BNB Chain’s New Chapter in 2026 and beyond

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Moonlight🌙月光
@Moon1ightStDec 18, 2025

The Spaces gathered BNB Chain’s new Executive Director of Growth Nina and leading builders Jillian (SOF Protocol), Lucas (BounceBit), Leon (Venus Protocol), and Lorena (Lista DAO), hosted by Moonlight. The core thesis: Web3’s constraint is discovery, not scaling. Nina outlined BNB Chain’s discovery-first roadmap—early-stage exposure (hackathons, EZ Labs builder funding, new BNB Trenches program), throughput to ~20,000 TPS, fee cuts, and wallet integrations—so users can safely experiment and developers can reach audiences early. Builders detailed today’s gaps and solutions: SOF is turning idle BTC into productive, institutional-grade yield and RWA strategies; BounceBit is making yield transparent and RWA productive; Venus is expanding products (Venus X), listings, and channels; Lista stacks BNB Launchpool yields via BNB LSTs, operates a major CDP/lending hub, and scales USD1 liquidity and RWA. A coordinated flywheel across liquidity, infra, and user activation was the recurring theme. The session closed with 2026 outlooks, a BNB Chain 2025 report highlight, and a reminder of CZ’s AMA.

BNB Chain’s Next Chapter (2026 and Beyond): Discovery over Scale, Coordinated Flywheel, and Institutional-Grade DeFi

Participants and Roles

  • Moonlight — Host (X Spaces)
  • Nina — Executive Director of Growth, BNB Chain
  • Jillian — Growth Lead, SOF Protocol (often pronounced "Soft" in session)
  • Lucas — CMO, BounceBit
  • Leon — BD Lead, Venus Protocol
  • Lorena (aka Marina/Noyanna, in transcript) — CBO, Lista DAO

Note: Several brand names were mis-transcribed in the audio. “ByteDance” refers to Binance (e.g., Binance Web3 Wallet, Binance Launchpool). Project names are kept as spoken by speakers when uncertain.

Executive Summary

  • BNB Chain’s priority for 2026: solve discovery, not just scale. The aim is to minimize users’ discovery risk and cost, highlight early-stage projects, and smooth the developer journey while continuing throughput and fee reductions.
  • Ecosystem programs: hackathons, an incubator pipeline (BNB Trenches showcase), collaborations with “Easy/EZ Labs” (as referenced) and a stated 1B builder fund, plus deeper wallet integrations (e.g., Trust Wallet, Binance Web3 Wallet) to ease onboarding and discovery.
  • Infrastructure trajectory: targeting ~20,000 TPS and lower gas costs in 2026 to keep experimentation cheap for users and developers.
  • DeFi/RWA direction: protocols focus on transparent yield discovery (BounceBit), productive BTC liquidity with institutional-grade infrastructure (SOF Protocol), lending-market innovation and new channels (Venus), and BNBFi strategies that combine Binance Launchpool with LSTs and leveraged DeFi (Lista DAO). USD1 stablecoin liquidity hub grows on BNB Chain.
  • Coordinated flywheel: teams explicitly view themselves as complementary, not competitive—each supplying distinct functionality (liquidity, lending, RWA utility, BTC wrappers, LST-based capital efficiency), reinforced by foundation support and joint campaigns (e.g., BNB DeFi Festival, Binance Wallet events).
  • Highlights/Alphas: VenusX (target mid-Feb launch), Venus–Binance Wallet integration with incentives; SOF’s BTC+ vault (≈1,000 BTC, 6–7% yield), selfBTC.bnb’s traction; BounceBit’s RWA-first venue vision; Lista’s USD1 points program integration and broad RWA roadmap. CZ appeared briefly; a CZ AMA is scheduled on BNB Chain’s main account.

BNB Chain’s Vision: From Scale to Discovery (Nina)

  • Core thesis: Web3’s bottleneck has shifted from scale to discovery.
    • Goal: minimize discovery risk/cost so users confidently try new on-chain apps; ensure developers have a smooth build-to-market path.
    • Connector role: BNB Chain aims to systematically connect builders, users, and assets so each is easily accessible to the others.
  • 2026 programs and levers:
    • Early-stage surfacing: BNB Trenches (a showcase series for projects emerging from BNB hackathons, potentially leading into residency with the referenced Easy/EZ Labs program).
    • Builder capital: collaboration with “Easy/EZ Labs” and a stated 1B builder fund (as referenced by Nina) to de-risk early dev and growth.
    • Infra upgrades: targeting ~20,000 TPS and further gas reductions to lower opportunity cost for user experimentation.
    • Wallet UX: deeper integrations with Trust Wallet and Binance Web3 Wallet for smoother navigation and activation across BNB Chain dApps.
  • Outcome target: transparent ecosystem mapping for users and greater, earlier visibility for builders to BNB Chain’s large active user base.

