What Is BNB Chain? 

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Lesson 16: What Is BNB Chain?

Lesson Intro:

The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, entered into a collaboration agreement with our nonprofit, the Prison Professors Charitable Corporation. With this collaboration, we’re able to provide justice-impacted people with a great resource they can use to learn about cryptocurrency, decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3.0, Artificial Intelligence, and other topics that relate to the digital economy. The agreement is part of our nonprofit’s ongoing efforts to help people prepare for success after prison.

• See agreement with Binance
• See our Certificate with Binance

Some people have access to our videos, others do not. If a staff member in your prison will authorize videos, invite them to contact Prison Professors for information on how we can send DVDs with additional educational materials to help people learn–and potentially an in-person presentation in your facility.

Each lesson includes critical thinking questions and a glossary. We encourage participants to use these lessons, and to memorialize their learning path by building a profile on Prison Professors Talent. More information on how to build a personal profile at the end of this workbook.

16. What Is BNB Chain?

TL;DR

TL;DR: Prison Professors partners with Binance to provide educational resources on cryptocurrency, DeFi, Web3, and AI to justice-impacted individuals, aiding their reentry success.

Key Takeaways

• BNB Chain is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem focused on providing a robust infrastructure for the Web3 economy.
• BNB Chain offers a diverse range of services, promoting decentralized data management, layer-2 scaling, and innovative solutions for the world of decentralized finance (DeFi).
• This article explores BNB Chain’s transformative journey, from its origins in 2017 to the present, showcasing its ability to adapt and innovate.

Introduction

BNB Chain is a decentralized blockchain ecosystem focused on Web3 economy, infrastructure, and services. It offers a variety of advanced tools and features for users to explore the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and for developers to build large-scale decentralized applications (DApps).

A Brief History of BNB Chain

BNB Chain (formerly Binance Chain) was created in 2019. At that point, the BNB utility token (created in 2017) migrated from the Ethereum network to become the native token of the BNB Chain. That early version of the BNB Chain is what we now call the BNB Beacon Chain.

In 2020, the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) – formerly Binance Smart Chain – was created as a new blockchain to run in parallel to the BNB Beacon Chain. BSC brought new features and more flexibility through the use of EVM-compatible smart contracts, leading to an explosive growth of DApps and services.

BNB Beacon Chain vs. BNB Smart Chain

In 2022, the BNB Beacon Chain and the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) were put together under the BNB Chain ecosystem. Still, the two chains continued to operate separately, serving different purposes.

• BNB Beacon Chain: Governance layer, with staking and voting. It uses the BEP-2 token standard.
• BNB Smart Chain (BSC): EVM-compatible layer with DApps, DeFi services, consensus layers, multi-chain support, and other Web3 applications. BSC uses BEP-20 as its main token standard.

Since then, the BNB Chain ecosystem has expanded to include more products, such as BNB Greenfield and opBNB layer-2 solution – more on these later.

Binance Does Not Own or Control BNB Chain

Binance does not possess control over BNB Chain, a fact that may be confusing to some due to the chain’s emergence after Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. Some mistakenly perceive BNB Chain as another Binance product, but the distinction lies in BNB Chain’s decentralized nature.

Binance’s centralized structure is focused on serving the Web3 world. While Binance introduced the original idea and remains a supporter, its vision for BNB Chain was for the network to be decentralized and independent. BNB Chain operates with a community-driven approach, allowing anyone to become a network validator through BNB stakes.

The BNB Chain Fusion

In December 2023, the BNB Chain team announced its plan to discontinue the BNB Beacon Chain, transferring its functionalities to the BNB Smart Chain network.

“[…] there’s a strategic shift to migrate the Beacon Chain’s functionalities to BSC and retire the Beacon Chain. This move aims to streamline the network, improve efficiency, reduce security risks, and align BNB Chain’s architecture with the current technological demands and future growth.” – BNB Chain Blog.

The migration is expected to happen through multiple stages, starting in April 2024 and concluding in June of the same year. For more information, please refer to the BNB Chain Fusion roadmap.

By now, we hope you have a good understanding of how BNB Chain was created and where it’s headed. Next, we will explore how the BNB Chain works and some of its key products and features. Please note that the information provided is subject to change – especially after the upcoming BNB Chain Fusion.

BNB Chain Scaling Solution and Decentralized Storage

Since its inception, BNB Chain has expanded into a multi-chain framework that now includes a variety of services, such as opBNB (a layer-2 scaling solution) and BNB Greenfield (a decentralized storage chain).

opBNB

opBNB is a layer-2 scaling solution that leverages the Optimism OP Stack to enhance the BNB Smart Chain’s performance. It provides high throughput, low transaction fees, and efficient transaction processing, making it suitable for large-scale Web3 applications.

• Scalability: opBNB acts as a layer-2 scaling solution, offloading transaction processing and resource usage from the BNB Smart Chain. It provides scalability beyond layer-1 constraints, supporting over 4,000 transactions per second (TPS).
• Gas efficiency: With average gas fees as low as $0.001, opBNB enhances the user experience by delivering high throughput and cost-effective transactions.

BNB Greenfield

The BNB Greenfield ecosystem consists of BNB Greenfield (a storage-oriented blockchain) and a decentralized network of Storage Providers (SPs).

The BNB Greenfield is a blockchain network layer built with the Cosmos/Tendermint infrastructure. Utilizing the Tendermint consensus mechanism, the Greenfield Blockchain ensures network security with a Proof of Stake approach. Validators play a crucial role in achieving consensus and participating in network governance.

