Binance, a world-renowned crypto asset platform, is expected to launch its own blockchain, the fittingly-named Binance Chain, and decentralized exchange (DEX) later today. As a result, the firm’s own digital asset, Binance Coin (BNB) has rallied, posting jaw-dropping gains as Bitcoin and its brethren have flatlined.

Binance Expected To Launch In-House Blockchain

In an announcement made just an hour ago (seen below), the prominent crypto startup revealed that “today marks the birth of a new genesis block.” The Malta-registered startup didn’t explicitly mention what blockchain it was referring to, but the image that was published in tandem with the nebulous tweet effectively confirms Binance Chain’s impending launch.

Today marks the birth of a new genesis block. Who's ready? pic.twitter.com/AF1hVtFXzt — Binance (@binance) April 18, 2019

The exact launch time for this new facet of Binance’s operations wasn’t mentioned, but considering the exchange’s presence in the European and Asian regions, the expected launch of Chain is likely to come by the end of their workday — anywhere from eight to ten hours away, or even less if the industry’s lucky.

It is important to note that this isn’t postulation. Binance’s executives, including chief executive Changpeng “CZ” Zhao himself and CFO Wei Zhou, have been hinting at Chain’s and the decentralized exchange’s arrival for weeks on end now. During a recent interview with CoinDesk, Zhou, who was attending Paris’ blockchain week, remarked that Chain, with the DEX in tow, is expected to launch by the end of the month — lining up with today’s pseudo-announcement.

BNB Surges On The News

When this news broke and the tweet propagated, BNB immediately began to tick higher, as pundits expect for the launch of Chain and the accompanying DEX to absolutely be a boon for the asset. Per the time of writing, the exchange coin, currently the seventh most valuable cryptocurrency in circulation, is trading at $20.55 — its highest price level since the start of April.

BNB is currently posting a 4% gain in the past 24 hours, which comes as Bitcoin, EOS, and Litecoin have stagnated, and Ethereum and XRP have surged. This move cements BNB’s resilience, even in a brutal “crypto winter.”

Title Image Courtesy of Marco Verch Via Flickr