BNB Smart Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain) is a public blockchain platform that uses a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and provides smart contract functionality. The platform's native cryptocurrency is BNB. The system is part of the broader Binance ecosystem founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He.

Characteristics

BNB Smart Chain runs on a proof of stake model. The New York Times and Financial Times described the coin as an alternative to Ethereum.

History

BNB originated in 2017 as an Ethereum-based token for Binance exchange users, becoming the native coin for the separate Binance Chain in 2019 via a token swap.

In 2020, the parallel Binance Smart Chain (BSC) launched, adding smart contract functionality, and was rebranded as BNB Smart Chain in 2022. BNB Chain use of centralization had led to several exploits on the network.

Binance Smart Chain was renamed to BNB Chain. The unified BNB Chain was introduced in 2022, combining the functions of the original Binance Chain (now BNB Beacon Chain) and BNB Smart Chain into a single system.

After the BSC Token Hub bridge exploit on October 6–7, 2022, validators coordinated a temporary halt.

Independent security tallies have found BNB Chain to be among the most targeted networks by incident count in 2023, with industry coverage highlighting rug pulls as a frequent loss vector.

Since 2023, regulatory exposure has been cited due to links with Binance and the BNB token: the U.S. SEC filed a civil complaint in June 2023 alleging unregistered offers and other violations; in May 2025 the SEC announced a joint stipulation to dismiss the case with prejudice.

See also