Quick Takeaways
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Enhanced Transaction Speed: BNB Chain’s opBNB has halved block times from 500ms to 250ms with the Fourier hard fork, significantly improving transaction speed for decentralized applications.
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User Experience Focus: By prioritizing latency-sensitive DeFi applications, the upgrade aims to enhance overall user experience on the BNB Chain’s Layer 2 network.
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Market Position: BNB Chain leads in monthly active addresses with 56 million users, maintaining a competitive edge in the blockchain ecosystem despite market volatility.
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Industry Competitiveness: The upgrade aligns with broader industry trends as other major networks, like Ethereum, implement improvements to enhance scalability and transaction efficiency.
BNB Chain Activates opBNB Fourier Hard Fork, Cutting Block Times in Half
BNB Chain’s Layer 2 network, opBNB, implemented its Fourier mainnet hard fork on January 7, 2025. This upgrade halved block times from 500 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds. Thus, transaction speeds improved significantly.
According to a recent announcement from BNB Chain, the upgrade went live at 03:00 UTC. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed that the update proceeded smoothly.
The reduced block time enhances user experience, especially for latency-sensitive decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. Faster transaction confirmations will benefit both developers and users on the opBNB platform. Built using Optimism’s OP Stack, opBNB provides high throughput while maintaining low fees.
Prior improvements include the Fjord hard fork in September 2024 and the Wright upgrade in August 2024. These earlier changes adjusted fee calculations and introduced gasless transaction support, respectively.
This recent enhancement comes as BNB Chain leads other Layer 1 networks with approximately 56 million active monthly users, according to Token Terminal data. This positions BNB Chain ahead of competitors like NEAR Protocol and Solana.
Market reaction to the update has been measured. BNB traded around $917, reflecting a 1% increase in the past day. Over the week, its value rose nearly 6%, while the two-week gain reached about 10%. Despite being overtaken by Ripple’s XRP in market cap, BNB’s price performance remains robust, up over 25% in the past year.
Importantly, the Fourier upgrade aligns with ongoing trends in the blockchain industry. Other networks, such as Ethereum, are also enhancing performance. Ethereum’s Fusaka hard fork in December 2025 improved data availability and reduced Layer 2 costs.
BNB Chain’s commitment to execution speed at both Layer 1 and Layer 2 showcases its strategy to remain competitive. As user demands evolve, these upgrades aid in providing solutions that address real-world challenges.
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