What’s Driving BNB Chain’s DEX Volume?

In recent months, BNB Chain has seen a significant surge in decentralized exchange (DEX) activity, surpassing Ethereum, Solana, and other major blockchain networks. As of March 24, BNB Chain’s weekly DEX volume reached a record $14.3 billion, surpassing Ethereum’s $9.6 billion, per DeFiLlama.

BNB Chain Outperforms Ethereum in DEX Trading Volume

BNB Chain’s impressive rise to the top of the DEX volume charts is a result of various factors, with memecoin trading being one of the most significant drivers. This surge in volume is not a one-time event; BNB Chain has accounted for over 30% of the total DEX market share for six consecutive days since mid-March, a figure that is likely to keep growing.

In fact, the weekly DEX volume for BNB Chain increased by 48%, while volumes on Ethereum, Solana, Base, and Arbitrum saw significant declines. These drops ranged from 29.5% for Solana to a dramatic 39% for Arbitrum. This stark contrast highlights BNB Chain’s growing influence in the DeFi sector, making it the chain to watch in the coming months.

Memecoins Drive Increased Activity on BNB Chain

One of the key factors behind BNB Chain’s surge in DEX volume is the explosive growth of memecoins. Coins like $MUBARAK, $CHEEMS, and $BNX have seen significant price rallies, leading to increased trading activity on BNB Chain-based DEXs. The rise of these memecoins has been accompanied by growing investor interest, drawn by the potential for quick, speculative profits.

Memecoin trading has brought both retail and institutional users into BNB Chain’s ecosystem. Platforms like PancakeSwap, the leading DEX on BNB Chain, have experienced massive growth as a result. PancakeSwap alone accounted for nearly 30% of the total DEX trading volume, with $14.168 billion in weekly trading volume and $1.67 billion in daily volume as of March 22. The expansion of trading options on PancakeSwap, including perpetual trading, prediction markets, NFT marketplaces, and lottery systems, has contributed to this meteoric rise.

The Role of Zero Trading Fees and Increased TVL

Another factor driving BNB Chain’s growth is the introduction of zero-fee trading for swaps conducted within the Binance Wallet. This initiative, in place from March 17 to September 17, 2025, has spurred increase in trading activity, attracting more retail traders and liquidity providers to the platform. The zero-fee promotion reduces barriers to entry and enhances the overall appeal of trading on BNB Chain’s DEXs.

Along with increased trading activity, the Total Value Locked (TVL) on BNB Chain has surged, surpassing $5.4 billion. This increase is a testament to the growing confidence of investors in BNB Chain’s ecosystem, which has seen its TVL triple in recent months. This rise in TVL reflects the increasing interest in BNB Chain’s DeFi ecosystem, including the liquidity pools and staking opportunities that its DEXs provide.

Developer Activity and Ecosystem Growth

The increased DEX volume on BNB Chain has also attracted a growing number of developers to the network. The rise in the number of decentralized applications (dApps) being built on BNB Chain has contributed to the overall growth of its ecosystem. Introduction of features like Ethereum compatibility and gas abstraction through the Pascal Hardfork on March 20 has further incentivized developers to build on BNB Chain.

The Pascal Hardfork, which integrated Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7702, brings advanced functionalities such as smart contract wallets and batch transactions to the network. This upgrade positions BNB Chain as a forward-thinking platform that offers developers greater flexibility and scalability. Moreover, this update enhances BNB Chain’s compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), making it easier for Ethereum-based projects to migrate or expand to BNB Chain.

Looking ahead, BNB Chain has plans to continue improving its infrastructure. Upcoming upgrades like the Lorentz Hardfork in April 2025, which will reduce block times to just 1.5 seconds, and the Maxwell Hardfork in June 2025, aimed at further reducing block processing times, will make the network even more efficient. These improvements are expected to enhance both transaction speed and user experience, further solidifying BNB Chain’s place in the DeFi ecosystem.

Moreover, BNB Chain’s growth is closely tied to the overall success of Binance. As the leading cryptocurrency exchange globally, Binance has a massive user base that drives activity on BNB Chain. With 4.83 million weekly active users and $59.3 million in exchange volume, Binance’s ecosystem provides BNB Chain with liquidity, users, and developers, creating a powerful network effect.