to them through Trustwallet to make their boring research life more colorful.

During the operation of this project, rewards are distributed through the BNB Chain. The BNB Chain has also received high praise for efficiently providing incentives to PhD students, not only because the BNB Chain financially sponsors the project but also because BNB's support for various assets, especially stablecoins. PhD students reside in different regions, using various financial systems, and stablecoins can maintain the fairness of the USD valuation. Leveraging BNB Chain's high speed and low fees, PhD students can directly receive funds within Binance or Binance Wallet, whether for spending via Binance Pay or converting to fiat, saving significant time costs.

Outside of whimsical research, the somewhat more serious field of DeSci (Decentralized Science) has also established a deep connection with CZ and BNB Chain. CZ has shown strong interest not only in DeSci's research and application but has also supported the project's development on multiple occasions.

Whether serious or playful, BNB Chain's development is robust and vigorous. It not only delves into foundational technology but also continuously expands the wealth effect. From DeFi Summer to the present day, PancakeSwap has not followed a rollercoaster trajectory but has remained steadfast. The popularity of meme platforms like Four also demonstrates that BNB Chain has always been at the forefront of the era.

With both traffic and professionalism in hand, the future path of BNB Chain represents a great revolution, guiding more people toward the path of freedom. Beyond trading and finance, BNB is also a deeply valuable cryptographic asset. BNB is by no means limited to trading and internal Binance use but rather has ample space to leave its mark in the vast human world.

The Great Revolution: BNB is the Future

Throughout the year 2024, BNB's price has increased by 1.2 times, outperforming ETH's 46% rise and even slightly leading BTC's increase of 1.19 times among the top ten mainstream coins, showing the most significant growth.

While BTC and ETH still represent the public's understanding of the Web3 concept, in the journey to mainstream the crypto world, Binance is indispensable. Binance can be seen as the gateway and newbie village, where only through trials can one venture into the blockchain's dark forest.

On the path to the mainstream, BNB must not be absent. It can be understood as the viewfinder of a camera: from a microscopic perspective, it's examining the composability of the blockchain world; from a mesoscopic view, the mid-range is the dominance of existing CEXs; and finally, from a macroscopic view, the long-range vision is the trend toward government cryptocurrency reserves.

All three combined shape the various aspects of BNB.

Currently, Binance has obtained regulatory licenses in 20 jurisdictions. Beyond compliance, there is also the trust deposited by users. At present, Binance holds $200 billion in user deposits and continues to disclose its reserve status (PoR), earning the trust that made Binance the first CEX in 2024 to surpass $1 trillion in total trading volume.

Beyond transactions, the BNB Chain is actively expanding its potential.

BNB is not just a cryptocurrency, but also a vital tool connecting global users, driving financial inclusion, and fostering technological innovation.

Within BNB's comprehensive layout, the off-chain consumption scenarios in 2025, especially payment based on stablecoins, will become an industry development trend. With an average fee of $0.001 per transaction for opBNB and $0.03 per transaction for BSC, particularly suitable for stablecoin consumption, its fee is significantly lower than various existing card organizations.

For example, Singapore's digital payment provider dtcpay has already partnered with BNB Chain to accelerate the practical application of stablecoins. Enterprises using dtcpay can accept payments in stablecoins such as USDT and USDC through the BNB Chain network.

Looking back over the past 8 years, BNB's journey has only just begun. It is no longer a newborn cryptocurrency but is at a crucial stage in the cryptocurrency's "adolescence."

In 2017, Binance started as a trading platform, in 2021 began to delve into the on-chain ecosystem, DeFi/NFT became practical tools, and by 2024, we will see AI, Meme, and DeSci.

Flowing like water, BNB is formless.

Through 8 years of ups and downs, BNB has witnessed the cryptocurrency industry gradually evolve from the wild west to a temple topic, from a plaything of a niche group to a widely recognized new technology representative paradigm. However, there is sufficient reason to believe that today is still the early stage of BNB. The journey for Crypto to gain mainstream recognition is not easy, and the medal will be awarded to all who have persevered in the next 8 years.

This article is a contributed submission and does not represent the views of BlockBeats.

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