Чем Binance Smart Chain отличается от Binance Chain ❓
У многих пользователей появляются вопросы, когда речь заходит о блокчейнах Binance и разных форматах токенов: BEP-2 и BEP-20.
Для вашего удобства мы выделим ключевые особенности двух блокчейнов и рассмотрим краткую историю их появления.
♨ 18 апреля 2019 года биржа Binance анонсировала запуск своего собственного блокчейна Binance Chain — BC.
BC создавался в качестве маркетплейса для выпуска токенов, использования и обмена криптовалютой. Первым же продуктом для использования стала децентрализованная биржа Binance DEX ��
BEP-2 — формат токенов в блокчейне Binance Chain
Спустя время выяснилось, что Binance Chain не отличается гибкостью с точки зрения внутренней структуры и не очень подходит для развертывания децентрализованных приложений (dapps).
♨ Команда разработчиков Binance пришла к выводу, что проще создать новое, чем вносить изменения в старое. Так появился Binance Smart Chain — BSC — в апреле 2019 года.
BEP-20 — формат токенов в блокчейне Binance Smart Chain
Binance Chain создавался для всей экосистемы Binance и в особенности для DEX. Binance Smart Chain — более продвинутая версия, совместимая с EVM и поддерживающая работу смарт-контрактов ✔
Для пользователя может показаться, что BC и BSC одинаковы, но на самом деле нет.
➡ Binance Chain — это блокчейн с упрощенной структурой, задачей которого является обеспечение быстрой торговли при высоких нагрузках на сеть.
➡ Binance Smart Chain —современный гибкий блокчейн с высокой пропускной способностью с возможностью развертывания на нем смарт-контрактов и сложных децентрализованных приложений.
BNB Chain — What is it?
BNB Chain is an ecosystem which merged 2 blockchains together: Binance Chain (BC) and BNB Smart Chain (BSC). Both blockchains used to run parallel, complimenting each other and supporting two different sets of needs. Now BNB Chain aims to facilitate a new movement that bridges MetaFi and DeFi together, where interoperability and multi-chain functionality would boost mass adaptation of the Metaverse.
Evolution of Binance
Binance is a brand of Binance Holding Limited that provides blockchain services within the cryptocurrency industry. Founded by Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in 2017, it has since relocated its office a number of times due to global uncertainty about crypto regulations. It has seen a number of legal actions against itself and investigatory hurdles along the way (as did many other succsessful firms).
Founded in China, it has since moved to Japan, Malta and other countries. It got banned in the UK and investigated by the US Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Services for money-laundering and tax evasion. Binance operated in Thailand and Netherlands without a license, a true cowboy-communist sage. Officially Binance HQ is based in Lithuania, however the Dubai office hosts many of its employees as per the time of writing this article.
You should always do a due diligence prior to using any crypto-services providers!
Binance Ecosystem
As Binance Exchange grew it became a whole ecosystem which now comprises of multiple elements, each of these components rightly deserves an article of its own, but I will cover them briefly below:
- Binance Exchange is a crypto asset exchange which runs on a proprietary BNB Chain with their own BNB Coin. It stands out for its low transaction fees and speedy settlements. The exchange allows you to: buy, sell, hold, send, receive, trade and execute many other actions. It has its own custodial wallet: Trust Wallet. Among advanced features you can access derivatives, liquidity farming, crypto loans and services for institutions — to name a few. The exchange hosts a Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) marketplace, but it barely competes with the rest of the market, too early to be optimistic about Binance NFTs. The exchange is centralized (CEX), hence in many countries you could deposit funds straight from your bank account after you have done your KYC. The Binance Exchange has basic trading tols which are more than enough for most users/noobies. However, professional/technical traders would usually prefer a more sophisticated suite of tools than what BE offers. Binance mobile app is neat, there you can access a wide range of services. Given the scale of Binance I am a bit dissapointed with the UI/UX choices, it’s non-intuitive, P2P trading is sometimes laggy — especially the chat (which is essential). The learning curve of the mobile client is rather steep for the new users, Binance could have (and should have) done a better job. However, they sided with what works rather than being innovative, the interface looks and feels outdated when copared to the DEXs… but it does the job at the end of the day. is the educational branch of Binance. It covers topics from crypto-beginner to advanced levels, by far it is my most favourite on the list. This is where I used to dive into the crypto rabbit hole during Covid-19, as I navigated through the waters of Binance Blockchain. Although informative, many articles feel dry and repetitive, I would strognly advise to learn from other resources as well. Most content is well written, digestible and aimed at absolute beginners — I think its is a brilliant marketing strategy deployed by Binance, where you educate your future users and investors, thus tapping into the untapped market. is a project incubator, an investment and fundraising platform for the teams like Aptos Labs, FTX (yes, that FTX), various Web3 Security, Infrastructure, Gaming and FinTech startups. Anything promising within Crypto and Web3 space — Binance would want to invest and “help” build it.
