The BNB Chain’s recent meme coin phenomenon has swiftly turned from euphoria to despair, with several tokens experiencing staggering declines of 60% to an astonishing 95% in just 24 hours. This sharp reversal in fortunes can be traced back to a candid statement from Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, who clarified on X that his social media musings shouldn’t be misconstrued as trading signals or endorsements.
In the wake of trader YazanXBT’s warning—which emphasized that naming tokens after CZ or feeding coins into his wallet wouldn’t mitigate trading risks—Zhao took to X, stating, “My tweets are not endorsements.” This came just after he humorously acknowledged the impossibility of avoiding meme-related content in his tweets, which carried a warning that quickly turned into a sell-off across BNB Chain’s leading decentralized exchange, PancakeSwap, where these memecoins primarily dwell.
“Good advice 👇For a brief time, I tried avoiding meme related content in my tweets. Impossible.” — CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) October 8, 2025
As the tweet hit the community, a mass exodus initiated, and what was once dubbed the “BNB Meme Szn” turned into a significant market crash. Once brimming with excitement, over 100,000 traders had flocked to the BNB meme coin surge, boasting profits for nearly 70% of them at the peak of this frenzy. Market analytics provided by Bubblemaps highlighted the excitement, revealing audacious gains, including a trader who raked in over $10 million.
“BNB memecoin szn is real” — Bubblemaps 泡泡地图 (@bubblemaps) October 7, 2025
The momentum saw PancakeSwap soaring to unprecedented trading volumes—an astounding $80 billion processed in September alone, with $30 billion occurring in the first nine days of October. However, all that glitters is not gold. As traders swarmed to cash out amidst instabilities, coins such as $HODL, $SAFU, $BROCCOLI, and $PUP plummeted by staggering margins between 80% to 95% shortly after Zhao’s remarks.
“Not only we were at the crypto top… you have BNB memes rugging the last bit of liquidity.” — HomeDaddy (@homedaddy0x) October 9, 2025
This sell-off also significantly impacted Chinese-themed tokens, which had recently characterized the meme rally. For instance, the coin 币安人生 (Binance Life) witnessed a dramatic decline in its market cap—once $500 million but reduced to a mere fraction within a day. Another notable casualty was PALU, which catapulted by 1,693% before succumbing to huge losses.
Recent on-chain insights from Lookonchain unveiled that a notable trader transferred 5,090 BNB (approximately $6.6 million) from Binance to join this speculative rally, but currently, their wallet is drenched in unrealized losses exceeding $1.2 million.
“This guy turned $5,245 into $2.16M in just 40 minutes, a 410x return!” — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) October 9, 2025
The turbulence wasn’t purely organic; analysts observed various suspected rug pulls throughout the market, with some tokens discreetly evaporating after collecting liquidity from unsuspecting investors. HODL, which was once a frontrunner during the initial surge, fell alongside many others, igniting fiery discussions around the viability of such memecoins.
What initially sparked a community-oriented frenzy after a brief hack of BNB Chain’s official X account—allowing traders to mint a whopping 35,000 new tokens in a single day—seemed too good to be true. The market capital surged to approximately $2.1 billion but took a nosedive to $1.3 billion as the dust settled.
As BNB itself dipped by 2% to hover around $1,270, it struggled to maintain momentum after a record-breaking month that saw an impressive 45% rise in value. The native token of BNB Chain slipped from a high of $1,308 to $1,255 during the sell-off, though buying activity indicated a potential stabilization range between $1,255 and $1,280. The struggle to reclaim resistance around $1,320 might lead to ongoing bearish pressure, albeit short-term.
“🚨 Binance Smart Chain’s meme frenzy cooled Thursday as BNB slipped 3.4%…” — Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) October 9, 2025
Despite this recent downturn, the horizon doesn’t look entirely bleak for BNB. The significant uptick in on-chain activity remains encouraging, as user adoption continues to rise, including the standardization of a 0.05 Gwei gas fee across Binance and Trust Wallet, improving transaction efficiency.
As we navigate through this rollercoaster of market dynamics, it remains essential for investors to stay informed and cautious in the ever-changing landscape of cryptocurrency. If buying momentum resurfaces, analysts suggest BNB could potentially resume its upward trajectory, eyeing new peaks by the end of the quarter.
For those who wish to stay updated on the evolving cryptocurrency scene, keeping an eye on trends and expert forecasts can prove invaluable. After all, in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, yesterday’s hype can quickly fade, leaving behind lessons that resonate for future investments.