NOWPayments Releases Cross-Chain Payout Data With Performance Benchmarks Across TRON, BNB Chain, and Solana

NOWPayments has published new empirical data analyzing six months of enterprise payout activity — offering a comparative performance benchmark across TRON, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Bitcoin, and Ethereum to help businesses choose the optimal blockchain rails based on speed, transaction volume, and cost efficiency.

The dataset reveals distinct operational advantages depending on transfer priorities. Solana recorded the fastest average payout speed at 1 minute 45 seconds, while accounting for 3.08% of volume and 3.86% of transactions. TRON led in total monetary volume at 43.69%, and BNB Smart Chain handled the largest share of individual payout transactions at 48.23%.

High-Frequency Payouts: BNB Smart Chain Leads

Together, the five networks accounted for 94.04% of payout volume and 77.84% of payout transactions during the period.

BNB Smart Chain accounted for 48.23% of transactions, compared with 15.73% for TRON, while its share of payout volume was lower, at 21.75%. In other words, the network handled far more individual transfers without carrying the largest share of value, a pattern consistent with higher-frequency, lower-value payouts.

Higher-Value Payouts: TRON Leads

TRON moved 43.69% of payout volume — more than twice BNB Smart Chain’s 21.75% share — despite accounting for a much smaller share of transactions. Based on those figures, the average TRON payout was roughly 6.2 times larger than the average BNB Smart Chain payout.

The two networks serve fundamentally different patterns: TRON carries more value per transfer, while BNB Smart Chain handles far more transfers overall.

Elsewhere, Ethereum ranked third by volume at 18.84% (7.42% of transactions), Bitcoin accounted for 6.68% of volume and 2.60% of transactions, and Solana represented 3.08% of volume and 3.86% of transactions.

When Speed Matters: Solana Leads

Solana led on speed with an average payout time of 1:45. Bitcoin followed at 2:53, ahead of TRON at 3:08 and BNB Smart Chain at 3:13. Ethereum recorded the longest average at 5:56.

The gap between the fastest and slowest networks was 4 minutes 11 seconds — yet every network still averaged under six minutes, with TRON and BNB Smart Chain separated by just five seconds.

Notably, the fastest network wasn’t the most widely used — a reminder that crypto infrastructure should be evaluated across the full movement of funds, not by a single headline metric.

“The useful question is not which network tops a leaderboard,” said Kate Lifshits, Commercial Director at NOWPayments. “It is what a specific payout flow needs to optimize: value, frequency, speed, or cost.”

Lifshits applies the same data-first approach in Crypto That Works for Business, her Cryptopolitan series on the commercial impact of crypto payments. The first column, The 22% Sales Boost Hiding in Your Crypto Checkout, examined checkout performance, with future editions covering other points where payment infrastructure affects revenue, costs, and growth.

When Cost Matters, the Best Route May Not Be a Blockchain Network

When minimizing payout costs is the priority, comparing blockchain networks may be the wrong place to start.

NOWPayments allows businesses to send payouts to ChangeNOW Pro wallets with no network or service fees within the ecosystem. Creator Andy Tries Coding publicly tested the route and reported receiving a fee-free payout in under five seconds.

Recipients are identified by email and confirm the transfer before funds move — so businesses don’t need to collect wallet addresses at the start of the payout process. An interactive guide walks through the full flow, from payout creation to recipient access.

The takeaway is simple: define the payout flow first, then select the network or route. Value, frequency, speed, and cost won’t point every business to the same answer.