- Binance Launch Platform is a project launchpad on BNB Chain, where teams launch tokens (avoid shitcoins and honeypots), Binance also help with marketing, exposure and initial user acquisition efforts. If you’ve got a project idea you should check it out! is a digital asset research that offers articles, “Institutional-grade research reports”, and has insights on general cryptocurrency and blockchain topics.
Binance’s offsprings (projects above) have set their own sails and are somewhat independent and self-reliant, at least in theory. For example, the exchange claims that the BNB Smart Chain is its own beast and that it will eventually outgrow the crypto asset exchange. If sh*t hits the fan it won’t splatter on all of Binance’s babies.
Introduction to BNB Smart contracts and Token Standards
- Smart Contract is a self-executing program with a set of instructions verified and stored on a blockchain, it operates on the basis of “if-then logic”. For example: IF Tom deposits $1 coin to a vending machine to buy soda, THEN the vending machine must release the product, given Tom inserted the correct amount of money. In this metaphor the vending machine is a smart contract, Tom is a user, a coin’s properties (like weight, circumference, design, mint mark) is a token standard, denomination of $1 is the quantity of tokens. As you can see, just like a vending machine, smart contracts are programmed to automatically execute the terms of an agreement when certain criterias are met, without an intermediary like a store clerk, in our case it is the unbiased vending machine. Smart contracts are immutable once deployed.
- Token Standards is a subset of smart contract standards, meaning they enable smart contracts to perform their basic functions. In a blockchain that supports smart contracts (like BSC or BNB Chain), token standards constitute a system of rules, conditions, a guide for creation, issuance and deployment of new tokens/cryptocurrency on a blockchain. Simply, the token standards specify how a crypto token works, they dictate what is possible and impossible to do within an underlying blockchain network. Whereas, token standards are like a set of rules for which coins to accept, coins circumference, design.. All the physical features.
- Why Token Standards? Interoperability, compatibility and efficiency. We use token standards to enable all products and services to communicate with one another. In order to store funds in a wallet, use an exchange, swap functions, staking and various other activities on the blockchain. In our earlier metaphor with the vending machine we used 1 US dollar, imagine if you have 1 Euro coin (incompatible token), a typical old-school vending machine would not accept 1 euro. So the retro vending machine only likes dollar coins, not euro, or rupee. A smart contract standard enables a vending machine to accept any other currency which follows the standard, be it rubles or Chinese Yuan, with this vending machine you can pay rent, take a loan, etc. This is an oversimplified argument, the point is that this is the direction Binance has taken with their Chains and Tokens.
- BEP-2 standard refers to a token format standard for the BNB Coin that facilitates all the transactions only on the Binance Exchange, primarily for the transaction fees. BEP-2 can be converted to BEP-20 BNB Tokens in order to be used elsewhere.
- BEP-20 is the token standard for BNB on Binance Smart Chain (BSC) which follows ERC-20 token standard. It is compatible with Ethereum smart contracts and its development platform called Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). BEP-20 is designed for interoperability, it can be converted to BEP-2 as well as ERC-20 tokens by using a bridge, which links it to other blockchain networks. BEP-20 was created for all transaction-needs on various decentralized applications (DApps) and built on BSC.
- Why two chains? The reason is to compliment one another without having to overlap each other’s basic functions.
- Are there two different BNB coins? Yes, there are 2 different coins, both of equal value. One resides in BC, while the other lives in the BSC.
Binance Blockchain naming mess
From Binance Chain to Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to BNB Smart Chain, to Beacon Chain… What & Why…
There has been plenty of confusion on the internet about Binance blockchains and tokens, as they changhed and rebranded over the years. If you are NOT confused about weird Binance naming strategies then DO NOT read this paragraph further, it (probably) won’t make sense to you. However, if you are still confused about what was renamed to what and how it merged, then you’re among the majority. Depending on when you read this it might make total sense or none at all, here we go…
- Formerly known as Binance Chain (BC) is now called BNB Beacon Chain (BC), sometimes referred to as Beacon Chain or BCfor short.
