Binance Coin
BNB, formerly called Binance Coin, is the native digital asset of BNB Chain. It is used to pay transaction fees on BNB Smart Chain, participate in staking and governance, and obtain certain benefits in the Binance ecosystem.[1]
History
BNB was introduced by Binance in 2017 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, with an initial supply of 200 million tokens. In 2019, holders were offered a swap from the Ethereum token to the native asset of the newly launched Binance Chain.[2]
Binance Smart Chain launched in September 2020 and used BNB for transaction fees and staking. In 2022, the network was renamed BNB Smart Chain as part of the broader BNB Chain ecosystem.[3] The earlier BNB Beacon Chain was retired in December 2024 after its functions and assets were migrated to BNB Smart Chain.[4]
Uses
On BNB Smart Chain, BNB is used as gas for transactions and smart-contract execution. Holders can delegate BNB to validators for staking and can participate in on-chain governance. Binance also offers some exchange-related benefits tied to BNB, including trading-fee discounts.[5][6]
Supply reduction
BNB's supply is reduced through two mechanisms: periodic Auto-Burn events and a real-time mechanism that burns a portion of BNB used for gas fees. The stated Auto-Burn objective is to reduce total supply to 100 million BNB. The amount removed in an Auto-Burn is calculated using BNB's price and the number of blocks produced during the quarter.[7] Supply reduction does not by itself establish or predict the token's future price.
Relationship to BNB Chain
BNB Chain is the network ecosystem; BNB is its native asset. A network upgrade such as the 2026 Pasteur hard fork changes BNB Smart Chain rather than the Binance exchange or the token's issuance history. See BNB Chain's Pasteur hard fork for the upgrade details.
See also
References
- ↑ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, registration statement describing BNB and BNB Chain, 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, BNB registration statement, 2026.
- ↑ BNB Chain, “BSC Is Now BNB Chain”, 15 February 2022.
- ↑ BNB Chain documentation, “BNB Chain Fusion overview”, 17 December 2024.
- ↑ BNB Chain documentation, “BSC Staking Overview”.
- ↑ U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, registration statement describing BNB uses, 2026.
- ↑ BNB Chain, “35th BNB Burn”, 2026.