BNB Chain Prioritizes Memecoin Transactions Amid 400% Surge in Gas Fees

BNB Chain has introduced a new network optimization to address record-high gas fees and congestion, fueled by a surge in memecoin speculation.

Optimizing for High-Stakes Transactions

Under its previous system, BNB Smart Chain (BSC) validators would stop processing bids once they hit the block limit, which occurs every 3 seconds. This often caused time-sensitive transactions, such as memecoin swaps, to fail, even when users paid premium gas fees.

The new update changes how blocks are built, enabling validators to gather more bids within the same 3-second window. This shift allows higher-value, time-sensitive transactions to replace lower-priority ones, improving performance during traffic spikes.

"This update prioritizes transactions interacting with time-sensitive (memecoin) contracts," BNB Chain explained. "It increases the chance of incorporating the best bids and boosts block-building performance during network surges."

BNB Chain Outpaces Ethereum in Gas Fees

The network’s adjustments come amid historic levels of activity:

• $15 million spent in BNB transaction fees over the past 7 days—double Ethereum’s $7 million, per Nansen data.
• Gas fees surged 388%, outpacing the growth seen on Solana, Ethereum, and Base.
• BSC fees climbed 114% over the past week, while other chains recorded negative growth.

What’s Driving BNB’s Surge?

Analysts attribute BNB Chain’s activity spike to:

• The 60-day pause in Binance’s legal battle with the SEC, announced on Monday.
• A memecoin frenzy sparked by tokens inspired by Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao’s dog Broccoli, boosting PancakeSwap’s decentralized exchange activity.

As BNB Chain navigates record usage, its validator optimization aims to enhance performance for time-sensitive transactions, particularly in the fast-moving memecoin market. With rising fees and heightened activity, the chain is positioning itself as a leader in high-frequency DeFi trading.