By Chris Hollingworth 
BNB Chain (BNB) has recently introduced a groundbreaking $100 million initiative aimed at enhancing liquidity for its native projects on centralized exchanges (CEXs). The network has allocated these funds in the form of incentives, primarily using its native BNB tokens, to encourage projects to list on any of the 11 major CEXs specified by BNB Chain. This initiative, announced on March 24, is designed to boost liquidity within the BNB Chain ecosystem and support the growth of various projects by incentivizing exchanges to list native BNB Chain tokens.
Prior to this $100 million program, BNB Chain had already launched two smaller liquidity incentive programs. These initiatives involved allocating a total of $4.4 million in February and March to incentivize CEX listings for memecoins and other ecosystem projects. The rewards for listing on exchanges vary based on the prominence of the exchange.
The latest liquidity incentive program by BNB Chain will operate on a first-come, first-served basis and is set to run for an initial three-month trial period. To be eligible for participation, projects must meet certain criteria, including having a market capitalization of at least $5 million and a daily trading volume of $1 million. The most substantial rewards, amounting to $500,000 in permanent liquidity, are reserved for projects that list on major CEXs like Binance and Coinbase.
Under this program, rewards may consist of non-withdrawable BNB token liquidity or involve purchases of project tokens to establish two-sided liquidity. BNB Chain is taking a strategic approach to bolster liquidity and foster growth within its ecosystem through these targeted incentives.
As of the latest data from DeFiLlama, BNB Chain boasts a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $5.4 billion, positioning it as the fourth-largest blockchain network in terms of TVL. Despite its notable TVL, BNB Chain trails behind leading smart contract platforms like Ethereum and Solana, which have TVLs of around $46 billion and $7 billion, respectively. BNB Chain operates under the umbrella of Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally.
Recent reports from The Wall Street Journal suggested that entities linked to former US President Donald Trump were in discussions to acquire Binance.US, a US-based crypto exchange that operates independently. Former Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has refuted several claims made in these reports, clarifying that there were no discussions regarding a potential deal contingent on Trump pardoning Zhao following legal issues related to the Bank Secrecy Act. In 2023, Binance agreed to pay a substantial penalty of $4.3 billion, and Zhao pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Bank Secrecy Act due to deficiencies in Binance’s Anti-Money Laundering program.
The evolving landscape of BNB Chain’s liquidity incentives and its positioning within the broader blockchain ecosystem underscore the network’s strategic initiatives to drive growth and enhance liquidity for its native projects on centralized exchanges.
