What to know:
Altcoins have lagged Bitcoin year-to-date, but $BNB price shows relative resilience, trading only 10% lower than the previous cycle’s all-time high.
BNB Chain shows a robust activity, consistently ranking third in daily transactions, active addresses, and TVL, while leading in the number of DApps.
The blockchain’s weakest point is its revenue, which still lags compared to competitors.
Altcoin price action has been underwhelming for much of the 2023-2026 cycle, pushing many crypto traders to focus primarily on Bitcoin. However, with moderate optimism returning to the markets, a closer look reveals that not all altcoins are struggling. In fact, the total altcoin market cap remains solidly above $1 trillion — $1.17 trillion, to be exact — and its 9% surge over the past week offers a glimmer of hope.
Looking solely at price performance among top smart contract platforms’ coins tells a more nuanced story. BNB has indeed reached a new all-time high during this cycle, but so have $XRP , TRX , and $SOL — though in Solana's case, the new high barely surpassed its 2021 peak by just 1%.
When comparing current prices to their previous cycle highs (mostly from May or November 2021), BNB is now down only about 10%. That’s significantly better than ETH , which is down 63%, and Solana, down 40%. However, XRP (+19%) and TRX (+49%) have performed even better.
BNB Chain revenue has room for growth
Blockchain revenue plays a crucial role in its long-term sustainability and growth. It is commonly assessed through the total transaction fees generated.
So far in 2025, the revenue rankings are shifting, but BNB Chain remains 5th. In the past 30 days, Tron has taken the lead with $272 million in fees, followed by Solana ($34.7 million), Ethereum ($20.8 million), and BNB Chain ($17.1 million), per Messari data.
Overall, while BNB may not always top the charts across every metric, it consistently holds a respectable third place among the leading smart contract platforms. Its healthy activity metrics contribute to maintaining relative price stability within the sector.
The blockchain’s revenue remains its weakest point compared to competitors. However, if the promise of Web3 is realized and adoption accelerates, BNB Chain’s dominance in the DApp space could become its biggest strength.
