September Report from Binance Research and Binance Labs

In a newly published report, Binance Research and Binance Labs collaborated to explore the state of decentralized finance (DeFi) on BNB Chain. Through the report the author, Jie Xuan Chua, assessed the general condition of DeFi on BNB Chain in light of the general decline in the cryptocurrency market since the beginning of the year.

The report also offered insights into decentralized exchanges (DEXes), lending protocols, asset management platforms, and liquid staking protocols on BNB Chain, with special attention paid to the leading projects in each category.

Here are some of the salient findings contained in the report:

• On a year-to-date basis, over 1.2 billion transactions were completed on BNB Chain. This was is significantly more than Ethereum’s 301 million transaction count within the same period. Also, at $0.32, average transaction fees on BNB Chain have been significantly lower than average fees paid to complete transactions on Ethereum.

• Impacted by the decline in the cryptocurrency market, BNB Chain saw a decline in its U.S. dollar Total value locked (TVL). TVL on BNB chain fell by over 55%, from $12.1 billion at the beginning of the year to $5.3 billion at the end of August.

• On a year-to-date basis, as of the end of August, trading volume across DEXes built on BNB Chain fell by 67%. Monthly trading volume within the 8-month period totaled $769.3 billion. PancakeSwap retained control as the leading DEX on BNB Chain, with over 55% of the TVL on the chain.

• With a market share of 84.1%, Venus Protocol remained the dominant lending platform on BNB Chain. Mirroring the general decline in the broader DeFi market, the report noted that average daily supply and average daily borrowing on Venus declined by 65% and 63% between January and September. Average utilization, however, remained healthy and ranged between 35-41% over the year.

• As for asset management protocols on BNB Chain, Tranchess, the yield-enhancing asset tracker, has recorded a 90% decline in TVL since the beginning of the year.

• Liquid staking on BNB Chain gained traction. Following the August launch of BNB staking by pSTAKE and Stader Labs, total tokens staked have grown steadily and strongly.

The full report can be assessed here.