SPs are infrastructures provided by organizations or individuals responsible for responding to user requests to upload and download data. SPs act as gatekeepers for user rights and authentications.

Users submit their data storage requests on Greenfield and Storage Providers (SPs) are responsible for maintaining the data off-chain. To ensure the integrity of their stored data, users can perform a Proof-of-Challenge verification on BNB Greenfield. 

Developers can build DApps on the BNB Greenfield platform, connecting with BNB Chain and facilitating a foundation for a new data economy in the Web3 era.

Closing Thoughts

The BNB Chain has undergone a remarkable evolution since its inception in 2017, transforming from the early BNB Chain to a huge DeFi ecosystem that now includes thousands of services, products, DApps, and decentralized organizations. The BNB Chain stands as a powerful force in the Web3 world, offering users, developers, and enterprises a robust platform for innovation and growth.

Further Reading

• What Is BNB Greenfield?
• Connecting MetaMask to BNB Smart Chain
• Tendermint Explained
• 5 Tips to Secure Your Cryptocurrency Holdings

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Critical Thinking Questions

1. How does the decentralization of the BNB Chain enhance security and transparency compared to traditional centralized financial systems?
2. In what ways can the BNB Chain ecosystem contribute to the growth and development of the Web3 economy, particularly through its support for DApps and DeFi services?
3. Considering the evolution of BNB Chain from its origins to its current state, what are the key technological innovations that have driven its development and expansion?
4. How might the integration of layer-2 scaling solutions like opBNB impact the scalability and efficiency of blockchain networks, and what potential challenges could arise from this integration?
7. What are the implications of migrating the functionalities of the BNB Beacon Chain to the BNB Smart Chain for the overall efficiency and security of the BNB Chain ecosystem?

Advocacy Initiative:

We encourage participants to begin memorializing the ways they are using time in prison to prepare for success upon release. I encourage participants to create a personal profile by:

1. Writing a simple biography
2. Writing a daily journal to show all that you’re learning
3. Writing book reports that memorialize the books you read
4. Writing a release plan to show the ways you’re preparing for success upon release

These strategies helped me immensely once I got out. By using my time wisely inside, I was able to raise capital, build businesses, and succeed in ways that few people would think are possible for someone who served multiple decades in prison. Anyone can do the same—if they prepare first.

If you’d like to follow in the same footsteps, I encourage you to begin building your personal profile. Get started by sending an email message to our team at:

Prison Professors Talent
[email protected]
32565 Golden Lantern, B-1026
Dana Point, CA 92629

Our interns will accept your email invite. You may then send the interns a message such as:

Dear Interns,  

My name is xxx, and I am in prison. I would like to begin showing the strategies I am using to prepare for success upon release. Please send me a Release Plan Workbook, and any other books that will help me prepare for the job market. After receiving those workbooks, I will begin building my profile to show others how I am using my time inside to prepare for success outside.  

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

Glossary

• Blockchain (noun): A decentralized digital ledger that records transactions across many computers to ensure security and transparency.
• BNB Beacon Chain (noun): The original version of BNB Chain focusing on governance, staking, and voting, using the BEP-2 token standard.
• BNB Chain (noun): A decentralized blockchain ecosystem offering services and infrastructure for the Web3 economy, originally derived from Binance Chain.
• BNB Greenfield (noun): A storage-oriented blockchain within the BNB Chain ecosystem, utilizing the Cosmos/Tendermint infrastructure for decentralized data storage.
• BNB Smart Chain (BSC) (noun): An EVM-compatible blockchain layer within the BNB Chain ecosystem, supporting DApps, DeFi services, and multi-chain applications.
• Cryptocurrency (noun): A digital or virtual currency using cryptography for security, operating independently of a central authority.
• DApps (noun): Decentralized applications that run on a blockchain network, specifically designed to avoid any single point of failure.
• Decentralized Finance (DeFi) (noun): A financial system that operates on blockchain technology, providing financial services without traditional intermediaries like banks.
• EVM-compatible (adjective): Describing blockchain networks or smart contracts that are compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, allowing interoperability with Ethereum-based applications.
• Infrastructure (noun): The underlying framework or foundation of a system or organization, in this context, the technological foundation supporting blockchain networks.
• Layer-2 Scaling (noun): Techniques used to increase the scalability of a blockchain by handling transactions off the main blockchain layer (layer-1).
• opBNB (noun): A layer-2 scaling solution for BNB Smart Chain, leveraging the Optimism OP Stack for high throughput and low transaction fees.
• Proof of Stake (noun): A consensus mechanism in blockchain networks where validators are chosen based on the number of tokens they hold and are willing to “stake” as collateral.
• Scalability (noun): The capability of a blockchain network to handle an increasing amount of transactions or nodes without compromising performance.
• Smart Contracts (noun): Self-executing contracts with the terms directly written into code, running on blockchain networks.
• Storage Providers (SPs) (noun): Organizations or individuals responsible for maintaining and providing access to data in a decentralized storage network like BNB Greenfield.
• Tendermint (noun): A Byzantine Fault Tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithm used by blockchain networks to achieve consensus while ensuring security and performance.
• Token Standard (noun): A set of rules governing the issuance and management of tokens on a blockchain network, such as BEP-2 or BEP-20 for BNB Chain.
• Validators (noun): Participants in a blockchain network responsible for verifying transactions and maintaining the blockchain’s integrity.
• Web3 (noun): The third generation of internet services for websites and applications that focuses on using decentralized protocols and blockchain technology.