While the entire market of has had a strong 2019, one coin in particular has managed to post 300 percent gains since the start of the year. Coin (BNB), the native currency to the world’s leading crypto exchange by volume, has outpaced both and the market with its massive gains over the last month. Given how Coin has, in part, taken the reins of market movement, analytics firm Weiss Ratings is now asking the question: Is BNB the new ?
Coin is capable of operating as a standalone, decentralized currency, albeit with a fair amount of influence from its parent company exchange. However, it would be remiss not to point out that the price of BNB has largely benefited from its direct association with the exchange, as opposed to the utility or merits of the coin itself. For one,
incentivizes users to purchase and hold a sum of BNB through several of its programs. Investors can receive a discount on fees if they pay with BNB, which is automatically deducted from a users . ’s updated launchpad service is also driving the demand for BNB and, by proxy, its price. In order to participate in ICO sales on Launchpad, investors must purchase–and hold for 20 days prior to the launch–a minimum of 100 BNB. At current market prices that equates to $2300 in BNB. However, investors adamant on participating in Launchpad sales are encouraged to buy and hold 500 BNB to receive the greatest chance of being drawn in the lottery, an amount that would come to $11,500 (about the cost of two ).
All of this, in conjunction with the price of BNB rising 300 percent since the beginning of 2019, has led Weiss Ratings to question, via Twitter, if the currency can replace as a market leader. Before today’s price rally, which saw across the board drop as improved in dominance, Coin appeared to be dictating the direction of the market. BNB posted several consecutive days of double-digit price gains, bringing both renewed interest and investment into the space of .
As points out, Weiss has given BNB the same rating as some of the industry’s most prolific . ’s XRP, , and Coin are the top four as evaluated by Weiss, and the only currencies to receive a grading of B-. Even , which has been the darling of the industry for several years, scored lower than BNB with a grade of C+.
Coin, seemingly defying , has climbed into the top ten of by market capitalization and is threatening for the sixth overall position. The coin commands $3.2 billion in market capitalization, and has room to grow with a circulating supply of 141 million BNB–far less than other coins such as XRP and .
In the end, BNB’s strong ties to may continue to provide enough incentive for investors to take interest in the asset, even at the exclusion of market leaders like . While Coin may not fit the traditional mold of , or even be the most representative coin for the industry, it does offer traders utility that is hard to come by in other currencies.
Published at Tue, 23 Apr 2019 22:33:54 +0000
