BNB Meme Coins Surge as CZ-Inspired Tokens Lead Rally

The current BNB Chain meme coin explosion is being overwhelmingly driven by tokens connected to Binance and its charismatic founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao. The leading token, simply named ‘4,’ has become the face of this movement, directly inspired by an image of Zhao holding up four fingers that has become a widely circulated meme in crypto circles. This gesture refers to Zhao’s ‘fourth’ resolution for 2023, which involved blocking out fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) and fake news while focusing on building. Zhao would famously write ‘4’ on X when addressing stories he considered bogus or inaccurate, creating a powerful symbol that has now been tokenized into a $243 million market cap asset.

Other CZ-inspired tokens are posting even more dramatic gains. Paul (PALU), whose character was originally posted by CZ, has surged 2,246% in the last 24 hours, while 客服小何, which translates to Binance Life in Chinese, has jumped 415% in the same timeframe. According to data from DEXScreener, these two tokens alone have combined for more than $335 million in on-chain trading volumes, demonstrating the massive liquidity flowing into CZ-themed assets. Even Zhao himself acknowledged the phenomenon, posting ‘BNB meme szn!’ on X while noting ‘I didn’t expect this at all.’

The BNB Chain meme coin surge represents a significant shift in market dynamics, with the network now outperforming Solana, historically the strongest blockchain for meme activity. Data from DEXScreener shows that 19 of the top 20 trending coins tracked over the last six hours are on BNB Chain, with only one exception being a Solana meme coin. This dominance is particularly striking given Solana’s established position as the go-to chain for meme coin activity throughout most of 2023 and early 2024.

The volume disparity between the two chains is substantial. While BNB Chain tokens like 4 are generating nearly $79 million in 24-hour trading volume and the Paul/客服小何 pair combine for over $335 million, Solana’s leading meme coin—President Trump’s official token (TRUMP)—manages only about $50 million in volume. The drop-off is even more dramatic for other Solana meme coins, with Doodles (DOOD) at approximately $12 million and CARDS at $8 million in the same timeframe. This represents a clear migration of meme coin trading volume and attention to the BNB ecosystem.

According to blockchain data analytics firm Bubblemaps, the current BNB meme coin frenzy has attracted more than 100,000 on-chain traders, with an impressive 70% currently in profit as of early afternoon trading. Dozens of traders are showing at least $1 million in profits from these speculative positions, highlighting the massive wealth creation occurring within this narrow sector of the crypto market. The broad profitability suggests this isn’t merely a pump-and-dump scheme but a sustained movement with significant retail participation.

This isn’t the first time BNB Chain has experienced meme coin madness connected to CZ. In February, Zhao’s announcement of his adopted dog’s name, Broccoli, spurred the launch of dozens of Broccoli-themed tokens. The leading BROCCOLI token briefly reached over a $400 million market cap on greater than $220 million in volume within hours of launch. Though it subsequently fell more than 80% from that peak, BROCCOLI is now enjoying a resurgence amid the current meme pump, jumping 43% in the last 24 hours to a $48 million market cap.

Despite the current frenzy, Zhao has historically maintained a tepid stance toward meme tokens, calling them ‘a little weird’ in November while encouraging followers to focus on building ‘real’ blockchain applications. This contrast between the founder’s cautious approach and the explosive growth of tokens inspired by him creates an interesting dynamic within the BNB ecosystem, where community enthusiasm appears to be outpacing even the inspiration’s original vision for the network’s development.