Binance Smart Chain is now BNB Chain- The Namesake
I had a twitter notification and it was about a live event that @czbinance was attending online. I follow CZ on Twitter and always curious on what he has to say. I clicked the link and it was about a live event where they were rebranding the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). The Chain will now be called BNB Chain. No, it is not the BNB token chain which I first thought it was. It is called Build N'Build Chain which showcases the project's motto of keep building the products users would need going forward in the Metaverse.
The Perception
The Binance Smart Chain came into existence 18 months ago when the DeFi space started booming. The summer 2021 was when the new wave of investments almost crash the ETH Defi space. Remember the Uniswap airdrop and the Sushiswap debacle? Almost everyone was joining the bandwagon. I remember the Leo-ETH pool I joined on Uniswap and the gas fees I paid.
Users were put off by the high gas fees on Ethereum main-net. The second layer solutions like Polygon were not as mainstream as they are now. Binance saw the opportunity and came out with a EVM compatible chain and relatively cheaper gas fees. I remember CZ dropping tweets everyday convincing people to use BSC for cheaper gas fees.
The gamble worked. BSC saw a huge growth in value and the number of users interacting in the network. There were so many defi projects in the chain that at one point it was rivaling/surpassed the number of active users, total value locked and transaction in Ethereum network.
Despite the success, there was one inherent problem with the chain. Nobody perceived the chain to be truly decentralized. It was always considered a brain child of Binance controlled by CZ. People joined the fun but deep back in their head, there was skepticism about the true decentralization of the project.
The Solution
Many more months passed by and there are now multiple new chains vying for that coveted second position behind Ethereum. Avalanche, Terra Luna and many other layer 1 protocols are providing services and collecting that TVL.
It was important for Binance to be different from others in this multi-chain universe. This rebranding is the solution that they were looking for to come out clean. I am not sure how true is the fact that Binance does not have any say over BNB Chain. I think they do. However, it is important from their perspective to ensure the developers and users believe the sanctity of the network going forward.
The rebranded chain will not have Binance in their name. It is not enough for users to not think that the chain is owned and supported by Binance. May be people will forget about the genesis in a couple of years or Binance will completely let go of the network in years to come.
What's new?
The BNB chain will be all about building and supporting a multi-chain universe. That means they will focus on the interoperability, bridging and cross chain interactions. The live event had panelists discussed the idea of collateralizing asset in one chain and getting loans in the other ecosystem. That would be really cool. They also talked about gamers to be able to trade NFTs across the platform using the same game ecosystem. Those all are lofty promises but shows how they are structuring themselves the Metaverse.
The project is focusing on the Metaverse, Defi, Gaming and NFTs. To be honest, the whole crypto market is gearing for these solutions.
Take a look at this live announcement video if you want to go through the discussion.
Live here: https://t.co/aIpkPewOQV
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) February 15, 2022
In my view, Binance has its own reputation and value.
What they did last year with Defi was the demonstration that users will flock to a different chain if it's cheaper and relatively faster. They are a major player in the sector and continue to have influence in many other projects like Solana. The rebranding will not be enough to remove the perception users already had around Binance having heavy hands over the validators and the core chain functions.I think the notion will remain attached with the chain. However, the value comes from the funding and clout Binance has while building applications on this chain. I am okay with that.
Posted Using LeoFinance Beta
https://twitter.com/raamesa/status/1493692395258621953
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I heard about the rebrand briefly. I think it’s a good step in the right direction. We need a lot of decentralization going forward and it’s going to be important to expand that instead of reduce it. Will be interesting to see how it goes for the BNB chain in a few months time.
I doubt people will ever see the Chain as a decentralized one. That's the benefit and risk of owning the largest exchange in the world. At least, they are trying to get away from that perception.