- Formerly known as Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is now called BNB Smart Chain (BSC).
- Now BNB Chain consists of both: BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain.
Summary
Binance is great for what it offers, I use BNB and Binance Exchange all the time as it solves for what I need it to solve and when the need arises. I am looking forward seeing how they would adopt to the evolving demands and changing market conditions, currebntly there (really) isn’t much of a competition to speed-up the change. I would like to see a more DeFi-centric approach towards the B2C sector and a more desirable set of tools for average folk… and for crying out loud, develop a better UI/UX!
BNB Smart Chain vs Beacon Chain — 6 KEY Differences
The BNB Chain, formerly Binance Chain, is an EVM-compatible blockchain. It emerged as a popular alternative to the Ethereum blockchain. As of the time of this writing, the BNB chain is the second largest Layer-1 chain behind the Ethereum blockchain, with $4.92 billion in total value locked (TVL), according to Defillama.
Unlike any other Layer-1 blockchain, the BNB Chain has a dual architecture, i.e., it runs two chains (the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and the BNB Beacon Chain) concurrently. However, an important thing to note is that although the two chains (the BSC and the Beacon Chain) work together to make the BNB chain a better alternative, both chains are actually independent of each other!
You don’t have to worry. In this article, we’ll discuss what these two chains are. Why does the BNB chain have a multi-architecture design? And the key differences between them. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
The Difference Between BNB Smart Chain and Beacon Chain
The BNB chain comprises two chains, the BSC and the Beacon Chain, that work concurrently. This Layer-1 blockchain aims to solve Ethereum’s scalability problem without losing out on security.
The BNB Beacon Chain is mainly used for governance. It allows the blockchain community to stake the governance token (BNB) and vote on the decision-making of the blockchain.
The BNB Smart Chain (BSC) hosts the blockchain ecosystem. Like the Ethereum blockchain, this chain is Turing complete, and it allows the deployment of smart contracts, decentralised Applications (DApps), and all other web3 applications.
It’s also worth noting that the Beacon Chain and the BSC maintain operational capacity while being independent of each other. This means that if one chain shuts down, the other will still be fully operational.
History
BNB Chain, previously referred to as the Binance Chain, was created in 2019 to provide a decentralized and ultrafast trading capability for blockchain users. This chain supported cross-chain compatibility and addresses the poor user experience provided by other DEXes. Because of this, the Binance Chain had some programmability restrictions at inception.
After a year and a half of fully running Binance Chain, a transactional blockchain, the company created Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a smart contract blockchain. BSC was created because there was a need to have an Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible blockchain platform. BSC has similar usability to EOS, Tron, and Ethereum.
One thing to note, however, is that instead of upgrading the existing Binance Chain to accommodate smart contracts, Binance created an entirely new blockchain to run concurrently and parallel to the existing blockchain. The reason behind this design decision was to maintain the fast speed of the existing Binance Chain. Because of this design, Binance Chain users can now enjoy a fast transaction capacity and use Ethereum-based applications because the new BSC platform is EVM-compatible.
In February 2022, however, Chanpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, the company behind Binance chain, said at a webinar that Binance Chain is transitioning into a fully decentralized, open source, and community-owned ecosystem that depends on developers, delegators, users, and validators like Ethereum and other decentralized smart contract blockchains.
As a result, the Binance Chain was rebranded to Build n’ Build (BNB) blockchain with the BNB token (formerly Binance Coin) now used as the native currency of the blockchain.
After the rebranding of the chain, the two concurrent chains, the Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain (BSC), that made up the former Binance Chain, were kept but also rebranded. Binance Chain was rebranded to BNB Beacon Chain to serve as the governance and decision-making platform, while Binance Smart Chain (BSC) to BNB Smart Chain (BNB) continues to host the blockchain’s ecosystem.
EVM-Compatibility
The BNB Smart Chain (BSC) boosts smart contract functionality and is EVM-compatible. This means developers can easily migrate and redeploy their DApp project and smart contract from Ethereum to the BNB Chain. Moreover, for users, an EVM-compatible blockchain means they can configure Ethereum DApps like MetaMask to work with BSC.
On the other hand, the BNB Beacon Chain is only designed for governance and decision-making, and it doesn’t support smart contract functionality. It’s not a smart contract chain and doesn’t support EVM.
Wallet Address Format
Since the Beacon Chain and the smart chain are independent of each other, everything about each chain, including their wallet address format, is also significantly different.
