US President Donald Trump has granted a presidential pardon from the White House to Chao Changpeng, the founder of the Binance exchange known as CZ.
It is a movement that is not just about seeking. Erasing the shadow of cases dating back to the Biden eraBut rather, it frees entrepreneurs from restrictions and accelerates the rethinking of the BNB cryptocurrency, created by the Binance exchange, emerging as a common thread in the expanding ecosystem.
Analysts like Mike Fay, who tracks these network movements, see this shift as an opportunity for the BNB Chain’s native digital assets to regain lost ground.
In a recent review of investment papers, Fay says: Amnesty is directly linked to revitalizing Binance’s image. “Now that Binance founder CZ has been pardoned by President Trump, it is time to reanalyze the network’s fundamentals,” market experts say.
this forgiveness Dispel the regulatory cloud Mr. Zhao was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division in November of the same year.
They accused him of violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), a legal framework that outlines regulations to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Under his leadership, Binance failed to implement effective programs against these practices, according to prosecutors.
Centralization, the Achilles heel of the BNB chain
But Fay’s optimism doesn’t ignore structural cracks. “I have always argued that compared to other layer 1 networks such as Ethereum, the BNB chain has a considerable risk of centralization in governance,” the analyst elaborates.
This concern lies in the network architecture itself. BNB Chain operates with a much lower number of validators than its competitors. In fact, the top eight companies control over 40% of staked BNB, concentrating power in a few hands and exposing the network to potential manipulation.
In contrast, Ethereum distributes verification across thousands of nodes, promoting decentralization that many see as a pillar of trust.
The cryptocurrency is up more than 60% since January 2025, significantly outperforming peers such as Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL). This bullish trajectory culminated in early October, when BNB crossed the $1,200 threshold for the first time and reached an all-time high of $1,300, as seen in the chart below.
BNB Chain has an ecosystem that accelerates transactions
In addition to judicial headlines, usage data reveals that the network is gaining more attention every day. Fay primarily compares the BNB chain to its closest peer in the context, Ethereum. Although Ethereum has tripled BNB’s market capitalization, no other layer 1 network comes as close to ETH in circulating value as BNB. This proximity requires close scrutiny of operational metrics.
Daily transactions show clear advantages for the BNB Chain. The network currently processes over 22 million transactions per day, a volume that dwarfs Ethereum in absolute terms. It’s not just more than the nominal numbers. It shows an upward trend.
Throughout 2025, Daily transactions on BNB increased significantly, even surpassing the previous cycle’s peak. Ethereum, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same explosive momentum and remains in line with its all-time highs. While Ethereum has grown and achieved stability in usage over the past five years primarily through secondary layers, the BNB chain shows a pattern of accelerating adoption.
This vibrancy is reflected in Daily Active Addresses (DAA), a metric that measures the number of addresses on a network that perform tasks such as signing and sending transactions. In September, BNB Chain recorded an average of 2.4 million DAAa level that emphasizes its vitality compared to Ethereum, which is slower to mature.
BNB Chain and TVL and RWA on Ethereum
Despite these advances, Ethereum maintains its lead in key indicators of financial maturity. Total value locking (TVL) provides a clear example. Ethereum leads the market with 62.9% share of global TVLan indicator that quantifies funds deposited in decentralized finance protocols. Solana even outperforms BNB in this category, leaving Binance Chain in a secondary position.
The gap widens in the real world assets (RWA) segment, with Ethereum accounting for just over 53% of the market. BNB Chain’s holding rate is only 2.7%. This imbalance persists even when considering Ethereum’s scaling layer ecosystem. This includes three additional networks where in total ETH maintains greater influence over RWA than BNB.
In stablecoins, BNB Chain ranks fourth with $14 billion in supply, behind Solana, Tron and the ubiquitous Ethereumaccounting for more than half of the market share. However, there is one piece of information that refutes this theory. It is the active address of the stablecoin.
The BNB chain led this indicator in eight out of nine months of 2025. In September, 11 million addresses interacted with stablecoins on the network, triple Ethereum’s 3 million. This traffic suggests day-to-day utility beyond the total volume driven by low fees and speed.
“If you can get past the legitimate concerns about centralization on BNB, it’s hard to argue with the story of increased network usage,” Fay admits. He reiterated his ‘hoddle’ recommendation on BNB, but added that he values higher exposure at the right price. CZ exemption described as “positive news for Binance” tips the balance in an optimistic directionDice Fay.
CZ washed his name
Cryptocurrency consultant Jan Domínguez shares his perspective in conversation with CriptoNoticias. “You have to pay attention to everything related to Binance, because with the arrival of CZ, the Binance name has effectively been washed away,” he says.
Specialist too Mr. Zhao spoke about the rumors circulating about his return to Binance.with developments such as the creation of the Kyrgyzstan Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) on the BNB chain. “So I think this is obviously a positive for CZ, Binance and BNB,” Dominguez said.
October reinforces this vision. BNB recorded strong performance and the market digested CZ’s reprieve as bullish momentum. Exchanges and securities giants Coinbase and Robinhood recently listed the digital asset, but the market has already discounted its price. These additions expand access, attract retail users, and pave the way for greater flows.
Investment by institutional investors may be the next trigger
Dominguez extends his gaze to the institutional horizon. Digital assets such as ETH and XRP are already attracting the attention of funds and companies.
“BNB will definitely be included in the institutional market objectives,” he says. Large investors value BNB as part of their portfolio, considering products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and corporate bonds. “Everyone will be affected to a greater or lesser degree, depending on market perception and the possible structure of the financial product,” he elaborated.
This amnesty opens the door to expansion in the US and integrates BNB into the institutional investor stream. As Mr. Fay predicted, such investments could boost prices by injecting liquidity and legitimacy.
Investment firm REX Shares, in collaboration with Osprey Funds, took a step in that direction by filing an N-1A registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August to launch a BNB-based exchange traded fund (ETF).
Market risks where there is no room for error
Even with these tailwinds, Dominguez emphasizes the importance of remaining vigilant. “Investing in crypto assets is a highly risky and highly volatile market.” Prices may rise due to the entry of organized actors and governments, but disruption remains..
Faye concluded her paper in a harmonious manner. Pardoning CZ will favor the image of Binance and, by extension, BNB. Together with the undeniable growth of the network, these elements form a catalyst. In an ecosystem where transactions and active addresses tell the story of adoption, BNB is positioned not only as an asset but also as a reflection of post-regulation resilience.
(Tag translation) Altcoin
