• BNB Chain has implemented a major upgrade that reduces transaction fees by 90%.

• This fee reduction may impact BNB Chain’s revenue and BNB’s price, which has already fallen from its recent high.

BNB Chain, the blockchain network renowned for its high performance and low transaction fees, announced on June 20 the successful activation of its Haber hard fork. This significant update, driven by BNB Evolution Proposal (BEP)-336, promises to optimize data storage and processing on the network, leading to a dramatic 90% reduction in blockchain fees.

The core innovation behind BEP-336 is the introduction of blob-carrying transactions, a concept inspired by Ethereum’s EIP-4844. This new approach aims to streamline the transaction verification process by aggregating data into blobs, temporary memory segments that capture large chunks of data. This method significantly enhances efficiency, reducing the need for individual transaction verification within a block.

Impact on Layer-2 Costs and Network Fees

The implementation of BEP-336 is expected to profoundly impact layer-2 solutions on the BNB Smart Chain (BSC). The BNB Chain network asserts that the new proposal will slash layer-2 costs by an impressive 90%. The network expects its optimistic rollup layer-2 solution, opBNB, to reduce fees to around $0.0001, providing a highly cost-effective option for users and developers.

The blob-carrying transactions enabled by BEP-336 allow for more efficient data handling, as transactions are no longer required to be verified individually. Instead, verification occurs within the attached blob, simplifying the process and reducing the network’s computational load. 

The effects of the Haber hard fork and BEP-336 extend beyond transaction fees and processing efficiency. BNB Chain has indicated that these updates will also benefit BNB Greenfield, a decentralized storage solution. With “BlobHub,” a new data archive layer, Greenfield is expected to experience improved data storage and management capabilities. Additionally, this enhancement will benefit decentralized applications (DApps) and layer-2 networks, which rely heavily on efficient and reliable data handling.

BlobHub aims to provide a more streamlined approach to data storage, allowing for faster access and better management of large data sets. This is a crucial development for BNB Chain as it continues to expand its ecosystem and support a growing number of DApps and other blockchain-based projects.

BNB Price Surge and Market Implications

The activation of the Haber hard fork coincides with a notable surge in the price of BNB, the native cryptocurrency of the BNB Chain network. On June 6, BNB tokens reached a new all-time high of $717.48, reflecting increased investor confidence and interest in the network’s recent developments. Although the price experienced a correction, dropping to $579 on June 18, BNB continues to trade at a robust $605, maintaining a significant gain over the past few weeks. In the last 24 hours, BNB has been trading at $586 with a 24-hour increase of 2%.

Coinglass data shows that BNB’s Funding Rate is currently at 0.0020%, indicating a positive sentiment among traders. A positive Funding Rate suggests that the price of BNB contracts is trading at a premium to the spot price, reflecting a bullish outlook from the market. For the price of BNB to increase further, sustained buying pressure in the spot market is necessary. If demand continues to rise, BNB could surpass the $600 mark in the short term