NOWPayments has released six months of enterprise payout data comparing performance across TRON, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. Published on September 21, 2026 from Tallinn, Estonia, the dataset offers businesses a practical framework for selecting blockchain rails based on speed, transaction volume, and cost efficiency.
Together, these five networks accounted for 94.04% of payout volume and 77.84% of payout transactions during the analyzed period. 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 with 43.69%, more than double BNB Smart Chain’s 21.75% share, despite handling only 15.73% of transactions. The average TRON payout was approximately 6.2 times larger than the average BNB Smart Chain payout.
BNB Smart Chain handled the largest share of individual payout transactions at 48.23%, indicating higher-frequency, lower-value transfers. Ethereum ranked third by volume at 18.84% and represented 7.42% of transactions. Bitcoin accounted for 6.68% of volume and 2.60% of transactions, while Solana represented 3.08% of volume and 3.86% of transactions.
Speed comparisons showed Bitcoin averaging 2:53, ahead of TRON at 3:08 and BNB Smart Chain at 3:13. Ethereum recorded the longest average payout time at 5:56. The gap between the fastest and slowest networks was 4 minutes and 11 seconds.
Commercial Director Kate Lifshits said: “The useful question is not which network tops a leaderboard. It is what a specific payout flow needs to optimize: value, frequency, speed, or cost.”
NOWPayments also highlighted a fee-free route to ChangeNOW Pro wallets within its 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, reducing the need to collect wallet addresses at the start of the payout process.
The release concludes that value, frequency, speed, and cost will not point every business to the same blockchain answer.
