Tallinn, Estonia, September 21st, 2026 - NOWPayments has issued a six-month empirical analysis of enterprise payout activity that compares how five major blockchain rails performed on speed, transaction count, and value moved. The dataset covers payouts routed over TRON, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Bitcoin, and Ethereum and is positioned as a benchmark for businesses deciding which networks best fit specific payout requirements.
The dataset shows clear operational distinctions depending on whether a business prioritizes rapid settlement, high transaction throughput, or moving larger sums. Solana emerged as the fastest network for average payout completion time, recording an average of 1 minute and 45 seconds while representing 3.08% of payout volume and 3.86% of payout transactions. By contrast, TRON dominated total monetary volume, carrying 43.69% of the total payout value over the period. BNB Smart Chain led on transaction count, handling 48.23% of all payout transactions but only 21.75% of payout volume.
Aggregate share across five networks
Together, the five networks accounted for the bulk of activity observed in the analysis: TRON, BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum, Bitcoin, and Solana combined for 94.04% of payout volume and 77.84% of payout transactions during the six-month window.
High-frequency payouts and BNB Smart Chain
BNB Smart Chain recorded the largest share of individual payouts at 48.23% versus TRON’s 15.73% share of transactions. Despite this transaction leadership, BNB Smart Chain captured a smaller share of total payout value, at 21.75%. The dataset therefore shows a pattern consistent with a higher-frequency, lower-value payout profile on BNB Smart Chain within the NOWPayments environment.
Higher-value payouts and TRON
TRON accounted for 43.69% of payout volume — more than double BNB Smart Chain’s share — while representing just 15.73% of transactions. Using those shares as a basis for comparison, the average TRON payout during the period was approximately 6.2 times larger than the average payout on BNB Smart Chain. In short, the networks illustrated contrasting payout roles in the dataset: TRON moved more value in fewer transfers, and BNB Smart Chain moved many more transfers with lower average value.
By volume, Ethereum ranked third at 18.84% and made up 7.42% of transactions. Bitcoin represented 6.68% of payout volume and 2.60% of transactions, while Solana comprised 3.08% of volume and 3.86% of transactions.
Speed comparisons and practical implications
Speed varied across the five networks. Solana led on average payout speed at 1:45. Bitcoin followed at 2:53, with TRON at 3:08 and BNB Smart Chain at 3:13. Ethereum registered the longest average time at 5:56. The difference between the fastest and slowest average payout times was 4 minutes and 11 seconds. Importantly, every network in the comparison averaged less than six minutes, and TRON and BNB Smart Chain were separated by only five seconds, indicating close performance between those two networks on latency.
NOWPayments frames these findings as a practical framework rather than a one-size-fits-all recommendation. The report emphasizes that the fastest network was not the most widely used in this dataset, underscoring the point that choosing an infrastructure rail requires assessing the full movement of funds and the specific objectives of a payout flow rather than relying on a single headline metric.
Commercial perspective and guidance
Kate Lifshits, Commercial Director at NOWPayments, applies a data-first approach in her Cryptopolitan series "Crypto That Works for Business." The first column, titled "22% Sales Boost Hiding in Your Crypto Checkout," examined checkout performance, and future installments will address additional ways payment infrastructure influences revenue, costs, and growth. "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," said Kate Lifshits, Commercial Director at NOWPayments.
Payout routing and fee considerations
When minimizing payout costs is the priority, the dataset suggests that comparing blockchain networks may not be the appropriate first step. NOWPayments enables businesses to send payouts to ChangeNOW Pro wallets inside the ecosystem with no network or service fees. A public test of that route was reported by creator Andy Tries Coding, who received a fee-free payout in under five seconds via the ChangeNOW Pro route.
In the NOWPayments flow, recipients are identified by email and must confirm the transfer before funds move, so businesses do not need to collect wallet addresses at the start of the payout process. NOWPayments provides an interactive guide that walks users through payout creation and recipient access, allowing firms to define the payout flow first and then select the network or route that best matches the priorities for value, frequency, speed, and cost.
About NOWPayments
NOWPayments positions itself as a crypto business ecosystem designed to help companies accept payments, automate mass payouts, manage stablecoin treasury, and scale global digital asset operations through a single infrastructure. The platform supports more than 350 cryptocurrencies, over 30 stablecoins, offers flexible settlement options, and provides enterprise-grade APIs.
Contacts
- PR Manager: Angelina T. - [email protected]
- Commercial Director: Kate L. - [email protected]