The BNB beacon chain wallet address starts with “bnb” and may require a memo for token transfer. A MEMO, which is also known as a destination tag, is an additional information or feature included in a transaction to identify the recipient of a cryptocurrency or token beyond the wallet address.
However, this is only if you are sending your funds to another exchange account. If you are sending it to a non-custodial wallet, a MEMO is not needed.
Moreover, as an EVM-compatible chain, the BSC has a similar token standard to Ethereum. BSC wallet addresses start with “0x”, which is like the Ethereum wallet address format. And so, the tokens are interoperable with Ethereum ERC20 tokens.
Token Standards
Just as there were two chains on the BNB chain, there were also two token standards: the BEP2 and BEP20.
BEP2 is the token standard for the BNB Beacon Chain. This token standard is an integral part of the Binance Chain, the first chain by Binance. It’s also the token standard for the Binance Coin (BNB), the Binance native coin. The BEP2 token was used only as transaction fees on both Binance’s centralised and decentralised exchanges.
Since BEP2 tokens are not interoperable with any other blockchain, they cannot work on any other chain except Binance. So, BEP2 token holders will need to convert their tokens to BEP20 tokens to use them on other BNB DApps.
Alternatively, BEP20 is the native token standard for the BSC, BNB smart contract platform. This token standard was inspired by the ERC20 token standard, so it’s EVM-compatible. Moreover, it features many fundamental similarities to ERC20 tokens, such as returning the balance, examining token ownership, and transferring.
BEP20 and BSC are 2 confusing terms of the entire ecosystem, and you can find a comparison between them here.
Finally, BEP20 tokens are programmer-friendly that allow anyone to create tokens. Moreover, it’s tailored to offer smart contract support to the BNB ecosystem.
A bridge (BSC Token Hub) is used to transfer tokens from one network to the other (BEP20 to BEP2 or vice versa). This bridge was hacked and you can find out what actually happened in our article here.
Use Cases
The primary use case of the BNB Beacon Chain is for governance and decision-making. This chain is designed for validators and delegators to stake their tokens and perform on-chain voting on issues concerning the BNB chain.
The BNB Smart Chain is a smart contract platform like Ethereum. It’s a platform for decentralised application (DApp) development and smart contract implementation. And since it’s EVM-compatible, it’s compatible with all Ethereum DApps.
Top Applications
Since the BNB Beacon Chain is a platform for governance and decision-making, it is not smart-contract or DApp compatible.
Alternatively, here are some of the most used DApps on the BNB Smart Chain include:
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is a decentralized exchange on the BNB chain that lets users trustlessly exchange and swap their tokens with no intermediary.
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is a decentralized, community-driven social protocol that lets users learn, earn, and enjoy gamified experiences in the web3 ecosystem.
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is a DeFi project that provides passive income through a smart contract to DRIP token stakers.
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is a multichain DeFi platform that offers a different suite of DApps for easy accessibility into web3.
Verdict
Here’s a summary of the key differences between both chains:
| BNB Smart Chain | BNB Beacon Chain | |
|---|---|---|
| History | Launched in 2020 for DApps and smart contract deployment | Launched in 2019 to support cross-chain compatibility and to address the poor user experience provided by other DEXes. |
| EVM-compatibility | EVM-compatible. Ethereum smart contracts and DApps can be easily ported to the BSC because of their compatibility with EVM. | Not EVM-compatible. Only used for on-chain governance and staking. |
| Wallet Address Format | the wallet address starts with “0x” | the wallet address starts with “bnb” |
| Token Standards | BEP20 token standard | BEP2 token standard |
| Use Cases | smart contract platform for the deployment of DApps and DEXes | Used for staking, governance, and on-chain voting and decision-making. |
| Top Applications | ApeSwap, DRIP network, PancakeSwap, Hooked protocol | NA (mainly staking) |
Final Note
While the BNB Beacon Chain and the BNB Smart Chain are independent of each other, both chains worked together to make the BNB ecosystem a better competitor to the Ethereum blockchain.
At Krystal, we support the BNB Smart Chain as one of our numerous EVM-compatible chains.
You can view your entire portfolio (including NFTs) in one screen, and swap tokens for the best rates!
Binance Chain vs Binance Smart Chain
Binance Chain(BC) and Binance Smart Chain(BSC) are two different blockchains. This article will discuss Binance Chain, Binance Smart Chain, consensus protocols used by them, and their features. In the end, we will also see the differences between both Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain.
