BNB hits new all-time high — early $1,000 investment now worth $873,000

BNB, the native token of the decentralized BNB Chain, hit a fresh all-time high of $873.73 on August 20, 2025, according to CoinGecko data.

The milestone cements BNB’s position as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, valued at $121.7 billion.

For early investors, the returns are staggering.

Launched in 2017 at just $1 per token, BNB has soared more than 2.19 million percent in less than eight years. Put another way, a $1,000 investment in BNB during its ICO would now be worth $873,000.

From exchange token to ecosystem giant

BNB was originally created as a utility token for discounted trading fees on Binance. Over time, it expanded into powering BNB Chain, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and tokenized projects. Its quarterly token burns, modeled after a buyback strategy, have also fueled scarcity and upward price momentum.

Today, BNB’s use cases span beyond Binance, including payment gateways, NFTs, decentralized exchanges, and real-world spending options. Its growth parallels Binance’s rise from a fledgling startup in 2017 to the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.

BNB’s surge comes amid a broader market rebound. Bitcoin traded above $114,200, while Ethereum hovered at $4,347. Other majors like Solana ($186), XRP ($2.97), and Dogecoin ($0.22) also posted weekly gains. The total crypto market cap climbed back to $3.96 trillion, with BNB alone commanding 3% of that share.

Sentiment around BNB has also been lifted by structural adoption. Kraken recently expanded its xStocks tokenized equities platform to BNB Chain, while a $160 million buy order earlier this week triggered momentum across the ecosystem.

Liquidations surge as shorts get squeezed

BNB’s run to new highs left leveraged traders on the wrong side of the market. According to Coinglass data, more than $1.76 million in BNB liquidations were recorded in the past 24 hours, with shorts dominating the losses.

Binance: $948K liquidated (55% short) OKX: $414K liquidated (51% short) Bybit: $300K liquidated (92% short) Gate.io: $80K liquidated (98% short)

In total, over 62% of liquidations came from short positions, highlighting how bearish bets were caught off guard by the rapid price climb.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Aug 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.