BNB Chain successfully implements Maxwell hardfork

BNB Chain has implemented its latest upgrade, Maxwell Hardfork, effectively reducing block time on the network by 50%. The network finalized the update on Monday, noting that it is a technical leap forward.

According to the announcement, the new upgrade will increase block production speed, enhance network performance, and improve validator coordination. This is possible through the major updates forming part of the hardfork.

It said:

“Maxwell introduces three major upgrades: 🔸 BEP-524: Reduce block time to 0.75s 🔸 BEP-563: Enhanced Validator Network messaging 🔸 BEP-564: Smarter block-fetching logic.”

With block times now dropping to 0.75 seconds, it explained that user experience will be faster with decentralized applications becoming more responsive and real-time apps having less latency. Reducing block times has been central to BNB chain upgrades for years, with the Lorentz hardfork previously cutting down block time from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds.

Meanwhile, the upgrade also improved validator messaging to match the faster block speed. It noted that this was necessary so that validators could quickly reach a consensus. With this update, the risk of missed votes or delayed proposals is now reduced.

It said:

“This BEP supports adding validator’s NodeID on the system contract, so the validators can identify each other in the p2p network and forward messages more efficiently.”

Even better, the improved block fetching due to BEP-564 means that the message structure for sharing block data among nodes is more efficient. This is expected to preserve the BNB Chain’s smooth performance even when the network is under pressure, as it reduces latency and improves syncing.

Interestingly, the upgrade also adjusted other network parameters, including epoch length, which increased from 500 to 1000. TurnLength also doubled to 16 blocks from 8 blocks, while fast finality can now happen in around 1.875 seconds.

With the upgrade set to affect the network speed, major network participants, including developers and validators, are also required to implement changes. App builders must change the assumptions to reflect the 0.75 seconds, while validators and node operators must also prepare their infrastructure for the improved performance.

BNB Chain dominates DEX activity

Meanwhile, the upgrade comes amidst a surge in BNB on-chain activity, which has been most evident in its decentralized exchange (DEX) volume. For weeks, the network has dominated DEX’s market share, dwarfing other networks such as Solana, Ethereum, and even Base.

According to Dune analytics data, only Solana has come close to rivaling BNB Chain’s daily volume in the past week, but BNB Chain still had more daily DEX volume than Solana in six of the past seven days, allowing it to account for between 40% to 50% of daily DEX volume. On June 29, for instance, BNB Chain recorded $12.93 billion compared to Solana’s $9.66 billion.

With BNB Chain DEX performance this month, it is unsurprising that the network has had its highest monthly DEX volume this June, with over $163 billion according to DeFillama. This puts it far ahead of its closest competitor, Solana, which has just $61.822 billion.

Interestingly, the surge in activity on BNB Chain is mostly due to the Binance Alpha program. However, the BNB Chain announcement noted that the recent improvements, particularly the Lorentz hardfork, enabled the network to achieve efficiency and performance, driving adoption and user growth.

BNB is up 6% in the past week

The surge in activity on the BNB Chain, coupled with recent developments on the network, is positively impacting the native token. BNB is now up 6% over the past seven days and has seen slight gains today despite the muted performance of other major cap cryptocurrencies.

At $655, the token is down more than 7% year-to-date. However, it is still one of the best-performing major cap altcoins in a market where altcoins have generally struggled, with ETH and SOL down more than 25% each.

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