BNB

In 2025, BNB Chain quietly became the most actively used major EVM network, overtaking rival chains on key on-chain metrics as the market moved toward 2026. While Ethereum continued to dominate in fees and settlement value, BNB Chain led in active addresses and transactions, reflecting more routine, retail-driven usage rather than short-lived hype cycles.

On January 8, 2026, Changpeng Zhao stated that his upcoming memoir's Chinese edition may be titled "币安人生" but stressed it has no link to the Binance Life meme coin. He added that he does not hold the Binance Life token and has no plans to buy it, and that the English version will use a different title. The Binance Life token, launched in October 2025 on BNB Smart Chain, briefly reached a market cap above $500 million before crashing after clarifications that his posts were not endorsements.

On January 14, BNB Smart Chain is set to activate the Fermi hard fork, cutting block times to 0.45 seconds after the broader BNB Chain completed its Fourier upgrade on January 7. The network is scaling in response to rising onchain demand, with Op BNB also halving its block time, while the BNB token trades near $884 following a 3.5% daily decline and open interest of about $820 million.

BNB Smart Chain is scheduled to implement the Fermi hard fork on January 14, 2026, targeting shorter block times and higher throughput. The upgrade follows the Fourier hard fork on Op BNB Chain on January 7, which reduced its block interval from 500 to 250 milliseconds. Despite these network improvements, BNB has dropped below $900 amid a broader market decline, with price volatility driven by long liquidations.

BNB Chain's Layer 2 opBNB executed the Fourier mainnet hard fork at 03:00 UTC on January 7, reducing block intervals from 500 ms to 250 ms. According to BNB Chain developers, the upgrade targets faster confirmations and lower latency for dApps, with node operators moving to op-node v0.5.5 and op-geth v0.5.9.

On 7 January 2026, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization retreated to roughly $3.12 trillion, marking a daily loss of more than 3% amid intensified short-term selling. Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana and XRP all declined over the past 24 hours, yet several still show solid gains on a seven-day basis, while sentiment gauges remain broadly neutral.

The opBNB network has finalized its Fourier mainnet hardfork on Wednesday around 03:00 UTC, after starting testing on its testnet earlier in the week and cutting block time from 500ms to 250ms. The upgrade introduces multiple protocol and node-level changes aimed at improving stability, finality, and compatibility, while BNB Chain reports a 40.5% annual TVL increase and BNB trades above $920 ahead of the January 14 Fermi hardfork. These developments come as BNB remains about 33% below its all-time high of $1,370 set last October.

YZi Labs criticized CEA Industries (aka BNC) for adopting a stockholder rights plan and bylaw amendments in December, saying they hinder written‑consent rights. The plan triggers at 15% and lets other holders buy shares at a 50% discount, expiring December 26, 2026. YZi also alleged a delay to the 2025 annual meeting and disputed BNC's token‑strategy claims.

Bitcoin briefly moved above $93,000 earlier today and is trading just below that mark. Since January 1, total crypto market value has risen by $200 billion, while BTC's market cap is above $1.850 trillion and dominance is slightly over 57%. Ethereum is nearing $3,200; XRP is above $2.10, and RENDER jumped 18%.

EGRAG CRYPTO estimates a 60% chance that XRP will break higher if it closes above the 21‑EMA and clears the channel top near $2.30, outlining targets at $3.10–$3.30. As of January 5, XRP traded above $2.10 with a 7‑day gain of 12%, while observers also flagged robust inflows into newly launched spot XRP ETFs since mid‑November 2025.