BNB Smart Chain, formerly Binance Smart Chain, is an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchain platform capable of general purpose smart contract execution. It is a base layer, or Layer 1 (L1), which is part of the BNB Chain ecosystem of blockchains that is developed with the support of cryptocurrency exchange Binance. It is known for its fast transaction time and low transaction cost.
BNB token is the fuel for BNB Smart Chain. Originally known as Binance Coin, BNB has been rebranded to “Build and Build.” In addition to serving as BNB Smart Chain’s “gas” token, BNB also provides holders with on-chain governance rights.
What is BNB token?
BNB is the native token in the BNB Chain ecosystem, which includes BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and BNB Beacon Chain. On BNB Smart Chain, BNB is used to pay for transaction fees and to participate in the network’s consensus mechanism.
BNB is also used as a utility token that allows users to receive discounts on transaction fees when trading on the Binance centralized cryptocurrency exchange. Over time, Binance has broadened the utility for BNB, integrating it into various aspects of the Binance ecosystem, such as their decentralized exchange (Binance DEX), token launch platform (Binance Launchpad), and more.
How does BNB Smart Chain work?
BNB Smart Chain operates on a Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism that combines features from Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA). Validators are selected through staking-based governance, while “Candidates” serve as backups to maintain the functionality of the network when it is under stress. This hybrid approach ensures that blocks are produced by a limited set of validators, thus enhancing efficiency and decentralization. With a short block time of 3 seconds, transactions can be confirmed quickly, providing users with a smooth experience.
BNB Smart Chain supports EVM-compatible smart contracts and protocols, facilitating cross-chain transfers and other communications. The native token, BNB, is used for smart contract execution and staking. There is no inflation of the BNB token, which means that validators do not earn a block reward. Validators are instead compensated in BNB with the transaction fees for executing smart contracts, although a portion of these transaction fees are claimed by the BNB Chain protocol.
History of BNB Smart Chain and BNB token
Binance cryptocurrency exchange and BNB token were established in 2017. BNB token was initially an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain. In 2019, it migrated to Binance Exchange’s propriety blockchain called Binance Chain, and eventually became the fuel for Binance Smart Chain (BSC), which launched in September 2020. Due to the network’s high transaction speed, low transaction cost, and EVM compatibility, BSC quickly gained traction as the DeFi movement took off and Ethereum suffered from chronic congestion and high fees.
In February 2022, Binance Smart Chain was rebranded as BNB Smart Chain. BNB Smart Chain is itself part of the BNB Chain ecosystem of blockchains, which consists of BNB Beacon Chain (the staking and governance layer), BNB Smart Chain (the smart contract execution layer), ZkBNB (a zero-knowledge proof rollup for scaling), and BNB Greenfield (a decentralized data storage platform).
How can you use BNB and BNB Smart Chain?
Anyone can buy, sell, send, receive, and hold BNB in the Bitcoin.com Wallet app.
Advanced users also have the option to directly interact with Decentralized Apps (dApps) on the BNB Smart Chain network using the Bitcoin.com Wallet (via WalletConnect). dApps on BNB Smart Chain enable DeFi use cases like trading, borrowing and lending, prediction markets, crypto derivatives, synthetic assets, NFTs, and more.
Bridging between BNB Smart Chain and Ethereum
You can bridge select Ethereum cryptoassets to BNB Smart Chain using the officially recommended Celer cBridge. Bridging will take a certain amount of time, which the bridge will estimate for you. After that, you can do most things you can do on Ethereum such as swap, borrow/lend, and add pool liquidity but with much lower fees and faster transaction times. Whenever you wish, you can bridge back over to the Ethereum mainnet.
