Crypto is a world where financial incentives clash with ideals, so there isn't a good measure of "real" usage yet. Everything is either incentivized, gameable, or inelastic (in terms of real competition). BNB is far from an apple-to-apple comparison to Layer 2, but it illustrates the significance of marketing and network effects.

Crypto is a world where financial incentives clash with ideals, so there isn't a good measure of "real" usage yet. Everything is either incentivized, gameable, or inelastic (in terms of real competition). BNB is far from an apple-to-apple comparison to Layer 2, but it illustrates the significance of marketing and network effects.

BNB Chain optimizes for speed, scalability, and cross-chain interoperability, but not decentralization. This means that the protocol can achieve a much higher transaction throughput than Ethereum. As a result, the transaction fees are also much cheaper.

Launched by Binance—a true behemoth in the crypto world—BNB has established clear network effects, particularly in eastern markets. Binance has realized a 30M userbase they can leverage via email marketing, and influence a broader audience via social media and education.

In addition, Binance consists of a venture fund, project launchpads, an incubator lab, a charity fund, the DEX PancakeSwap, and the most dominating CEX in crypto. Owning the largest on-off ramp is by far the best way to funnel users directly onto the chain.

The security and decentralization compromises are clearly acceptable to many users in the short-term, so rollup teams have to be significantly more aggressive with marketing and emphasize unbiased education of new users to outcompete BNB and centralized protocols.