Binance Coin (BNB) is the native token of Binance Smart Chain (BEP-20) and Binance Chain (BEP-2). Originally launched in 2017 on the Ethereum blockchain, BNB is now used for all operations in the Binance ecosystem. Binance Coin was launched with an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017, where half of BNB’s strict maximum of 200 million tokens were offered to the public. The rest were distributed between angel investors and founding members.

The coin was created as a utility token for discounted trading fees, but its uses have since expanded to numerous functions, both in and outside of the Binance ecosystem.

What are BNB key features and how does it work?

The Binance ecosystem is powered by BNB, as such, BNB is the native coin to the Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Both chains operate in parallel and due to their similar designs, they can natively communicate with each other. 

Binance Chain is a simple design in terms of its application – the main goal is to facilitate fast trading while being able to handle large amounts of traffic. The most popular DApp on the Binance Chain is Binance DEX. BSC extends this functionality by adding the ability to create smart contracts and more complex DApps. 

Binance Smart Chain was created as a hard fork of the Go Etheruem (Geth) protocol, the two chains, therefore, have many similarities and BSC remains compatible with Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). It was created to provide faster and cheaper transactions. BSC achieved this by using a different consensus mechanism. Ethereum’s Proof of Work (PoW) consensus is similar to Bitcoin’s, whereas BSC uses Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA).

To help maintain the value of BNB, Binance holds periodic burning events. Every quarter, Binance uses 20% of its profits to repurchase and then burn BNB, meaning it is permanently destroyed. Binance will continue these burns until it reaches 50% of the initial supply, bringing the total to 100 million. This process helps BNB to sustain its value by making the coin finite and scarce.

What can Binance Coin be used for?

Created as a utility token for discounted trading fees, Binance Coin now has a broad range of uses. These include:

paying transaction fees on Binance.com, Binance DEX, and Binance Chain;

Where can you buy BNB?

Binance Coin is available to buy directly on the Binance exchange where it offers most options in terms of trading pairs with BNB. The original exchange also offers the best trading rates for BNB.

You can also buy BNB on the CEXs and DEXs listed on the market tab.