BNB Chain's Good Vibes Only Hackathon Draws 200+ Developers

BNB Chain has extended its zero-fee promotion for stablecoin transactions across its network. **Key Details:** - Users can transfer, withdraw, and bridge USDC, U, and USD1 without paying transaction fees - Available on BSC and opBNB networks (availability depends on partner support) - This extends a previous promotion that included USDT, USDC, and FDUSD The initiative aims to reduce friction for stablecoin users on BNB Chain's infrastructure. Fee waivers apply to specific partner platforms participating in the program. Full program details and participating partners: [BNB Chain Blog](https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/the-carnival-continues-0-fee-transactions-for-usdc-usd1-u-extended)

BNB Chain is hosting its Local Hack event in Bengaluru, India, offering builders an opportunity to compete for prizes and funding. **Key Details:** - **Prize Pool**: $160,000 in total prizes - **Registration Deadline**: February 15 - **Event Schedule**: Orientation and team formation on Feb 15, followed by two days of in-person hacking on Feb 27-28 - **Additional Benefits**: Direct access to the $1B Builder Fund backed by YZI Labs, plus mentorship and incubation opportunities The hackathon targets developers looking to build on BNB Chain's infrastructure. Interested participants can [register here](https://luma.com/txyqwnzd) before the deadline.

BNB Chain demonstrated solid performance throughout 2025, according to Messari's Q4 report. The blockchain showed measurable growth across several key areas: - **Real usage expansion** in DeFi, real-world assets (RWAs), and payment applications - **Institutional capital** flowing into the ecosystem - **Infrastructure scaling** to support sustained onchain activity The data from Messari indicates BNB Chain closed the year with strong fundamentals and clear traction in core use cases. The network is positioning itself for continued growth as it enters 2026, with infrastructure improvements designed to handle long-term activity. The report highlights that BNB Chain's growth is backed by concrete metrics rather than speculation, showing adoption across multiple sectors of the blockchain economy.

BNB Chain completed four major hardforks in 2025—Pascal, Lorentz, Maxwell, and Fermi—delivering significant performance improvements. **Key improvements:** - Block time reduced from 3s to 0.45s - Finality decreased from 7.5s to 1.1s - Bandwidth more than doubled to 133M gas/sec - Gas prices dropped from 1 gwei to 0.05 gwei These upgrades represent a 570% speed increase and 98% fee reduction compared to 2023 levels. The changes aim to position BNB Chain for increased scalability and adoption. The technical roadmap for 2026 outlines how these improvements will continue. [Read the full roadmap](https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/tech-roadmap-2026)