Messari’s Q2 2025 report shows BNB’s market cap rose 7.5% to $92.6 billion, while BNB Smart Chain revenue fell 37.5% quarter on quarter to $44.1 million.
The data, released for the second quarter, points to big shifts in fees, chain speed and user patterns that together drove higher activity but lower on-chain fee income.
The changes came from protocol upgrades, fee cuts and user campaigns that pushed transactions and token use in new directions.
Market value and fee income
BNB’s overall market value ticked up to $92.6 billion, a 7.5% gain from the previous quarter. But revenue on BNB Smart Chain fell sharply to $44.1 million, down 37.5% quarter on quarter.
The main reason was a 90% cut in base gas fees, which dropped from 1 gwei to 0.1 gwei over the quarter. Lower fees made transactions cheaper, but also reduced fee income for validators and the chain itself.
DeFi growth and winners
Total value locked in DeFi rose 14.0% quarter on quarter to $9.947 billion. The gain was driven by liquid staking and lending products. One notable mover was ListaDAO.
Its TVL increased 188.7% and it rose to become the third-largest DeFi protocol on the chain.
DEX activity also surged. Daily decentralised exchange volume climbed 45.2% to $3.3 billion, the highest level across major chains.
PancakeSwap dominated this trading, holding 85.1% of swap volume. Other venues, such as Uniswap-style pools and StableSwap products, posted outsized growth as users chased yield and lower slippage.
Users and transactions
Daily active addresses grew 33.2% quarter on quarter. Daily transactions jumped 101.9% in the same period. Much of that rise came from nonstandard and gamified activity, which Messari grouped under “Others.”
That category expanded 173.7% and reflects new app types and short-lived campaigns attracting many small interactions.
Binance Alpha campaigns are credited with much of the user lift. These promotions encouraged repeat actions and experiments that boosted on-chain counts. But the quality of activity varied, with some actions generating real economic value and others focused mainly on short-term rewards.
Also Read: BNB’s Market Cap Tops $120B Before Slipping, Price Reaches ATH to $868 As Trading Volume Spikes 9%
Protocol upgrades and speed gains
Two hard forks, Lorentz and Maxwell, cut block times to 0.75 seconds, and that change raised daily block output by 90%. With faster blocks, the chain can process more transactions per second and reduce latency for users.
Fast Finality now confirms transactions in 1.875 seconds, which makes payments and swaps feel near instant for many users and apps.
The faster chain and low fees created a strong environment for high-frequency activity. But the combination also squeezed fee revenue and left questions about long-term economics for node operators.
Stablecoins and fee subsidies
Stablecoin supply on BNB Chain rose 49.6% to $10.5 billion, a large part of that growth followed the launch of USD1, which debuted with $2.2 billion in supply. Fee subsidies under the 0-Fee Carnival also helped adoption.
Those subsidies cut transaction costs and nudged users toward stablecoin transfers and trading. As a result, stablecoins now lead in transaction share and active user counts on the chain.
Banking link and onramps
Binance founder CZ announced that BNB is now available for trading at RAKBANK, one of the UAE’s largest banks.
That step gives BNB a new onramp into a regulated banking channel and may ease fiat access for users in the region. The move could help widen institutional and retail access outside traditional crypto rails.