Binance Chain (BC)
Binance Chain(BC) is a blockchain developed by Binance and involved the community of Binancians. The community aimed to provide a marketplace for issuing and exchanging digital assets in a decentralized manner. The native token for Binance Chain is BNB.
Binance Chain is capable of providing the decentralized trading opportunity, and Binance DEX is the first Dapp to run on it. Binance DEX, Binance’s decentralized exchange, developed on the top of the Binance Chain. It allows users to exchange crypto assets directly with each other. It doesn’t involve any third party. Hence the transaction fee is also significantly less.
At the top-left part of the Binance DEX, there is the section of “Trading Pairs.” The trading pairs are categorized into four markets: BNB, BTC, ALTS, FIATS.
We can switch tabs to change markets. Star Icon will show your favorite trading pairs.
Binance Chain also allows BNB holders to propose new trading pairs and vote on them.
Binance Chain Explorer
Binance Chain Explorer allows exploring and searching the Binance blockchain for transactions, tokens, addresses, prices, and other activities on the Binance chain.
Binance Chain uses Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) consensus protocol. We will discuss this protocol later while discussing Binanace Smart Chain.
What can you do using Binance Chain?
- Send and receive Binance coin, BNB.
- Issue new tokens by following BEP-2 standard
- Mint/burn, freeze/unfreeze, lock/unlock tokens
- Create trading pairs between two different tokens
- Buy or sell assets through trading pairs created on the chain. Binance DEX is the decentralized exchange that developed on the top of the Binance Chain. Binance DEX allows users to exchange crypto assets directly with each other.
Binance Chain is not EVM-compatible. Hence, it does not allow developers to build their Dapps using smart contracts. For this purpose, we have Binance Smart Chain.
Binance Smart Chain (BSC)
Binance Smart Chain(BSC) is an independent blockchain that runs in parallel with the Binance Chain. Binance Smart Chain brings EVM-compatible programmability and native cross-chain communication with Binance Chain.
EVM-compatible (EVM-Ethereum Virtual Machine): Allows BSC to develop and run Ethereum-based applications. It also supports all the existing Ethereum tooling along with faster finality and cheaper transaction fees. Here, finality is the moment at which transferred funds become the legal possession of the receiving party.
However, Binance Smart Chain isn’t an updated version of the Binance Chain, nor is it a layer-two platform upon the original Binance Chain. It’s an entirely separate, standalone blockchain that can continue even if the Binance Chain goes offline, but the two blockchains are ultimately designed to work in parallel.
Binance Smart Chain is also known for having Dual-chain architecture. It empowers its users to build decentralized applications and digital assets on one blockchain and take advantage of the fast trading to exchange on the other(Binance Chain).
Benefits of using Binance Smart Chain parallel to Binance Chain:
- High transaction capacity of Binance Chain
- Smart contract functionality of Binance Smart Chain
Binance Smart Chain Explorer(BscScan) allows you to explore and search the Binance smart blockchain for transactions, addresses, tokens, prices, and other activities on the Binance smart chain.
Binance Smart Chain also allows cross-chain communication with Binance Chain using Proof of Staked Authority(PoSA). Like Binance Chain, BNB is a native currency for Binance Smart Chain. Hence, Transaction fees are paid in BNB.
Proof of Staked Authority(PoSA): PoSA is a combination of Proof of Authority (PoA) and Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS).
Proof of Stack(PoS) consensus method uses validators who forge new blocks instead of miners. The more coins you stakes, the bigger your chances of being chosen as a validator. If a validator approves malicious transactions, they will lose part of the stake and consequently lose a lot more money than they gain.
In Delegated Proof of Stake(DPoS) consensus, Users vote for nodes that will verify blocks. Nodes that are receiving votes are known as witnesses. Selected witnesses create blocks by verifying transactions. If they verify and sign all transactions in a block, they receive a reward, usually shared with those who have voted for them.
Proof of Authority(PoA) consensus method is a modified version of the Proof of Stake and participants choose a few authorities they trust and allow them to validate the transactions.
Validators snapshot taken at block 5646731
BSC uses a system of 21 validators through PoSA. A limited set of validators produces blocks; Blocks elected in and out based on staking-based governance. Validators allow taking turns to create blocks in a PoA manner.
A token standard for BSC is BEP-20 which is compatible with BEP-2 and ERC-20. It extends ERC-20 and contains more interfaces, such as getOwner and decimals.
Differences between Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain