When I realized that my cloud server bills can be paid with BNB, I suddenly understood that this guy, once called a 'platform coin', has quietly become a super hub connecting the crypto world and the real economy.
Three years ago, when I first got into cryptocurrency, I only saw BNB as a 'coupon' to save on transaction fees. Looking back now, that thought seems as naive as thinking that a smartphone could only be used for making calls.
Not long ago, when I learned that even the bills for traditional internet infrastructure like AWS can be settled with BNB, my first reaction was: what else can’t be paid for with this thing?
From a simple trading fee discount tool to a versatile player that now spans CeFi, DeFi, and real-world payments, the transformation of BNB is regarded as one of the most successful comeback stories in the world of cryptocurrencies.
01 Multiple Identities: How BNB Became the 'Swiss Army Knife' of the Crypto World
Do you remember when BNB first emerged in 2017? It was merely defined as 'Binance's platform token.' The uses described in the white paper were few, with the core function being to provide users with trading fee discounts. At that time, few could have predicted that it would evolve into the lifeblood of a vast ecosystem with over 6 million on-chain addresses just a few years later.
Today, BNB has integrated three core identities, each providing solid support for its value.
As a passport in the CeFi world, BNB's role within the Binance exchange has long surpassed simple trading fee discounts. Holding BNB is like holding a VIP membership card in the crypto world. From participating in the initial token offerings of new projects on Launchpad to staking in Launchpool to earn returns, BNB is the key that opens the door to these opportunities.
From my own experience, merely participating in various staking and airdrop activities on Binance allows BNB holders to obtain additional returns far exceeding simple holding. This is precisely BNB's unique advantage compared to other cryptocurrencies — it is not just an asset waiting to appreciate but a continuous 'yield generator.'
As the energy of the DeFi world, BNB plays a role similar to ETH on the Ethereum network, but with key improvements. Whether conducting on-chain transactions, participating in decentralized lending, or providing liquidity, BNB is the fundamental fuel for paying Gas fees.
One of the key reasons BNB Chain can stand out among numerous public chains is its extremely low transaction costs and high efficiency. Compared to Ethereum's sometimes exorbitant Gas fees, transaction fees on BNB Chain often only cost a few cents, making it an ideal choice for daily DeFi activities.
As a payment tool for the real world, BNB is quietly infiltrating our daily lives. From travel bookings to online shopping, from entertainment expenses to service payments, the application scenarios of BNB are rapidly expanding.
CZ himself publicly demonstrated using BNB for payments in a shop in Bhutan, indicating that crypto payments are moving from concept to everyday use. When crypto assets can be directly exchanged for goods and services, it has truly realized the transformation from 'investment assets' to 'practical currency.'
02 Deflationary Model: The Mathematical Logic Behind BNB's Value
The value support of BNB comes not only from its wide range of application scenarios but also from its carefully designed deflationary model. If the application scenarios are the engine driving BNB demand, then the deflationary mechanism is the anchor ensuring its value stability.
What sets BNB apart is that it is one of the few major crypto assets with an embedded deflationary mechanism. Through a regular destruction mechanism, BNB's total supply continues to decrease, which naturally exerts upward pressure on prices in the context of increasing demand.
The destruction of BNB is carried out in two ways: one is the quarterly automatic destruction based on trading volume on the Binance exchange, and the other is the real-time destruction of Gas fees for each transaction on BNB Chain. This dual approach ensures that deflation continues regardless of market conditions.
As of 2025, over 60 million BNB have been permanently destroyed, accounting for about 30% of the initial total supply. At the current rate, BNB will eventually reduce to a total of 100 million, which is a halving from the initial supply of 200 million.
This deflationary characteristic makes BNB similar to a company that continuously repurchases its own stock. Imagine if a company not only has strong profitability but also continuously repurchases and destroys its own stock; how would such a stock perform in the long run? This is precisely the brilliance of BNB's economic model.
03 Ecological Prosperity: BNB Chain is the Ultimate Moat for BNB
If the deflationary mechanism is the internal driving force of BNB's value, then the prosperity of the BNB Chain ecosystem is the external driving force. As a public chain with over 600 million users and more than 5,000 ecological projects, BNB Chain has grown from a simple 'Ethereum clone' into a true giant of public chains.
The success of BNB Chain is no accident. It precisely captures the pain points of Ethereum's high Gas fees and low transaction speeds, providing developers and users with a high-performance, low-cost option. As numerous projects choose to deploy on BNB Chain, the demand for BNB has also surged.
DeFi is just the beginning. Today, BNB Chain has expanded into various tracks such as GameFi, NFT, social, AI, and more. Especially since 2024, BNB Chain's progress in the tokenization of RWA (real-world assets) has been particularly noteworthy.
U.S. asset management firm VanEck issues U.S. Treasury yield tokens on BNB Chain through Securitize, while Ondo Finance introduces its institutional-grade Treasury fund shares to BNB Chain. These initiatives not only bring traditional financial liquidity to BNB Chain but also create new use cases for BNB.
Continuous performance upgrades are also key for BNB Chain to maintain its competitiveness. Through multiple hard forks, BNB Chain has reduced block time to 0.75 seconds and transaction fees to the level of $0.001, providing a solid foundation for the next generation of DeFi, gaming, and AI applications.
When I see these data, I can't help but marvel at the speed of BNB Chain's evolution. While many public chains are still hyping concepts, BNB Chain has already provided users with a silky on-chain experience through tangible technological upgrades.
04 Challenges and Risks: Rational Thinking in Optimism
Of course, no successful story should ignore the risks and challenges involved. As a rational analyst, I must point out several potential risk points BNB faces.
Regulatory risk has always been a sword of Damocles hanging over BNB. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission once classified BNB as a 'security,' which could lead to stricter regulatory constraints for BNB in the U.S. The differences and volatility in regulatory policies for cryptocurrencies across various countries bring uncertainty to BNB's global expansion.
Market competition is also a challenge that BNB cannot ignore. Ethereum still has the most mature developer ecosystem, while emerging players like Solana and Base are showing competitiveness in specific areas. Although BNB Chain currently leads in user scale and trading activity, the rapid technological iterations in the blockchain world require continuous innovation to maintain its leading position.
Centralization issues are often a point of criticism for BNB Chain. Unlike decentralized networks like Ethereum, BNB Chain has only 21 active validation nodes, which gives the network a certain degree of centralization. While this helps improve transaction efficiency, it may also pose hidden dangers for long-term development, especially for crypto purists who emphasize the spirit of decentralization.
Despite these challenges, I believe BNB's unique advantages are enough for it to occupy a favorable position in this public chain war. The key is that BNB has established a robust ecosystem network effect, and once this advantage is established, it is difficult to disrupt.
Just as I was writing this article, there was good news: several publicly listed companies in the U.S. are incorporating BNB into their asset reserves, and VanEck has submitted a BNB ETF application to the SEC. These signals indicate that traditional financial institutions are beginning to recognize the value of BNB and see it as a worthy asset class.
In the future, with the continuous technological upgrades of BNB Chain and the ongoing expansion of application scenarios, along with the potential approval of ETFs, the value support for BNB will become even more diversified. BNB has long surpassed the realm of 'platform tokens' and has become a bridge connecting the crypto world with the traditional economy.
The next time you consider how to allocate your crypto assets, you might want to view BNB not just as an investment target but as a universal key that opens up the entire crypto economy. Because what it can unlock goes far beyond just the door of trading fee discounts.
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