Introduction to BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

BNB Smart Chain (BSC) blockchain network provides various Web3 tools and decentralized applications (DApps). The high-performance blockchain supports smart contracts and can be used by developers to create various types of services and applications, including blockchain games, governance and voting systems, decentralized finance (DeFi), and more.

What is BNB Smart Chain (BSC)?

BNB Smart Chain was created in 2020 to solve the limitations of BNB Beacon Chain. Therefore, to understand BNB Smart Chain, it is best to first explore its relationship with BNB Beacon Chain.

BNB Chain was launched in 2019. At that time, the utility token BNB was migrated from the Ethereum network to BNB Chain and became the native token of the network. The predecessor of BNB Chain is the BNB Beacon Chain we are now familiar with.

In 2022, BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and BNB Beacon Chain will be integrated into the BNB Chain ecosystem. Since then, the two aforementioned blockchains have continued to operate independently for different use cases.

Comparison between BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain (BSC)

Different from BNB Beacon Chain, BSC has smart contract functions and is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This chain aims to introduce smart contracts into BNB smart contracts without affecting the operation of BNB Beacon Chain.

• BNB Beacon Chain: Adopts the BEP-2 token standard, acts as a governance layer, supports staking and has a voting system.

• BNB Smart Chain (BSC): Designed to provide smart contract functionality. Adopts the BEP-20 token standard, serves as an EVM compatibility layer, provides DApp and DeFi services, multi-chain support and other Web3 applications.

Essentially two blockchains run in parallel. It is worth noting that BSC is not a so-called Layer 2 or off-chain scalability solution, but a blockchain that can operate independently when the BNB Beacon Chain is offline.

Because BSC is compatible with EVM, it supports various Ethereum tools and DApps, making it easier for developers to migrate projects from Ethereum. For users, this means applications such as MetaMask can be easily configured to work with BSC.

BNB Chain Fusion network integration plan

At the end of 2023, the BNB Chain team announced a plan to shut down the BNB Beacon Chain, and the core functions of the chain will be transferred to the BNB Smart Chain network.

The migration is expected to be carried out in multiple phases, starting in April 2024 and ending in June of the same year. For details, please refer to the BNB Chain Fusion roadmap.

Operation Principle of BNB Smart Chain

Consensus Mechanism

BNB Smart Chain achieves a block generation time of about 3 seconds through the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. Specifically, the chain adopts the authoritative Proof of Stake (PoSA) mechanism, and participants can become verifiers by staking BNB.

Verifiers verify transaction blocks and receive part of the transaction fees as rewards. Note that unlike many protocols, BNB is not inflationary, so there is no block subsidy for newly minted BNB. In fact, the BNB supply is gradually decreasing as the Binance team regularly burns tokens.

BEP-20 Token Standard

BNB Smart Chain adopts BEP-20 as the main token standard. If you have read the article "Introduction to ECR-20 Tokens", you will be familiar with tokens in the form of BEP-20. The coin uses the same functions as its competitor Ethereum.

BEP-20 is the blueprint of the token, defining important parameters and rules for token issuance and functionality. BEP-20 aims to become the technical specification for BNB Smart Chain, supporting developers to create a variety of digital assets, including NFTs, stablecoins, utility tokens, etc.

Blockchain transactions on BNB Smart Chain require a small amount of BNB as fuel fee. Similar to the ETH of the Ethereum blockchain, the gas fee is a reward for validators to confirm transactions and protect the security of the network.

Decentralized Finance in BNB Smart Chain

If you use DeFi applications such as PancakeSwap on BSC, users may notice that there are digital assets from other blockchains on the chain, such as BTC, USDT, ETH, etc. Such assets on BNB Smart Chain become "anchored tokens" or "encapsulated tokens". The value of these tokens is tied to the original assets in their native chain.

For example, the value of BTCB tokens on BSC is linked to the value of BTC on the original Bitcoin chain. For every unit of BTC locked on the original chain, a new BTCB token is issued through a smart contract to realize the value peg. Through this operation, external assets can be effectively transferred to the BSC ecosystem.

In other words, due to the flexibility of BNB Smart Chain, assets from various chains can be used in the growing DeFi field in the BNB Chain ecosystem, where users can trade assets, participate in liquidity mining, vote on proposals, etc. .

Conclusion

BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is a dynamic and high-performance blockchain in the BNB Chain ecosystem, providing various Web3 tools and decentralized applications (DApps). Created in 2020, BSC aims to address the limitations of BNB Beacon Chain by implementing smart contracts, playing a pivotal role in promoting the explosive growth of decentralized applications and Web3 services.

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