BNB Chain (BNB): how it works, supply and reviews
In short
- Type
- EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain (BSC), with the opBNB layer 2 and the Greenfield storage chain
- Supply target
- Quarterly Auto-Burn reduces total supply towards 100,000,000 BNB
- Risks and caveats
- Blocks are produced by a limited, stake-elected set of validators, a design the project itself describes as less decentralised than proof of work.
- Checked
- 31 October 2026
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Key facts
- Ticker
- BNB
- Official site
- bnbchain.org/en
Key facts checked on 31 October 2026 against official sources.
What is BNB Chain
BNB Chain is a blockchain ecosystem made up of BNB Smart Chain (BSC), the opBNB layer-2 network and the BNB Greenfield storage network. BNB is its native coin: it pays transaction fees, is staked to secure BSC and is used in on-chain governance.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain (BSC), with the opBNB layer 2 and the Greenfield storage chain |
| Consensus | Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA): a combination of delegated proof of stake and proof of authority |
| Validators | 45 active validators: 21 Cabinet and 24 Candidates, re-elected every 24 hours by stake |
| Block time | 0.45 seconds on mainnet (reduced from 3 seconds); finality in about 1 second with Fast Finality |
| Launched | Beacon Chain (then Binance Chain) in April 2019; BNB Smart Chain in September 2020 |
| Smart contracts | Yes; BSC is a go-ethereum fork compatible with Ethereum smart contracts and tooling |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Supply target | Quarterly Auto-Burn reduces total supply towards 100,000,000 BNB |
| Issuance | No inflation: validators are paid from transaction fees, not newly issued BNB |
| Fee burn | A fixed share of gas fees is burned in every block (BEP-95); the ratio is set by BSC validators |
| Auto-Burn | The quarterly burn amount depends on BNB's price and the number of BSC blocks in the quarter; burns go to a dead address on BSC |
What BNB is used for
- Paying gas fees on BNB Smart Chain, opBNB and Greenfield
- Staking with validators to secure BSC and earn a share of fees
- Voting in BNB Chain on-chain governance
- Moving assets between BSC, opBNB and Greenfield
Who develops and governs BNB Chain
- Origin
- Started as the token of the Binance.com exchange; the 2022 rebrand separated BNB Chain from Binance.com
- Foundation
- The BNB Foundation announces the quarterly BNB burns
- Governance
- On-chain governance (BEP-297): staking-credit holders propose and vote; proposing needs 200 BNB staked, quorum 10%
- Open source
- Yes; the bsc client library is LGPL-3.0 and its binaries GPL-3.0
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2017 | BNB is issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum. |
| 18 April 2019 | Mainnet launch of Binance Chain (later BNB Beacon Chain); BNB moves from Ethereum to its own chain. |
| September 2020 | Binance Smart Chain (BSC) launches with EVM smart contracts, powered by BNB. |
| 15 February 2022 | Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain are rebranded together with BNB as the BNB Chain ecosystem. |
| 2023 | opBNB, a layer 2 built on the Optimism OP Stack, launches. |
| 19 November 2024 | BNB Beacon Chain halts under the BNB Chain Fusion plan; its functions move to BSC. |
Security and audits
- BNB Chain runs a bug bounty programme with rewards of up to $100,000 for critical vulnerabilities.
- Validators that double-sign or go offline are penalised by slashing.
- The bsc client asks researchers not to file public tickets for vulnerabilities and lists audit reports in its repository.
Risks and caveats
- Blocks are produced by a limited, stake-elected set of validators, a design the project itself describes as less decentralised than proof of work.
- BNB Chain began as part of the Binance exchange ecosystem and was only formally separated from Binance.com in 2022.
- Assets left on the retired BNB Beacon Chain may become permanently inaccessible.
Official links
- Website: www.bnbchain.org/en
- Docs: docs.bnbchain.org
- Whitepaper: github.com/bnb-chain/whitepaper
- Source code: github.com/bnb-chain/bsc
- Blog: www.bnbchain.org/en/blog
- Governance forum: forum.bnbchain.org
Questions and answers
What is BNB Chain?
BNB Chain is a blockchain ecosystem of BNB Smart Chain, opBNB and BNB Greenfield. BNB is its native coin for fees, staking and governance.
Is BNB Chain the same as Binance Smart Chain?
Yes. Binance Smart Chain and Binance Chain were rebranded as BNB Chain on 15 February 2022; the smart-contract chain is now called BNB Smart Chain (BSC).
What is the supply of BNB?
Total supply was 134,786,916.53 BNB on 15 April 2026. Quarterly Auto-Burns reduce it towards a target of 100,000,000 BNB.
How does BNB Smart Chain reach consensus?
It uses Proof of Staked Authority: 45 stake-elected validators (21 Cabinet, 24 Candidates) take turns producing blocks every 0.45 seconds.
Is BNB inflationary?
No. There is no block subsidy; validators earn transaction fees, and part of every block's gas fees is burned.
Sources
- BNB Chain — home page
- BNB Chain Docs — home
- BNB Chain Docs — BSC introduction
- BNB Chain Docs — staking overview
- BNB Chain Docs — governance overview
- BNB Smart Chain whitepaper (GitHub)
- bsc client README (GitHub)
- bsc SECURITY.md (GitHub)
- BEP-95: real-time burning mechanism
- BNB Chain blog — BSC Is Now BNB Chain (15 February 2022)
- BNB Chain blog — 35th BNB Burn (15 April 2026)
- BNB Chain blog — Final sunset plan of BNB Beacon Chain
- BNB Chain — What is BNB
- BNB Chain bug bounty
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