BNB Chain, the blockchain platform powered by Binance's native token BNB, faced regulatory hurdles from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the second quarter of 2023, which affected its market value and transaction fees.
However, the network has seen increased activity and innovation from its ecosystem, specifically LayerZero, its cross-chain interoperability protocol.
According to a report by Messari, a crypto research firm, BNB Chain's average daily active addresses and transactions increased by 25.6% and 24.4% respectively in Q2 2023, reaching all-time highs. The primary source of growth was the increase in LayerZero's activities.
LayerZero launched its mainnet in April 2023 and has since integrated with several popular blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Avalanche.
According to Messari, LayerZero accounted for more than 40% of BNB Chain's daily transactions in Q2 2023.
However, BNB Chain also faced significant regulatory hurdles in Q2 2023, as the SEC claimed BNB was a security in its actions against two of the world's largest crypto exchanges, Coinbase and Binance.
The SEC's denunciation in June 2023 coincided with the downward pressure on the value of BNB, with the price dropping 25.2% in Q2 2023.
On the other hand, the total crypto market capitalization increased by 2% compared to the previous quarter, with BTC and ETH rising 7% and 6% respectively. BNB finished the quarter as the fourth-largest cryptoasset by market cap, reaching $37.5 billion.
Although average transaction fees fell by 25.5% after BSC validators voted to cut gas fees from 5 Gwei to 3 Gwei, BNB Chain's revenue (in BNB) decreased by only 6.1% from the previous quarter.
*Not investment advice.