Meme token activity shifts to BNB Chain and PancakeSwap

Meme token activity is not entirely gone, but traders are seeking new markets. In the past weeks, activity shifted to BNB Chain and PancakeSwap. 

BNB Chain and PancakeSwap now carry more meme token activity in comparison to Solana (SOL). Meme token launches drove users to the BNB Smart Chain, with several short-term rallies for memes like Mubarak. 

After the recent spike in volumes, Binance’s founder and former CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao posted on X, with a call to build under any market conditions. However, ‘CZ’ Zhao warned against aggressive token promotions, which may lead to rug pulls and losses.

Not a competition. Keep building!

(Deleted the previous retweet as I didn’t notice it contained a CA, which our security team flagged as super high risk, lack ownership transparency, etc. Can’t be too careful these days. Stay SAFU.🙏)

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) March 17, 2025

As a result of its recent popularity, BNB Chain is now the main venue for new launches that reflect social media trends. Demand for such launches and trades led BNB Chain to surpass Solana in terms of volumes. In the past week, activity on BNB Chain increased by another 13.47%, as the network makes a comeback following a prolonged bear market. 

The balance of top chains is shifting, as BNB invites more users with new meme tokens. | Source: DeFi Llama

BNB Chain peaked during the 2021 bull market and established itself as a cheaper, faster version of Ethereum for Web3 activity. The chain also carries versions of most meme tokens, but is now becoming the primary launchpad. 

The network carried $1.63B in volumes for the past 24 hours, surpassing Solana’s $1.07B. Ethereum (ETH) remains in the third place, though the network is hardly used for memes. The BNB Chain activity increased after adding the MEV protection feature, which meant fewer sandwich attacks and losses. 

DEX trading is the top activity on BNB Chain

PancakeSwap V2 and V3 are the two most actively used apps on BNB Chain. The inflow of users happened in the past few months, and is a mix of incentives and organic volumes. Based on DappRadar data, the DEX carries over 60K daily users in its two most active versions. OKX DEX as a Web3 feature is also highly active. Four.meme, the chain’s native meme launchpad, is in the top 5 of the most active apps. 

BNB Smart Chain is also climbing up the ranks in terms of DeFi activity, though still remaining the fourth most active network. One of the reasons is that BNB Chain, like Solana, was used for its low cost and accessibility as a token trading platform and a meme casino. 

PancakeSwap carries a significant part of its trade against CAKE, boosting the token’s liquidity. The DEX also carries a market for bridged USDT. The rest of the activity is spread across established and trending memes. 

CZ’s Dog (BROCCOLI) is the third-largest market. Newly trending token MUBARAK rose by 262% in its early price discovery stage, entering the top 10 of assets. MUBARAK also rallied after ‘CZ’ Zhao invested 1 BNB into the token, drawing attention in addition to being linked to the spring holiday in the Islamic world.

The V3 of the exchange is mostly used for USDT activity, though MUBARAK also broke through among the top 10 most active assets. The chain does not support as many launches as Solana, but the goal is to provide a more sustainable platform with curated liquidity to avoid rug pulls. 

The Binance ecosystem, unlike Solana, relies on screening and pre-selection. As a result, memes are more rare, but also more liquid when they launch. The Four.meme site does not work as a high-speed coin casino, but shows there is still enthusiasm for memes and for tokenizing trends. 

BNB breaks above market trend

After the signs of BNB Smart Chain reviving, the native asset also gained positions, despite the slowdown for other coins and tokens. BNB rallied from $599 to $630.11 overnight, based on demand for DEX trading pairs. 

CAKE expanded by 16.5%, rising to $2.16, while remaining the most actively swapped asset on PancakeSwap. The recent outperformance started talk of a BNB season, where the chain and its ecosystem develop ahead of other networks.

BNB remains a proxy token to hold during a bull run, as Binance remains the biggest beneficiary of increased trading. BNB open interest responded immediately, rising from the $580M range to over $622M within hours. The token responds quickly to multiple bullish factors, including the social media influence of ‘CZ’ Zhao.