BNB experienced a 12% uptick in value in the week leading to March 29, reaching a nearly two-week peak of $620, narrowing the valuation gap with its competitor, Ether, which saw a 5% increase during the same period. However, conflicting signals from on-chain BNB Chain data suggest that the surge may have been excessive.

The cryptocurrency market's upward trajectory is closely linked to inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which experienced a setback in the week ending March 23, marking the first net outflow of $890 million since the introduction of spot ETFs in January. Recent data indicates a notable reduction in outflows from the Grayscale GBTC fund, with only $104 million leaving the fund on March 28.

In the first half of March, BNB's price surged by 61.7%, peaking at $645, with a corresponding market capitalization of $96.4 billion. However, this momentum reversed afterward. Despite this, BNB Chain's total value locked (TVL) experienced a significant decline, falling from $15.7 billion to $7.1 billion since its peak in November 2021, reflecting a 55% reduction.

While TVL is an important metric, it should not be the sole indicator of a blockchain's success. BNB Chain has witnessed promising activity levels, with nearly 2 million active addresses engaging with decentralized applications (DApps) on the network in the past week alone, rivaling Ethereum's most active layer-2 networks. Moreover, BNB Chain's trading volume stands at $12.4 billion, surpassing that of other blockchains, despite an 11% increase, while Ethereum and Solana saw decreases in trading volumes.

Predicting future trends in the cryptocurrency sector is challenging, but examining derivative metrics such as the demand for leverage in BNB perpetual futures contracts provides insights. The funding rate, which indicates traders' sentiment, has remained steady at around 0.03%, suggesting optimism in the market despite BNB's struggles with the $620 level.