BNB, the cryptocurrency associated with the BNB Chain developed by Binance, has recently emerged as the third-largest digital asset by market capitalization. This follows a remarkable 28% increase in market cap over the last week, igniting discussions among crypto enthusiasts.

On Friday, BNB surpassed the $1,100 mark for the first time and later surpassed XRP (which is backed by Ripple) on Tuesday, establishing itself firmly with a market cap of $182 billion. Currently, BNB is trading at $1,326, reflecting a nearly 30% increase within the last week, according to CoinGecko data.

This surge aligns with increasing adoption of BNB globally, including the recent establishment of a government-backed BNB fund in Kazakhstan. However, the rapid appreciation has raised eyebrows among some analysts who suspect potential price manipulation.

BNB’s Performance Compared to Major Cryptocurrencies

While the broader crypto market is witnessing growth, BNB’s ascent has been notably distinctive compared to Bitcoin and Ether. Since October 1, Bitcoin has increased its market cap by about 5%, while BNB has impressively surged by approximately 28%, adding $40 billion in value.

BNB Market Capitalization

BNB ranks as the third-largest crypto asset following Bitcoin and Ether, with XRP and USDT in the subsequent positions, as reported on October 7, 2025. Source: CoinGecko

During this timeframe, Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, has registered an 8.4% increase in market cap.

An intriguing comparison is BNB’s growth earlier this year, where it took over two months to add a similar amount to its cap, sitting around $100 billion in mid-July. This fluctuation highlights the dynamic journey of BNB in the cryptocurrency realm.

BNB Market Capitalization Evolution

As of October 1, the overall crypto market cap saw a modest 5.5% increase, with Bitcoin and Ether gradually losing some of their dominance.

Community Observations on BNB’s Growth

Moreover, BNB’s substantial gains have sparked debates across social media platforms about the possible manipulation behind its rapid rise. Observers from the Solana community on Reddit have also pointed out BNB’s utility compared to others like SOL and flagged concerns about price manipulation.

“BNB is essentially like the FTX token. Can’t wait till it gets called out for the price manipulation with evidence. It’s gonna be glorious,” remarked one of the highly-rated comments on the thread.

Concerns of manipulation are further echoed on X, where an account accused Binance of potentially engaging in practices to influence BNB’s price.

Speculations on CZ’s Holdings

While allegations of manipulation are circulating, Binance and its leading figures, including founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, have not addressed these claims yet. On Tuesday, CZ shared a post on X encouraging continued development on BNB Chain, while the official account reposted insights from a BNB enthusiast.

“While the broader industry feels like it’s still waiting for direction, BNB has quietly been putting up the strongest numbers in the industry,” wrote Momin Saqib, highlighting the significant engagement BNB Chain has had, marking 60 million monthly active addresses.

Given BNB’s market cap of $182 billion, estimates suggest that CZ could potentially control approximately $116 billion of it, with some reports indicating he holds up to 64% of BNB’s circulating supply as of June 2024.