- BNB’s market cap jumped 28% in seven days, overtaking XRP as the third-largest crypto.
- Community debate intensifies amid unverified manipulation claims and Binance silence.
- CZ’s potential 64% BNB stake could now exceed $116 billion, amplifying market attention.
BNB, the native cryptocurrency of BNB Chain, has significantly outperformed the broader crypto market, climbing 28% in the past week to become the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization.
BNB overtakes XRP as third-largest cryptocurrency
After surpassing $1,100 for the first time on Friday, BNB reached a new milestone on Tuesday, overtaking XRP to secure the third spot among global crypto assets. At the time of publication, BNB traded around $1,326, reflecting a near 30% weekly increase and a total market capitalization of $182 billion, according to CoinGecko.
This rise comes as BNB sees increasing adoption, including the creation of a government-backed BNB fund in Kazakhstan. However, the steep growth relative to other cryptocurrencies has triggered community concerns about possible market manipulation.
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BNB adds $38 billion in value amid modest market gains
While the broader market has shown moderate growth, BNB’s rally has outshone peers like Bitcoin and Ether. Since October 1, Bitcoin’s market capitalization rose by roughly 5%, whereas BNB’s surged by 28%, adding nearly $40 billion in just one week.
For context, it previously took BNB over two months earlier in 2025 to gain a similar amount in market cap, when it hovered near $100 billion in mid-July. During the same period, Ether increased 8.4%, while the total crypto market capitalization climbed just 5.5%.
Despite the broader crypto upswing, Bitcoin and Ether have been losing market dominance, further emphasizing BNB’s outsized growth.
Community raises questions over possible price manipulation
BNB’s sharp gains have fueled widespread speculation on social media. Some users on Reddit’s Solana community compared BNB to FTX’s former token, alleging price manipulation. Others on X (formerly Twitter) accused Binance of “buying millions of BNB to liquidate shorts,” implying that the exchange might be actively influencing market dynamics.
Neither Binance nor its executives, including founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, have addressed the rumors. CZ simply posted, Keep building on BNB Chain, while the official BNB Chain account reshared commentary from crypto analyst Momin Saqib, who highlighted BNB Chain’s 60 million monthly active addresses and “strongest performance in the industry.
With BNB’s valuation now at $182 billion, earlier reports suggesting CZ holds 64% of the circulating supply imply that his personal stake could be worth around $116 billion.
