25 July 2025

The excitement nipped in the bud? A retracement when we expected things to run for longer is a bummer. However, this pullback seems temporary, and we should be off to the races again soon. Bitcoin should bounce from $114,000 levels and altcoins will run post that. This is the ideal time to pick up entries for the next leg up. Are we ready?

In the brief while the altcoin rally happened, BNB surged to a new high along with a few others. We cover this in our Hot Take today.

Top-3 stories of the week:

1

2

3

The newsletter is put together by Giottus Crypto Platform. You can read all the previous issues of Cryptogram here.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

WEEKLY MACROS

• Total crypto market cap - $3.77 trillion - DOWN 4.3%    

• Bitcoin price - $115,579 - DOWN 3.9%

• The dollar index (DXY) - 97.5 - DOWN 1.1%

• Bitcoin Dominance - 61.53% -  DOWN 0.2%

• Crypto Fear and Greed Index - 71 - Market is in Greed

THE HOT TAKE

BNB pushes past $800! 🚀

BNB, the native token of BNB Chain, broke above $800 for the first time this week – a historic peak that briefly made it the fifth-largest crypto at a $111 billion market cap. The token gained roughly 12–13% over the week, outpacing larger peers as investors rotated into altcoins. This rally coincides with record on-chain activity and deflationary tokenomics coming to the fore.

Below, we examine the key drivers behind BNB’s breakout and what they signal for its outlook.

Deflationary token burns fuel scarcity

Binance’s latest quarterly burn (its 32^nd) removed 1.59 million BNB (worth ~$1 billion) from circulation. These aggressive burns are part of a deflationary strategy to reduce the total supply to 100 million tokens. With each burn, circulating supply shrinks, strengthening the scarcity narrative. The accelerating reduction in BNB’s float has created a structural tailwind for its price, especially as demand picks up. Traders note that supply-side pressures are easing, allowing any influx of buying to have a larger impact on price.

At the same time, network revenues (~$11.2 million so far this year) remain modest relative to market cap. Staking and fee discounts still anchor BNB’s utility within the Binance ecosystem, but participants should be aware that a large portion of the float is locked in Long-term holdings.

Big firms accumulate as whale activity slows

Big-money interest in BNB is on the rise. Over 30 companies are now exploring BNB for corporate treasury reserves – a trend backed by investment firms like 10X Capital, which is planning a $500M U.S.-listed fund centred on BNB. Recent disclosures show Nasdaq-listed Nano Labs accumulated 120,000 BNB for its treasury, reflecting a ~$90 million bet on BNB’s long-term value. Other firms, including WindTree Therapeutics, plan to raise $200 million for a BNB treasury. This institutional uptake signals confidence in BNB’s dual role as an exchange utility token and a broader ecosystem asset, bringing stickier, long-term holders into the market.

However, on-chain data shows mixed signals from large holders. Wallets holding more than 10,000 BNB tokens reached a near three-month low. This suggests some large holders are reducing their positions.

Network activity at record highs

BNB Chain’s on-chain usage is booming, reinforcing the price strength with fundamentals. Daily active addresses have roughly doubled to ~2.5 million since March, and the network processed over 440 million transactions in July alone.

BNB Chain is now among the busiest blockchains, with DeFi and dApp adoption to match. Its decentralized exchanges recently handled $14 billion+ in daily trading volume, even surpassing Ethereum and Solana combined on some days. This surge in real activity (from DeFi trades to NFT minting and gaming) showcases growing utility for BNB beyond exchange discounts. Importantly, higher usage also means more gas fees burned, feeding into BNB’s deflationary mechanism and strengthening the bull case.

Whales and traders show conviction

On-chain analysts have spotted whale accumulation of BNB during this run-up, indicating that large holders are positioning for the long term. Big BNB wallets appear to be moving tokens into cold storage and staking, a pattern that reflects confidence (much like early-2021 accumulation before that year’s rally).

In the futures market, open interest in BNB contracts jumped ~19% to about $1.23 billion this week while funding rates remained positive – a sign of traders leaning bullish. This mix of whale buying and leveraged longs suggests that “smart money” is siding with BNB. This implies expectations of higher valuations ahead.

Alt-season tailwinds boost BNB

The backdrop is a broader risk-on turn in crypto markets. As Bitcoin stalled just below its peak, capital rotated into top altcoins – and BNB was a prime beneficiary. The Altcoin Season Index climbed into the mid-50s, and Bitcoin’s dominance dipped to 60%, marking a healthy appetite for non-BTC assets. BNB’s 14% weekly gain outstripped Bitcoin’s ~3% move initially, an outperformance echoed by other exchange-related tokens. Social sentiment also played a part: a viral post by Binance founder CZ heralding the return of “FOMO season” captured retail excitement. In short, improving market sentiment and alt-season dynamics created a favourable environment for BNB’s surge, amplifying the impact of its positive fundamentals.

Key Takeaway

BNB’s move to an all-time high is backed by clear fundamentals - limited supply, growing real-world use, and strong institutional interest. The combination of regular token burns, rising network activity, and big buyers entering the market has built a solid base for BNB’s value. If these trends stay in place, BNB could decisively push beyond key $800 level. That said, after a sharp rally, a short period of sideways movement would be normal. Investors will be watching closely to see if BNB holds above former resistance or if short-term sellers pull it back below $700.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you?

If you have any questions or feedback for us, write to us at [email protected]. You can check out the previous issues here.

Disclaimer: Crypto products and NFTs are unregulated and can be highly risky. There may be no regulatory recourse for any loss from such transactions. Please do your own research before investing and seek independent legal/financial advice if you are unsure about the investments.