Binance Smart Chain BSC Drops to 24-Month Low, TRON Retakes Second Place

TRON has emerged as the second largest DeFi chain in terms of total value locked once again after surpassing Binance Smart Chain (BSC).

The TRON-Foundation-backed ecosystem recorded a meteoric rise in January to displace BSC for the first time this year.

Close Competition Between TRON and BSC

2023 has been a close call when it comes to the total value locked in the two chains. Defillama recorded that TRON dominates 10.8% of the $50 billion DeFi universe at press time. BSC is a close third at 9.8% with $4.81 billion.

Both chains started 2021 with around 1% share of the market. The divergence broadened that year as Binance grabbed over 19% of the TVL in May. In July 2022, TRON surpassed BSC for the first time as the latter dropped to a 9% TVL.

At the start of 2023, BSC maintained a decent 12% share of the TVL before TRON took over. The two chains closely tussled over the second spot in February. On March 16, BSC was the second largest chain with an 11% market share, while TRON dominated at 10%. On March 20, TRON had a market share of over 10.7%, while BSC came in third at 9.7%.

TVL of BSC and TRON on Defillama

BSC Leads in Number of Protocols

While TRON leads in TVL, BSC is still the leader in protocols behind Ethereum. TRON is home to 17 protocols, and BSC houses 561 based on Defillama data.

The native tokens of the two ecosystems have been trading in green in the past 24 hours. Based on market charts, BNB has gained 17% in the past week, currently trading at the $338 level. TRX has increased by 3.5% in the same period but is trading close to $0.06 at press time.

It also reflects the divergence in price and market capitalization of the native tokens.

But, Binance has taken a hit on the back of BUSD. Amid the market weakness, CZ announced on March 13 that Binance would convert the remaining $1 billion Industry Recovery Initiative funds from BUSD to BTC, BNB, and ETH.

On the contrary, the TRON network witnessed a massive inflow, with TRON’s stablecoin market capitalization growing in the past week.

Founders Join Conversation Amid Market FUD

After the FTX collapse, the market started recovering from the FUD in February. The TVL crossed $50 billion for the first time in the month before the Silicon Valley Bank collapse toppled the broader market again.

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said on March 10 that the exchange has no exposure to the embattled U.S. bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). He even tweeted an article from November speculating that Binance could buy stakes in the banking sector.

With the collapse of Credit Suisse, central banks are on alert. Meanwhile, competitor UBS is officially entering a deal to take over Credit Suisse to save the investment bank. TRON founder Justin Sun joined the conversation amid the turmoil with another offer. At almost half UBS’s acquisition price, it proposed buying Credit Suisse.

Sun lauded Switzerland as a crypto-friendly nation. He tweeted, “By acquiring Credit Suisse and transforming it into a crypto-friendly financial institution, we can create a new standard for financial innovation that benefits everyone.”

However, his statement came after the markets priced in the UBS takeover.

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