Binance Chain Documentation
Welcome to the Binance Chain documentation site!
Please note that both the Binance Chain software and this documentation site will improve over time and is still a work-in-progress.
Be sure to engage with our community channels to stay updated.
Have fun trading and see you on chain!
What are Binance Chain and Binance DEX?
Binance Chain is a blockchain software system developed by Binance and its community. Binance DEX refers to the decentralized exchange features developed on top of Binance Chain.
Please read the FAQ to get started.
What is Binance Smart Chain?
Binance Smart Chain is an innovative solution to bring programmability and interoperability to Binance Chain. Binance Smart Chain relies on a system of 21 validators with Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus that can support short block time and lower fees. The most bonded validator candidates of staking will become validators and produce blocks. The double-sign detection and other slashing logic guarantee security, stability, and chain finality.
Please read the FAQ to get started.
What can I do with Binance Chain?
The purpose of the new blockchain and DEX is to create an alternative marketplace for issuing and exchanging digital assets in a decentralized manner.
You can:
- Send and receive BNB
- Issue new tokens to digitalize assets, and use Binance Chain as underlying exchange/transfer network for the assets
- Send, receive, burn/mint and freeze/unfreeze tokens
- Sumbit an on-chain governance proposal for Binance Smart Chain
For traders, you can:
- Propose to create trading pairs between two different tokens
- Send orders to buy or sell assets through trading pairs created on the chain withSDK
- Watch the DEX market to confirm price and market activity of certain assets
For developers, you can also:
- Explore the transaction history and blocks on the chain, via Binance Chain Explore, API and node RPC interfaces.
- Run a full node to listen to and broadcast live updates on transactions, blocks, and consensus activities
- Extract other data of Binance Chain via full node or APIs
- Develop tools and application to help users use Binance Chain and Binance DEX
What can I do with Binance Smart Chain?
Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is best described as a blockchain that runs in parallel to the Binance Chain. Unlike Binance Chain, BSC boasts smart contract functionality and compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The design goal here was to leave the high throughput of Binance Chain intact while introducing smart contracts into its ecosystem.
Because BSC is EVM-compatible, it launched with support for the rich universe of Ethereum tools and DApps. In theory, this makes it easy for developers to port their projects over from Ethereum. For users, it means that applications like MetaMask can be easily configured to work with BSC. Seriously – it’s just a matter of tweaking a couple of settings. Check out Use MetaMask for Binance Smart Chain to get started.
You can:
- Send and receive BNB and other BEP2 tokens cross-chain
- Explore the transaction history and blocks on the chain, via bscscan, API and node RPC interfaces.
- Stake you BNB to earn some block rewards
Developers can also:
- Issue new tokens to digitalize assets
- Migrate existing DApps
- Run a full node to listen to and broadcast live updates on transactions, blocks, and consensus activities
- Become a validator of BSC
- Develop wallets and tools to help users use Dapps
Comparision Between BC and BSC
Binance Chain | Binance Smart Chain | |
---|---|---|
Consensus | DPoS | PoSA |
No. of Validators | 11 | up to 21 |
Mean Block Time | <1s | ~5s |
Programmability | BEPs | Support EVM-compatible smart contracts |
Cross Chain | BEP3 introduces Hash Timer Locked Contract functions and further mechanism to handle inter-blockchain tokens peg. | BSC comes with efficient native dual chain communication; Optimized for scaling high-performance dApps that require fast and smooth user experience. |
Get Started
Want to try it Binance Chain? Just give a peek at the first few of pages of the getting started guide.
You could also have a read through the FAQ.
Want to develop on Binance Smart Chain? First, read through the FAQ and learn about tokens here.
Asset Management
BEP2 Asset
Binance Chain is essentially a digital asset creation and exchange platform.
The features listed below are currently supported on Binance Chain:
- The Listing and Delisting of Tokens
- The Issuance, Burning, Minting and Freezing of Tokens
- Transfer of Tokens
BEP20 Asset
A token protocol on BSC which is compatible with BEP2 and ERC20. It extends ERC20 and contains more interfaces, such as getOwner
and decimals
. Read the full proposal here: https://github.com/bnb-chain/BEPs/blob/master/BEP20.md
BNB (and Other Coins) MainNet Switch
Binance Coin (BNB) was an ERC20 token on the Ethereum network.
After the launch of Binance Chain, Binance Coin (BNB) is being converted into native BNB tokens on the main network via the exchange platform at binance.com, a pragmatic and efficient way to perform the initial token swap.
Binance Chain is ready for other projects to migrate their tokens to take advantage of performant transactions with more liquidity options and native marketplace features.
More information about how projects can set themselves up for this (via binance.com or partners) will come soon.
BNB Staking
Please read the guide here
Trading on Binance DEX
Binance DEX is the native marketplace on Binance Chain, allowing you to exchange digital assets issued and listed on it.
The matching happens within the blockchain nodes and all of the transactions are recorded on-chain, therefore forming a complete, auditable ledger of activity.
ATTENTION: The match logic on DEX is quite different from normal centralized exchange.
Please go over the trading and match spec below to get the best interests for your orders.
Technology Details
Continue reading below if you are interested in what is happening under the hood!
- Binance Chain as a Block Chain: about consensus, software stack, network layout and roles.
- Connect to Binance Chain: how to connect to Binance Chain and DEX via different ways.
- Run a Binance Chain full node: how to run a full node and become part of the p2p network of Binance Chain.
- Run a Binance Chain light client: how to run a light client.
- Binance Chain Governance: about proposal, vote, and join as a validator.
Acknowledgement
Thanks to the community, our partners and supporters.