Justin sun calls BNB the "new Bitcoin" after 120% rise since January

After months of bullish action Binance coin (BNB) appears unstoppable, numerous commentaries on the cryptocurrency from the usual suspect crypto outlets and even mainstream media such as Forbes noting that BNB is bucking the trend and setting its own path. Now, Justin Sun – CEO of TRON – has chiped in his two cents, calling BNB “the new Bitcoin.”

Yesterday BNB seemed to ignore the ongoing bear market in favor of a more bullish approach, pumping an easy 20% in the space of 24 hours and even overtook Stellar (XLM). This is increasingly the norm for BNB which has had an impressive run since the start of this year, citing over 120% gains since January, and has managed to break its own BTC all-time high record 2 times over since the beginning of 2019.

Of course, this hasn’t gone unnoticed.

In an article entitled “As Bitcoin And Crypto Markets Lose Billions, One Coin Is Soaring” Forbes highlighted BNB and its recent bullish runs amidst the crypto winter and its parent company’s successes in business.

Understandably, CZ praised Forbes for the article – in his own words “gotta keep shilling.”

In response to the call out to Forbes, Justin Sun, CEO of TRON, gifted BNB the moniker of “new Bitcoin”:

Huge Congrats on $BNB, a new #Bitcoin

— Justin Sun (@justinsuntron) March 5, 2019

Now, Sun is known for his shilling ways, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that - thanks to the launch of the BitTorrent token (BTT) on Binance’s Launchpad – Sun is reaping the benefits of Binance’s prosperity, and thus promoting BNB to his own gain.

While pleasing some BNB holders and, presumably, CZ himself, Sun’s comment didn’t go down too well with some crypto enthusiasts:

BNB will never be BTC!!!!

— lalit [BTC] [NEO] (@Lalitkatel) March 5, 2019

Doubt it, lol.

— Tomasz Kurpanik (@tkurpanik) March 5, 2019

What a thing to say @justinsuntron.....#BTC is a real thing not a idea or a baton to pass on...$BNB is also a real thing and has its own merit. Not sure if @cz_binance should be insulted or proud. Both are different projects which command their own respect. It's not a competition

— Guard Dog (@TheGuardDog1) March 5, 2019

Regardless of Sun’s comments, its undeniable that BNB is going from strength to strength.

A recent analysis from eToro’s Mati Greenspan notes how BNB has managed to capitalize on the growth of both the industry and Binance as a company:

“Binance coin has been able to buck the crypto correlations principally because people buy it as a way of speculating on industry growth. If the markets are moving it means people are trading, and Binance has a big share of those volumes.”

Read more: Binance Coin jumps over 17% overtaking Stellar with Tether insights