Discovery Gaps and How Builders Are Closing Them

SOF Protocol (Jillian): Make BTC Liquidity Discoverable and Productive

  • Identified gap: capital (especially BTC) struggles to find safe, productive, institution-grade on-chain strategies; <10% of BTC liquidity is leveraged productively.
  • Product thrusts:
    • softBTC/selfBTC as a composable BTC-backed asset for yield and collateralization across Ethereum and BNB Chain; emphasis on institutional custody options (e.g., Anchorage Digital mentioned) and transparency (real-time vault monitoring, proof-of-reserves audits referenced).
    • BTC+ vault (money strategy vault): reached ≈1,000 BTC with a 6–7% APY range; launched via BNB DeFi Festival and Binance Wallet campaigns to drive global user access.
  • RWA pipeline:
    • Sneak peek: SOF RWA on BNB Chain including assets “from VanEck, Circle, and others” (as named in-session), expanding the RWA menu; thesis is that staking derivatives + RWA comprise a trillion-dollar addressable market as institutions seek yield/liquidity/capital efficiency.
  • Ecosystem integrations and proofs:
    • USD1 stablecoin launched across BNB Chain with Lista and Venus; reported ~90% utilization quickly; pairing with selfBTC for productive strategies.
    • selfBTC.bnb described as the largest/deepest/highest-yield BTC asset on BNB Chain, enabling BTC users to unlock Binance Launchpool rewards via integration with Lista’s LST stack.
    • Partnership with Animoca Japan to tap Japanese institutions.
  • 2026 focus: scale BTC products, extend RWA integrations, ship more institutional-grade BTC infrastructure and strategies on BNB Chain.

BounceBit (Lucas): Transparent Yield Discovery and RWA Utility

  • Identified gap: users see APY numbers but lack clarity on strategy mechanics, risk, and execution; institutions remain cautious.
  • Solutions:
    • Transparency: dashboards exposing NAV, net exposure, positions, enabling user due diligence and risk assessment.
    • Institutional credibility: growing relationships with asset managers (e.g., Franklin Templeton, BlackRock mentioned as examples of the broader trend) and building institutional-grade backend.
    • RWA activation: many RWAs sit idle; BounceBit gives them utility by using tokenized assets as collateral within institutional trading strategies, including usage on centralized venues (e.g., Binance), while keeping custody/issuance native to BNB Chain when possible.
  • Ecosystem contributions:
    • Native flow: any BNB Chain–issued asset can directly enter BounceBit strategies without extra wrapping/bridging, with custody on BNB.
    • Joint initiatives: participated in Binance Wallet event and BNB DeFi Festival (yield on USDT directly on BNB Chain); conducted TGE as a Binance “Mega Drop” with on-chain DeFi tasks on BNB.
  • 2026 vision: be the main venue for RWA issuers on BNB Chain; provide transparent, institutional-grade utility and real-economy yield.

Venus Protocol (Leon): Lending Innovation, Liquidity, and Channels

  • Position and scale: 5-year BNB Chain core builder; leading lending protocol, “decentralized engine,” cited TVL ≈ $2–3B and ≈20–30K daily users.
  • Discovery context:
    • Culture/vibe gap: many are familiar with speculative trading, but broader DeFi literacy and culture require nurturing on BNB Chain.
    • Product/infra: BNB’s rising TPS and maturing infra unlock more complex DeFi; new stablecoins/liquidity deepen collateral choice and reduce borrow risk.
  • Three growth pillars:
    1. New products: “VenusX” (extension of Venus) to deliver higher leverage per unit of capital and lower borrow rates; a combined “lending + DEX” solution via a partner named “Fluent” is targeted for Q1.
    2. New assets: broaden listings, including RWA-related collateral, to drive adoption.
    3. New channels: integrations beyond chain-native surfaces; Leon cited being an early integration into X/Twitter’s web3 functionality and participation in BNB DeFi Festival.
  • Near-term alphas:
    • VenusX target: mid-February (timeline caveated by “as fast as possible”).
    • Binance Wallet integration: seamless borrow/lend directly inside Binance Wallet with >$400K USDT incentives for users.
  • Ethos: expand the pie rather than compete intra-ecosystem; coordination across teams is the flywheel.

Lista DAO (Lorena): BNBFi—Unlocking Binance Launchpool + DeFi via LSTs and Credit

