BNB Chain Aims 10x Performance Boost by 2026

The BNB Chain team has revealed a comprehensive roadmap detailing the network's development trajectory through 2026. The primary objective is to construct a next-generation blockchain that can rival centralized exchanges (CEX) and traditional finance (TradFi) platforms, such as Nasdaq.

In the first half of 2025, the BNB Chain team executed two significant hard forks: Lorentz and Maxwell. These upgrades led to substantial enhancements in the network’s core performance metrics. Block time was reduced from 3 seconds to 0.75 seconds, and transaction finality was accelerated from 7.5 seconds to 1.875 seconds. Additionally, the average transaction fee dropped to $0.01, and malicious MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) attacks fell by 95%. The network also managed a peak load of 17.6 million transactions in a single day, with an average daily trading volume of $9.3 billion.

For the second half of 2025, the focus will shift towards scaling. The developers aim to enable the processing of up to 5,000 decentralized exchange (DEX) swaps per second. To achieve this, the BNB Chain team plans to increase the block gas limit tenfold, up to 1 billion gas units (1G). They also intend to transition to a new client written in Rust to enhance performance, introduce “superinstructions” to optimize complex operations, and accelerate access to the State Database (StateDB). These enhancements are designed to significantly improve both capacity and execution efficiency.

Looking ahead to 2026 and beyond, the developers plan to rebuild the network from the ground up, citing limitations in the current architecture. Key features of the next-generation BNB Chain will include transaction confirmations under 150 milliseconds, throughput of over 20,000 transactions per second (TPS), even for complex DeFi operations, integrated privacy features for transfers and smart contracts, and a simplified Web2-style user experience, including support for multi-signature wallets. The team stated in the roadmap announcement that “The next phase of BNB Chain will make on-chain access as intuitive as logging into your favorite app—while giving you full control over your assets.”

BNB Chain currently ranks fourth among blockchain networks in terms of total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi ecosystem, reinforcing its strong position in the industry as it moves toward major scalability improvements. The roadmap outlines a clear vision for the future, aiming to enhance performance tenfold by 2026, positioning BNB Chain as a formidable competitor in the blockchain landscape. The focus on scalability, efficiency, and user experience indicates a strategic shift towards becoming a more robust and user-friendly platform, capable of handling complex DeFi operations with ease. This ambitious plan not only addresses current limitations but also sets the stage for future innovations, ensuring that BNB Chain remains at the forefront of blockchain technology.