BNB Chain Wraps Up Fifth Round of TVL Incentive Program, Driving Growth in Restaking and Liquid Staking Ecosystem

The fifth installment of the Total Value Locked (TVL) Incentive Program has come to a close on BNB Chain.

It doubled down on an ecosystem-building effort around restaking and liquid staking technologies that has been underway since the fourth installment. This most recent program pushed protocols toward the evolution of not just restaking, but also the foundational pieces of next-generation decentralized infrastructure—specifically, the tokens used to represent staked assets and the so-called LRTs.

Part of BNB Chain’s larger quest to speed up decentralized finance and Web3 utilities, the total value locked (TVL) incentive program targets support at the layer just above the protocol, kind of beneath the apps. This round it is giving incentives to those building restaking infrastructure—layering staking on top of staking—just at the moment when BNB Chain is also nudging the validators toward embracing the use of restaking.

Top Protocols in the Spotlight

In this round, the BNB chain added a delegation support mechanism and awarded up to 5% of each protocol’s incremental staked BNB as a direct incentive. This mechanism does not reward anything close to a reasonable level for what is essentially a bootstrap mechanism, but rather allows the protocols themselves to reward users for opting into using a shell account.

Several contributors stand out in the results of the program. The top five protocols—determined by their growth of staked BNB and level of impact—are as follows:

1. Kernel DAO (@Kernel_DAO) – Attained the loftiest reward bracket with 5% delegation backing, amounting to an unbonded 3,956 BNB. Kernel DAO has been a prominent force propelling the adoption of LRTs and restaking mechanisms, solidifying its status as an emerging key player in the nascent restaking landscape on BNB Chain.

2. Aster DEX (@Aster_DEX) – 4% delegation support awarded, meaning 3,512 BNB. Aster DEX has been very helpful in getting LSTs integrated into DeFi protocols and making liquid staking accessible within decentralized trading environments.

3. YieldNest (\@YieldNestFi) – Achieving 3% delegation support, equivalent to 97 BNB, is a relatively smaller volume. Yet, 3% is a non-negligible amount of yield that LST makes more achievable. And that is exactly what YieldNest has been recently focusing on: making meaningful contributions to LST-based yield strategies.

4. Tranchess (@Tranchess) – Garnered 2% vote delegation with 149 BNB in total. Tranchess is blending structured financial products with staking tokens, to provide new opportunities for yield-seeking users. Tranchess is stylishly notable for something else. Its masthead on Twitter reads: “DeFi, Not Dilemma”. Is it really? Is it really possible to have DeFi without dilemmas? Let’s explore.

5. Lista DAO (@lista_dao)— Capping off the top five with 1% delegation support, which amounts to 1,704 BNB, is Lista DAO. It has been growing steadily within the LST ecosystem of BNB Chain and is offering solutions that are aligned very well with the sort of staking incentives that BNB Chain is putting out.

1/The BNB Chain TVL Incentive Program #5 has officially wrapped.

Designed to fuel growth in the restaking ecosystem, this round allocated delegation support to top protocols based on their TVL performance.

Here’s the breakdown 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/9n1e8p0zih

— BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) April 22, 2025

BNB Chain confirmed that rewards will be distributed in BNB or Wrapped BNB (WBNB) within 10 days of the official announcement. The distribution status will be publicly updated via their official X (formerly Twitter) channel to maintain transparency with the community.

The delegation support will stay active for 1 to 3 months, depending on how well the protocol performs and how well it gets along with BNB Chain. This is good news for any projects that land support, because it means they can figure out how to operate in the real world for a not insignificant amount of time. And in terms of health and scalpability, it means any protocol that fits the bill can be part of a meaningful contribution to BNB Chain outside of the testnet.

Shuttering TVL#5 shows BNB Chain is serious about growing its restaking ecosystem. It shows BNB Chain is interested in rewarding developers who undertake real, meaningful innovation at the protocol level. And it shows us something about the future: As applications of decentralized infrastructure multiply—from AI to decentralized virtual networks—the work being done on pivotal staking and restaking protocols will become more important than ever.

The BNB Chain will evolve its incentive programs to serve a growing DeFi landscape. This is a clear lead from BNB Chain. We have them serving as the backdrop to the BNB Chain’s incentive program. Metrics are clear, and distribution is transparent. Incentive programs are now in place serving the specific needs of the DeFi space.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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