  • Scale and products: cited >$3B TVL; product pillars include BNB LST (“smth BNB”/“Smith BNB” as heard), CDP stablecoin product, and a modular permissionless lending market (grew to ≈$1.5B TVL within ~8 months). Recently launched a new stablecoin collaboration (as transcribed) and acts as a major USD1 liquidity hub.
  • Discovery solved via BNBFi:
    • User behavior: many BNB holders stake into Binance Launchpool; Lista uniquely integrates BNB LST and LSTx (as referred to in-session) to compound Launchpool yields with DeFi yields and leverage.
    • Flow: deposit LST into lending (Lista or integrated markets like Venus), borrow stablecoins (USDT, USD1), and redeploy; even loop Launchpool rewards via Lista tooling.
  • Coordination and integrations:
    • With SOF Protocol: selfBTC.bnb + Lista LST stack to unlock Launchpool rewards for BTC users.
    • With BounceBit: eBTC used as CDP collateral.
    • With Venus: Lista assets listed as collateral to enhance credit utility.
    • USD1: ≈$200M liquidity on Lista, making it a major USD1 liquidity hub across chains/ecos.
  • 2026 roadmap:
    • USD1 points program integration (named “WFM” in-session) for suppliers on Lista’s USD1 market; conversion to a future “shop”/rewards mechanic when it goes live.
    • RWA expansion: beyond T-bills to private credit, real estate, and tokenized equities—aimed at unlocking capital efficiency for on-chain treasuries and users.
    • Perps/credit-market strategies: integrate DeFi credit/perpetuals primitives to bridge the “pre-/perp-market” wave natively on BNB Chain.
    • Continued BNBFi innovation: more strategies to amplify BNB holder yields via product upgrades and partner integrations.

Coordinated Flywheel: What It Looks Like on BNB Chain

  • Foundation role (Nina): the ecosystem is a container for builders and users; coordination is essential. The team spends most of its time enabling partners—clarifying their North Star, unblocking infra needs, and creating surfaces (hackathons, showcases, wallet placements) where products meet users.
  • Protocols’ shared approach:
    • SOF: treat BTC liquidity and RWA as shared infra; co-built “Bitcoin Earn” with Binance Web3 Wallet; audited transparency standards; mobilized USD1/selfBTC pairs across Lista & Venus; selected in BNB Foundation’s 100K open market investment batch (as referenced), aligning long-term incentives.
    • BounceBit: keep BNB-native assets in-custody on BNB; pipe them into transparent yield rails; leverage foundation/social surfaces (BNB DeFi Festival, Binance Wallet events) to speed discovery.
    • Venus: deliver lending innovation (VenusX), broaden collateral, open channels (wallet/social), and offer incentives; expand pie via collaboration.
    • Lista: act as USD1 liquidity hub and BNBFi initiator, integrating across major partners; leverage BNB Chain’s low fees and UX to scale strategies.

Metrics, Milestones, and Highlights Cited

  • BNB Chain infra target: ~20,000 TPS in 2026; further fee reductions.
  • Venus Protocol: ≈$2–3B TVL; ≈20–30K daily users; VenusX slated for mid-Feb; Binance Wallet campaign with >$400K USDT incentives.
  • SOF Protocol: BTC+ at ≈1,000 BTC and 6–7% yield; selfBTC.bnb described as the largest/deepest/highest-yield BTC asset on BNB Chain; USD1 pairs reached ~90% utilization rapidly post-launch across Lista/Venus.
  • Lista DAO: >$3B TVL; permissionless lending scaled to ≈$1.5B within ~8 months; ≈$200M USD1 liquidity.
  • Ecosystem engagement: X Space peaked >2,000 live listeners (CZ appearance noted); ~1,000 remained into later segments.

What’s Next

  • BNB Chain (Nina): 2025 recap report published on main account; CZ AMA hosted on BNB Chain’s main account (upcoming per session timing). Continued work on discovery programs (e.g., BNB Trenches) and infra.
  • SOF Protocol (Jillian): double down on BTC infra, BTC-native verticals, and RWA integrations; bring more BTC capital into BNB Chain with institution-grade products.
  • BounceBit (Lucas): build out an institutional prime platform delivering real-economy yield; refine infra, reduce friction; continue collaborations across the BNB ecosystem.
  • Venus Protocol (Leon): launch VenusX (target mid-Feb), expand assets and channels; activate Binance Wallet integration with incentives to broaden access and lower borrow costs.
  • Lista DAO (Lorena): roll out USD1 points integration; broaden RWA (T-bills, private credit, real estate, tokenized equities); introduce credit/perp-integrated strategies; keep pushing BNBFi capital-efficiency loops.

Takeaways

  • The next chapter for BNB Chain centers on discovery: surfacing quality products earlier, reducing user risk/cost, and creating clear pathways from hackathons to large user surfaces.
  • The DeFi stack on BNB Chain is maturing into an institutional-grade layer: transparent yield infrastructure (BounceBit), productive BTC primitives (SOF), credit and leverage refinement (Venus), and capital-efficiency loops anchored in the Binance Launchpool + LST synergy (Lista DAO).
  • Coordination is now the competitive edge: protocols explicitly align to expand the overall pie—shared liquidity, shared users, and complementary functionality—amplified by foundation-owned surfaces (wallets, showcases, festivals).

Calls to Action

  • Follow the speakers and projects to catch upcoming launches: BNB Trenches, VenusX, SOF’s RWA rollout, BounceBit’s RWA venue expansions, Lista’s USD1 program and RWA modules.
  • Watch BNB Chain’s main account for the CZ AMA and the 2025 recap report.
  • Explore the BNB DeFi stack through wallet placements (Trust Wallet, Binance Web3 Wallet) to experience lower-fee, high-throughput dApps and discovery surfaces.