Surging past longstanding competitors, Binance Coin (BNB) displaced XRP to claim the third-largest position by market capitalization in early October 2025, a shift driven by a confluence of rapid price appreciation, heightened on-chain activity, and renewed institutional interest. The reordering of rankings saw BNB’s market capitalization approach $177.97 billion, narrowly eclipsing XRP’s roughly $177.9 billion and overtaking Tether (USDT) in the process, after a peak that briefly reached about $182 billion before stabilizing nearer $176 billion. XRP’s market cap held around $173 billion during the same stretch, underscoring that this was primarily a BNB-driven advance rather than broad-based weakness among top assets. Whale activity on the BNB Chain played a critical role, with large holders driving significant liquidity movements that amplified price momentum through coordinated buying strategies.
BNB surged past XRP to seize the third-largest market cap, driven by rapid price gains and institutional demand
Price action underpinned the ascent, as BNB crossed $1,100 for the first time in late September and surged to an intraday high near $1,336.57, producing a near-30% increase over seven days. Intraday gains of roughly 4.7% were recorded at one point, representing the token’s strongest short-term performance in months, while Bitcoin’s market cap only gained about 5% in the comparable period. The result was a roughly 28% expansion in BNB’s market cap, equal to an incremental $38–$40 billion of value, driven by concentrated demand from institutional buyers, sizable whale allocations, and a migration of investor preference toward utility-oriented tokens.
Fundamental developments lent credibility to the rally. Adoption by government-affiliated and institutional initiatives, including a Kazakhstan-backed BNB fund, and a record surge in activity on the BNB Chain contributed materially; the Aster Protocol’s total value locked rose approximately 570% to $2.34 billion, and decentralized exchanges such as Asher registered elevated throughput. These on-chain metrics and ecosystem upgrades bolstered investor confidence and reframed narratives that had previously favored stablecoins. Monitoring of exchange wallets and DeFi protocols revealed significant inflows and staking activity, highlighting whale involvement in ecosystem expansion.
At the same time, elevated gains attracted scrutiny. Social media discourse raised manipulation concerns, alleging coordinated buying to squeeze shorts, comparisons surfaced with past token controversies, and attention returned to reports that founder Changpeng Zhao controlled a substantial portion of circulating supply. Binance and Zhao have not substantively addressed these specific allegations, while emphasizing continued development of the BNB ecosystem. The balance of strong adoption signals and governance concentration leaves the outlook favorable but accompanied by notable uncertainties. Recent data also showed BNB Chain activity reaching new reported highs. Additionally, trading volumes on major venues reflected a pronounced uptick, with several exchanges reporting a 20% increase in daily BNB turnover.
