Bancor (BNT): how it works, supply and reviews

In short

Type: Decentralised network of on-chain automated market makers (Bancor V3) with single-sided liquidity provision.
Fee burn: Part of network swap fees is swapped for vBNT through the Vortex Burner and burned; 10% of the fees or 100 BNT (whichever is lower) goes to the caller.
Risks and caveats: The Bancor DAO multisig can pause the whole V3 protocol; while paused, no deposits, withdrawals or transactions can be made.
Checked: 31 October 2026

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Key facts

Ticker: BNT
Official site: bancor.network

Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.

What is Bancor

Bancor is a set of on-chain DeFi protocols governed by the Bancor DAO, the community of BNT holders. It began in 2017 as one of the first decentralised exchanges built on automated market makers (Bancor AMM) and now also develops Carbon DeFi (on-chain limit, range and recurring orders) and Arb Fast Lane (arbitrage infrastructure).

Network and consensus

Network and consensus — Bancor
Parameter	Details
Type	Decentralised network of on-chain automated market makers (Bancor V3) with single-sided liquidity provision.
Launched	Bancor AMM launched in April 2017; Arb Fast Lane in March 2023; Carbon DeFi in April 2023.
Runs on	Bancor V3 contracts on Ethereum; Carbon DeFi is listed on Ethereum, Sei, Celo, Coti, Tac, Base, Mantle, Berachain and Sonic.
Smart contracts	Bancor V3 contracts use proxies, so their addresses do not change; source code is on GitHub.
Carbon DeFi	On-chain trading protocol for automated strategies with limit and range orders; orders are irreversible on execution and resistant to MEV sandwich attacks.

Supply and issuance

Supply and issuance — Bancor
Parameter	Details
Fee burn	Part of network swap fees is swapped for vBNT through the Vortex Burner and burned; 10% of the fees or 100 BNT (whichever is lower) goes to the caller.
Issuance	BNT minting was used to cover impermanent loss protection and withdrawal deficits; it was halted on 19 June 2022.

What BNT is used for

BNT is the Bancor network token; staking BNT on Bancor 3 also gives vBNT, the governance token of the Bancor DAO.
vBNT is used for voting in the Bancor DAO; holders stake vBNT to vote on Snapshot proposals.
Fees collected by Carbon DeFi are owned by the protocol, and their use is decided by DAO governance.

Who develops and governs Bancor

Governance: Bancor protocols are managed by the Bancor DAO, a community of BNT holders and delegates.
Multisig: The Bancor DAO multisig (5 of 7 signers) executes DAO decisions for Bancor V3 and can pause the whole protocol in an emergency.
Legal entity: Bprotocol Foundation, a Swiss foundation with legal seat in Zug (UID CHE-181.679.849), holds the rights in the bancor.network site.
Open source: Contract source code is published on GitHub (bancorprotocol).

History

History — Bancor
Date	Event
2017	Bancor launched an AMM-based decentralised exchange with bonding curves and pool tokens (Smart Tokens).
2020	Bancor introduced amplified (concentrated) liquidity.
1 March 2022	BIP15 proposed Bancor 3, with impermanent loss protection, single-side pool tokens and an omnipool; withdrawals had a 0.25% exit fee and 7-day cooldown at launch.
19 June 2022	Emergency action: BNT minting for impermanent loss protection was paused and deposits disabled; later put to a DAO ratification vote.
March 2023	Arb Fast Lane, an arbitrage framework between Bancor, Carbon DeFi and other DEXs, launched.
April 2023	Carbon DeFi launched with asymmetric liquidity (separate buy and sell curves).

Security and audits

Bancor V3 was audited by PeckShield and OpenZeppelin; Bancor lists a $1M bug bounty.
Carbon DeFi was audited by PeckShield (April 2023, May and July 2024) and ChainSecurity (April 2023).
On 19 June 2022 BNT minting for impermanent loss protection was paused in an emergency; v3 withdrawals stayed open but without BNT compensation.

Official BNT contracts

Official BNT contracts
Network	Contract address
Ethereum	0x1F573D6Fb3F13d689FF844B4cE37794d79a7FF1C
Ethereum (vBNT)	0x48Fb253446873234F2fEBbF9BdeAA72d9d387f94

BNT is the Bancor network token and vBNT the Bancor governance token, both ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum.

Risks and caveats

The Bancor DAO multisig can pause the whole V3 protocol; while paused, no deposits, withdrawals or transactions can be made.
Impermanent loss protection was effectively suspended in June 2022: BNT compensation is not paid at v3 withdrawal.
The bancor.network site is not available to US residents or to users in sanctioned or high-risk jurisdictions, per its terms.
Third-party deployments of Bancor technology are not managed or controlled by Bancor.

Official links

Website: bancor.network
Docs: docs.bancor.network
Source code: github.com/bancorprotocol
Governance forum: gov.bancor.network
Carbon DeFi: www.carbondefi.xyz

Questions and answers

What is Bancor?

Bancor is a set of on-chain DeFi protocols (Bancor AMM, Carbon DeFi, Arb Fast Lane) governed by the Bancor DAO of BNT holders. It launched in 2017 as an AMM-based decentralised exchange.

What is the BNT token used for?

BNT is the Bancor network token. Staking BNT on Bancor 3 also gives vBNT, which is used to vote in the Bancor DAO.

Who is behind Bancor?

The protocols are managed by the Bancor DAO; the rights in the bancor.network site are held by Bprotocol Foundation, a Swiss foundation based in Zug.

Does Bancor still offer impermanent loss protection?

On 19 June 2022 BNT minting for impermanent loss protection was paused in an emergency; v3 withdrawals continued without BNT compensation.

Is Bancor available in the US?

No. The bancor.network terms state that the site is not available to US residents.

Sources

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Page updated: 2026-10-31