BNB just flipped XRP. What's going on?

Plus: Why it's not too late to buy crypto

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GM. There's been a bit of zest and a lot of squeeze in the headlines lately.

Let's twist the cap and see what's inside today's bottle:

🍍 BNB all-time high;

🚀 CeFi + DeFi + AI = ?

🍋 Cheaper money transfers to the Philippines, Rezolve AI buys Smartpay + more

🧃 Sip by sip

#streak-section#

🍍 Market flavor today

Crypto Market Cap: $4.19T -1.15% (24H)
Name		Price	24H	7D
	Bitcoin BTC	$122,384.29	-0.24%	4.44%
	Ethereum ETH	$4,458.70	-2.50%	3.27%
	BNB BNB	$1,300.54	0.08%	27.67%
	XRP XRP	$2.87	-1.44%	-2.21%
	Solana SOL	$220.70	-1.81%	0.93%

BNB might as well stand for Buy Now, Bro - cuz the bros really do be buying.

The coin hopped on a rocket and blasted straight to a new all-time high above $1.3K today.

And not only that - it surpassed XRP to become the #3 largest crypto in the world.

Soooo, what's going on?

1/ Memecoins

BNB Chain has recently seen a whole lotta new memecoin projects, which attracted a whole lotta new traders, which made the prices a whole lotta higher.

You'll see that in just a second, in the Memecoin Harvest section: Binance ecosystem-related memecoins are really stealing the show.

Matter of fact, the BNB memecoin launchpad FourMeme has actually outperformed Solana's PumpFun in 24-hour trading volume.

And this whole meme hype, while speculative, has created real on-chain activity that increases BNB's demand, because every transaction on that network requires BNB to pay fees.

2/ Aster

Then there's Aster - a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on BNB Chain.

Aster supports perpetual futures - contracts that let users speculate on crypto prices without expiration - and offers leverage up to 1,000x. Very risky, but also very attractive to high-risk traders looking for bigger returns.

It gained immediate attention after Binance founder CZ started bullposting about it.

The attention in question:

👉 It became one of the highest fee-earning protocols on BNB Chain ($2.5M in the past day);

👉 Its token, ASTER, increased nearly 3K% in its first week.

Because Aster operates on BNB Chain, every trade and position uses BNB for fees. As Aster’s trading volume grew, so did the network's gas usage.

3/ Institutional interest

👉 Companies like CEA Industries have begun holding BNB as part of their treasuries;

👉 YZI Labs (a venture capital firm linked to CZ) is launching a $1B fund to support new projects in the BNB ecosystem.

All of these factors have created a rise in demand for BNB = price go up.

Looking ahead, however, the rally might cool off a bit. After such a strong move, it’s normal for prices to wobble as traders take profits.

Plus, memecoin seasons come and go - one viral week can turn into silence the next.

Still, as long as BNB Chain stays busy, the underlying demand for BNB should stay healthy.

🥝 Memecoin harvest

Degens prayed to the chart gods, and the memes answered 🙏

Data as of 04:50 AM EST.

Check out these memecoins and plenty more here.

🚀 CeFi + DeFi + AI = Walbi

Ever wished your exchange had the brains of ChatGPT, the vibes of DeFi, and the convenience of CeFi - all in one?

That's Walbi. And lucky you, BitDegree dropped a Mission where you can learn all about it.

The bad news: the Mission ends in just a few hours.

So, this is your LAST CALL to compete for:

🎁 2,000 Bits;

🎁 Up to 250 USDT rebate voucher;

🎁 A fat 5,000 USDT prize pool.

(Btw, earning those Bits will come in handy if you wanna join the $15K BitDegree Season 8 Airdrop 👀)

So yeah - hop in while there's still time!

🍋 News drops you can't miss

💰 Still overpaying on transfer fees? We found the cheapest ways to send money to the Philippines (and some of them might surprise you).

🧠 Rezolve AI, a public company that builds AI tools for online shopping, bought Smartpay, a fintech that helps businesses accept stablecoin payments. They didn't say how much it cost, but the deal's meant to strengthen Rezolve's work with Tether.

💬 Even though Bitcoin hit new record highs, most investors still aren't in crypto, says Cosmo Jiang from Pantera Capital. He said that the idea that people are "too late" to get in is just not true.

🏙️ BitGo got the approval to operate in Dubai through its MENA branch. The company can now offer digital asset trading and broker services to institutional clients.

🏦 The Bank of England is rethinking its earlier plan to cap how many stablecoins companies can hold. Officials are reportedly looking at possible exceptions for firms that depend on these digital assets to run their businesses.

🍌 Juicy memes