BNB Smart Chain

BNB Chain has shared an update on its infrastructure development throughout 2026. The announcement references ongoing work across its Layer-1 and Layer-2 solutions. **Key Context:** - Follows the roadmap outlined in their [August 2025 blog post](https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/the-future-of-bnb-chain-an-outlook-for-the-rest-of-2025-2026-for-bnb-chain) - Focuses on infrastructure upgrades and scaling solutions - Part of their multi-year development plan The update appears in a thread format on their social channels, detailing specific technical progress made during the year.

BNB Chain has completed its 34th quarterly token burn, removing 1.37 million BNB tokens from circulation on BNB Smart Chain. **Key Details:** - 1.37M BNB tokens permanently burned - Burn executed directly on BSC - Part of quarterly deflationary mechanism This burn is smaller than the previous 30th quarterly burn, which removed 1.63M BNB tokens. The quarterly burns are designed to reduce total supply over time. [View full burn details](https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/34th-bnb-burn)

The BNB Chain Foundation has executed additional asset purchases under its $100M Liquidity Incentive Program, demonstrating ongoing commitment to ecosystem expansion. **Recent Purchases:** - $100,000 in tokens (420,743.73 @ $0.2376) - $100,000 in tokens (6,597,627.99 @ $0.0152) The Foundation is actively seeking community input on future asset acquisitions as part of the program's continued rollout. This marks the latest phase of strategic investments aimed at strengthening liquidity across the BNB Chain ecosystem. Transaction details and the Foundation's wallet address are publicly available on BSCScan for transparency. [Read full details](https://www.bnbchain.org/en/blog/100m-bnb-chain-incentive-program-upgrade)

BNB Chain is collaborating with Brevis to enhance privacy infrastructure through the **Intelligent Privacy Pool**, launching in Q1 2026. The implementation, supported by Bow, will enable: - Credential verification without exposing wallet addresses - Private yet compliant transactions - Verifiable prediction markets - Privacy-preserving data sharing for AI training This partnership addresses the growing need for privacy solutions in blockchain, aligning with industry leaders' emphasis on privacy as essential infrastructure rather than an optional feature.

Optimized/MIR has launched with significant performance improvements for blockchain operations. The update maintains full compatibility with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) semantics, allowing existing applications to benefit from enhanced speed without requiring code changes. **Key features:** - Major performance gains across network operations - Complete EVM semantic compatibility preserved - Seamless integration for existing dApps This follows previous infrastructure improvements in the ecosystem, including Seiscan's Etherscan-style interface adaptation.

BNB Chain has extended its **0 Fee Carnival** promotion for stablecoin transfers until **January 31, 2026**. **Key Details:** - Free transfers for USDC, USD1, and U stablecoins - Works across major centralized exchanges, wallets, and bridges - Originally launched in 2025, now extended into 2026 The initiative allows users to move stablecoins without paying transaction fees across the BNB Chain ecosystem. This extension provides an additional month of fee-free transfers beyond the original December 2025 end date. [Learn more about the program](https://bnbchain.org/en/blog/move-your-stablecoins-for-free-0-fee-carnival-for-usdc-usd1-transfers-extended)

BlackRock's tokenized money market fund, BUIDL, has reached a significant milestone with dividend payouts exceeding $1 million on BNB Chain. **Key developments:** - Dividend distributions have now surpassed the $1M mark - This follows the fund's growth to over $500M on BNB Chain in December 2024 - Demonstrates continued institutional adoption of tokenized real-world assets The BUIDL fund represents one of the largest tokenized treasury products in the crypto space, allowing investors to earn yields from U.S. Treasury bills through blockchain infrastructure. The milestone reflects growing confidence in blockchain-based financial products from traditional finance institutions.

BNB Smart Chain is preparing for the **Fermi Hard Fork**, a significant network upgrade scheduled for 2026. The hard fork previously activated on the BSC testnet in November 2025, allowing developers to test the changes before the mainnet deployment. **Key Points:** - Major protocol upgrade for BNB Smart Chain - Successfully tested on testnet in late 2025 - Mainnet activation planned for early 2026 This upgrade represents continued development of the BNB ecosystem's Layer-1 infrastructure.

In a recent Binance Square AMA, CZ offered practical guidance for those entering the crypto space. **Key Advice:** - Newcomers should avoid futures and perpetual contracts - Price movements are unpredictable over 3-4 month periods - Start with small positions when experimenting - Only increase exposure after developing real proficiency The session covered broader topics including the Super App concept, market perspectives, product strategy, creator economy developments, and lessons in compliance and customer service. [Full AMA replay available here](https://www.binance.com/en-AE/square/audio/replay?id=35071605369842)

In a recent Binance Square AMA, CZ discussed the convergence of social and financial platforms into "Super Apps." **Key Points:** - Social platforms struggle with content discovery and user matching - Platforms like Binance Square have an edge through KYC'd users who can seamlessly connect social feeds to financial actions - This integration is difficult for pure social platforms to replicate globally - The industry is moving toward combining social features, chat, trading, and payments - Both social-first and finance-first companies are pursuing this Super App model CZ also shared insights on market views, product strategy, the creator economy, and lessons in compliance and customer service during the session.