BNB (Binance Coin) is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance ecosystem, originally used for discounted trading fees but evolving to power the entire BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain), handling gas fees, enabling DeFi applications like PancakeSwap, and offering real-world utility for payments, bookings, and access to exclusive features like Binance Launchpad, with its supply reduced over time through quarterly burns.
What is BNB?
BNB started in 2017 as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, intended for fee reductions on the Binance exchange. It migrated to its own blockchain and now fuels the entire BNB Chain, a dual-chain architecture (Beacon Chain & Smart Chain) that hosts numerous decentralized applications (dApps).
Key Uses and Benefits:
Trading Fee Discounts: Get reduced fees when paying for trades on Binance with BNB.
Gas Fees: Pay for transactions, smart contract interactions, and other activities on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC).
DeFi & dApps: Power decentralized exchanges (like PancakeSwap) and other dApps within the BNB Chain ecosystem.
Binance Launchpad: Participate in new token sales by holding BNB.
Payments & Services: Used for booking travel, entertainment, and payments with third-party merchants.
Staking & Rewards: Earn rewards through programs like Simple Earn and participate in governance.
BNB Chain & Ecosystem:
BNB Smart Chain (BSC): Handles smart contracts and dApps, making it a popular Ethereum alternative due to lower fees.
BNB Beacon Chain: Manages consensus and governance for the network.
Layer-2 Solutions: Includes technologies like opBNB and zkBNB for scalability.
Economic Model (Burning):
Supply Reduction: Binance periodically burns BNB (uses profits to repurchase and destroy tokens), reducing the total supply and increasing scarcity over time.
Why it Matters:
BNB is a vital asset that underpins one of the world's largest crypto ecosystems, offering utility and value through its integration across centralized exchange features and a booming decentralized blockchain network.
What is BNB and why it matters - CoinShares
07/01/2026 — Binance helped bootstrap the ecosystem by adapting major Ethereum DeFi primitives, with PancakeSwap emerging as a BNB Chain-native alternative to Uniswap. These
