opBNB Mainnet Hardfork Slashes Block Time to 250ms, Doubling Speed Across BNB Chain

Key Takeaways:

• opBNB has successfully executed its Fourier mainnet hardfork, cutting block time from 500ms to 250ms.
• Binance founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed the upgrade, highlighting a major performance leap for BNB Chain’s Layer-2 stack.
• Faster block intervals improve transaction confirmation, DeFi execution, and high-frequency onchain applications.

The opBNB network has completed a major mainnet hardfork, marking one of its most significant performance upgrades to date. The change, confirmed by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, immediately halves block time, pushing opBNB deeper into the race for ultra-fast Layer-2 execution.

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opBNB Fourier Hardfork Goes Live on Mainnet

The Fourier hardfork for opBNB was activated on January 7, 2026, at 03:00 UTC, following a successful testnet rollout in November. The upgrade introduces a critical change under PR #305, reducing the block interval from 500 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds.

Changpeng Zhao publicly confirmed the execution shortly after activation, stating that the hardfork was completed successfully and encouraging developers to continue building on the network. The confirmation was an indication that the upgrade was underway but also completed without interference.

Before the hardfork, BNB Chain developers had announced to node operators that they needed to upgrade their infrastructure before the hardfork. The op-node v0.5.5 and op-geth v0.5.9 versions were supported and were necessary to ensure that the network got in sync and stable after the new block interval became operational. This improvement is directly compatible with the mainnet of opBNB, and therefore users and apps receive faster confirmations without any action required on behalf of the user.

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What the 250ms Block Time Upgrade Changes

Cosmetic improvements are not structural improvements. It changes the speed of running transactions within the network and the responsiveness of applications in the field.

Key Performance Improvements

• Faster confirmations: Confirmation time is reduced and enhances user experience in wallets and dApps.
• Smoother DeFi execution: Decrease in latency is beneficial to swaps, liquidation, arbitrage, and onchain trading plans.
• Better app responsiveness: Games, payments, real-time apps receive almost-instantaneous feedback.

This benefits the users who have reduced delays and uncertainty when dealing with the network. To develop it, it opens up use cases that require fast state changes and deterministic execution time. This also enhances the competitiveness of opBNB with other high-speed Layer-2 networks, most of which are competing to reach sub-second confirmation times.

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