The BNB Chain has successfully launched the Maxwell Hard Fork on its testnet, marking a significant upgrade to its blockchain infrastructure. This hard fork dramatically reduces block times to just 0.75 seconds and block finality to approximately 1.9 seconds, nearly halving the previous 1.5 second block time. Among the key changes are a doubling of epoch lengths from 500 to 1,000 blocks, a reduction of block gas caps from 70 million to 35 million, and enhanced validator communication and synchronization.
These improvements result in a 37% increase in transaction throughput, positioning BNB Chain to rival competing blockchains such as Ethereum and Solana in speed and efficiency. The network is also designed to sustain higher transaction volumes on decentralized exchanges, currently leading with daily trading volumes exceeding $13 billion. Faster consensus and block propagation times, now just 400 milliseconds between validators, improve stability and responsiveness, allowing real-time applications including high-frequency trading, gaming, and prediction markets to run directly on Layer-1.
Named after physicist James Clerk Maxwell, the upgrade aims to harmonize the competing blockchain priorities of speed and network stability. The mainnet launch of the Maxwell Hard Fork is scheduled for June 30, 2025. Industry observers and influential DeFi voices view this upgrade as bullish for the BNB Chain ecosystem and its native token BNB, reflecting optimism that it will enhance competitiveness and usability.