BNB Chain Issues Urgent Message to Developers Ahead of Crucial Upgrade

Binance Chain (BNB) has issued a critical update to developers on the network. Ahead of the ecosystem’s hard fork, “Fermi,” BNB Smart Chain has asked validators to upgrade ahead of the hard fork to avoid network disruption.

BNB Chain validators get pre-Fermi to-do list

Notably, Binance has asked validators and node operators to upgrade to v1.6.4 before the fork. They urged both validators and node operators to install this new version, as failure to upgrade means the node may fall out of sync.

For clarity, the Fermi hard fork is targeted at reducing average block times from 0.75 seconds to 0.45 seconds. This will boost transaction throughput on the network.

If validators fail to upgrade, they might not be able to continue accessing the network. According to the update, after upgrading, developers need to rebuild their state snapshot. The message is strictly for developers, and normal users need not take action.

The overall objective of the upgrade is to ensure seamless operation of the network and better functionality. The Binance BNB Smart Chain network in August listed two cryptocurrencies, namely Hedera and Sui.

These two crypto assets are in the top 20 list of high-performing assets in the industry. Hence, expanding the network via the upgrade will allow users to make seamless transactions when on BNB.

Rising Network Usage Highlights Need for Upgrade

Interestingly, as of December 2025, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao confirmed that there is increased utility of the network. 

According to Zhao, the network has over 2.4 million daily users, which indicates that the BNB chain is an active Layer-1 in the crypto landscape.

At the time, issues were identified that needed upgrading. The BNB Chain’s transaction throughput might have led to the current update to validators.