BNB Chain has revealed plans for the gradual elimination of the BNB Beacon Chain from its ecosystem, ushering in the era of BEP333: BNB Chain Fusion. This initiative, set to take effect in April 2024, aims to enhance the development effectiveness of the BNB Smart Chain (BSC), fortify security measures, and optimize asset utilization efficiency.
The BNB Beacon Chain is a blockchain component of the BNB Chain, initially developed by Binance and the community. It serves as the staking and governance layer of the BNB ecosystem, responsible for governance, managing staking, and voting on the BNB Chain.
The BNB Beacon Chain upholds community-first principles, operates as an open-source ecosystem, and fosters a permissionless and decentralized environment. It does not support smart contracts, as this was an intentional design decision to improve the performance of the system and eliminate the need for complex processing.
Digital asset issuers and holders operating on the BNB Beacon Chain are urged to take note of this transformative development. The Beacon Chain Fusion, while scheduled for April, necessitates careful planning and execution of asset transitions to ensure the security of funds.
BNB Chain noted that holders should make sure they transfer their BEP2/BEP8 tokens, like Binance Coin (BNB) to the BSC network. This proactive step is critical to maintaining a seamless, loss-free move and preserving a 1:1 asset ratio. It added that failure to establish cross-chain functionality for tokens before the BNB Beacon Chain deactivation will result in irreversible loss.
BNB Chain also called on Token Issuers to validate asset support for cross-chain transfers as well as notify asset holders to migrate promptly. After the Beacon Chain Fusion, holders of assets with cross-chain features who did not transfer assets to the BSC network pre-Fusion can opt for a backup solution: BEP299-Token Migration post-Beacon Chain Fusion.