BNB Chain (Binance Smart Chain)
Binance's EVM blockchain — cheaper gas fees, sacrifices decentralization.
BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain, BSC) is an EVM-compatible blockchain Binance launched in 2020 — focused on low gas costs.
BNB Chain architecture:
•EVM compatible — same Solidity contracts as Ethereum
•21 validators (Proof-of-Staked-Authority)
•Block time: ~3 seconds
•Gas: ~$0.05-0.30 per transaction
•BNB token for gas
Decentralization tradeoff:
•21 validators = low decentralization
•Binance controls validator set in practice
•"Centralized blockchain" criticism
•If Binance shuts down → BNB Chain stops
Ecosystem:
•PancakeSwap (CAKE) — #1 BNB Chain DEX
•Venus Protocol — lending
•Alpaca Finance — leveraged yield farming
•Lista.space — stableswap
•NFT: Binance NFT marketplace
BNB token:
•Binance exchange utility token
•Gas on BNB Chain
•Auto-Burn quarterly program
•Fee discount on Binance spot
BSC vs Ethereum:
•BSC: cheaper, more centralized, smaller community
•Ethereum: more expensive, more decentralized, larger DeFi TVL
BSC vs Solana:
•BSC: EVM compatibility (easy Ethereum dApp migration)
•Solana: faster, modern, but different ecosystem
Use cases:
•Retail DeFi in Asia
•Meme coins
•Gaming on BNB Chain