BNB Chain Successfully Activates Fermi Hard Fork for Sub-Second Blocks

• BNB Chain has successfully activated its Fermi hard fork on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) mainnet, which reduces block times from 0.75 seconds to about 0.45 seconds.
• Last year, BSC processed 4.15 billion transactions.
• Main technical improvements include shorter block production time, more reliable confirmations, and better performance for real-time apps.

BNB Chain has successfully activated its Fermi hard fork on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) mainnet, a big upgrade that reduces block times from 0.75 seconds to about 0.45 seconds and brings some of the network’s fastest speeds yet.

Nina Rong, Executive Director of Growth at BNB Chain, shared some stats on X, saying that last year BSC processed 4.15 billion transactions. If the same number of transactions happens this year, with the reduced block times, Fermi would save over 1.24 billion seconds in total block time, roughly 39.5 years of block production time.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the co-founder of Binance, also commented on this announcement, with a simple “Continue to Build” message.

What the Fermi Hard Fork Actually Changes

According to the official BNB Chain blog post, Fermi is part of the network’s 2026 technology roadmap and builds on earlier performance upgrades (such as Pascal and Maxwell).

The main technical improvements include shorter block production time, while faster blocks mean quicker transaction confirmations for users and decentralized applications.

Another improvement is more reliable confirmations. Enhanced rules for block validation make sure that even with faster blocks, the network remains stable and transactions are securely finalized.

Additionally, the upgrade is especially helpful for applications that need instant responses, like high-speed DeFi trading, live gaming on the blockchain, and interactive crypto wallets.

These changes are designed to make the network faster and smoother for everyone while keeping it dependable, paving the way for even greater activity in 2026.

Related: Binance Founder CZ Drops Bombshell: Are Banks Buying the BTC Dip as Retail Runs Scared?

BNB Chain as One of the Quickest Ethereum-Compatible Networks

Last year, BNB Chain was heavily focused on improving its speed and efficiency to rival fast networks like Solana, while still working seamlessly with Ethereum-based applications. Now, the Fermi upgrade achieves its goal of creating extremely fast blocks, making BNB Chain one of the quickest Ethereum-compatible networks, with new blocks generated in less than half a second.

This improvement comes at a time when BNB Chain is handling huge volumes of transactions, powered by popular DeFi apps, memecoins, heavy trading, and widespread wallet use.

For developers and users, the faster block times mean less waiting, quicker transaction confirmations, and smoother operation for decentralized apps. These benefits are becoming more important as blockchain applications evolve to be more interactive and time-sensitive.

Related: CZ Calls for Coinbase Parity on BNB Chain Listings as Views Split