rewrite this title BNB Hits All-Time High as Network Upgrades and Short Squeeze Fuel Rally – Decrypt

BNB surged to a new all-time high of $1,114.67 Friday, as a short squeeze and network fee cuts triggered the most powerful rally among major cryptocurrencies.

At time of publication, BNB is trading at $1,108, up 6.1% on the day according to CoinGecko data, and extending its weekly gains to 17.2%.

BNB is the biggest gainer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap, with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Solana (SOL) advancing 1.5%, 2.5%, 1.8%, and 2.7% respectively over the same period, while Dogecoin (DOGE) slipped 0.6%.

BNB’s market capitalization now stands at over $154 billion, maintaining its position as the fourth-largest crypto.

“Over $7.7 million in short positions were liquidated, triggering a short squeeze that accelerated the upward move,” Dean Chen, an analyst at crypto exchange Bitunix, told Decrypt.

Chen noted that BNB Chain’s reduction of transaction fees to just $0.005 per transfer attracted greater participation from users and developers, while a successful breakout above the $1,084 resistance level “shifted market sentiment bullish, with short-term targets now eyeing $1,200.”



“The RSI indicator is approaching overbought territory, signaling potential near-term pullback risks,” he cautioned

BNB Chain’s monthly active users have doubled to over two million in the past year, while daily transactions surged tenfold from one million to 10 million and spot DEX activity jumped from 120,000 to more than 200,000, according to an Animoca Brands report shared with Decrypt.

The BNB token’s rally is fueled by a combination of “network upgrades, on-chain momentum, and institutional demand,” Illia Otychenko, Lead Analyst at CEX.IO, told Decrypt.

“Additional improvements are expected in the coming months, further supporting the bullish outlook,” Otychenko noted, highlighting the recent cut in minimum gas fees.

The Aster effect



Projects such as Aster and PancakeSwap have “driven a wave of new users and capital, boosting stablecoin supply by nearly $2 billion, or 17%, in the past two weeks,” Otychenko added.

Aster is a multi-chain perpetual futures exchange backed by Binance co-founder CZ’s YZi Labs, while PancakeSwap is BNB Chain’s largest decentralized exchange for token swaps and liquidity staking.

Apart from network fundamentals, “speculation around a potential U.S. spot BNB ETF added and fresh demand for BNB as a treasury asset,” added fuel to the rally, the analyst noted, “reinforcing the token’s positioning as more than just a utility asset.”

Chen said BNB’s long-term path depends on whether network upgrades drive “sustained demand” and how “global regulatory developments—particularly the SEC’s stance—impact institutional adoption.”

He called the overall momentum “upward” but advised that “investors should watch whether the $1,000 to $1,084 support zone holds to confirm the continuation of the bullish trend.”