- BNB Chain now confirms blocks in 0.75 seconds, which helps apps load faster for users.
- Validators can sync blocks quickly with the new message tools, saving time and power.
- Developers must update their apps to work well with the shorter and faster block timing.
BNB Chain has activated its Maxwell hardfork, reducing BSC block time from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds for faster performance, improved scalability, and stronger validator coordination. According to reports, the hardfork officially went live today at 2:30 am UTC. The upgrade followed a testnet deployment initiated on May 26. This release marks a significant step in the network’s broader roadmap, which focuses on enhancing validator efficiency and providing real-time interactions for users and developers.
Key Upgrades Target Speed and Validator Sync
The Maxwell hardfork included three BNB Evolution Proposals, BEP-524, BEP-563, and BEP-564, each tailored to enhance network performance and reduce latency. BEP-524 introduced 0.75-second block intervals to accelerate transaction finality, which improves the speed of decentralized finance (DeFi), decentralized applications (dApps), and GameFi.
BEP-563 focused on improving validator messaging. It enabled faster peer-to-peer communication, reducing missed blocks and promoting smoother consensus under shorter block cycles. According to the BNB Chain team, this helps maintain stable validator operations during high-frequency block production.
BEP-564 introduced two new elaborate message kinds in the protocol: GetBlocksByRangeMsg and RangeBlocksMsg. Due to these additions, validators and nodes can now request and react to multiple blocks with a single call, thereby achieving faster synchronization and improved block distribution across the network.
The team stated, “This reduces the risk of missed votes or delayed proposals, key for hitting that 0.75s target.” This development ensures that nodes can keep pace with shorter block intervals, which require rapid validation and syncing across the system.
Impact on Developers, Validators, and Node Operators
The network warned developers to test their dApps against tighter block timing. Applications using 1.5-second intervals must be refactored to remain compatible. Developers are advised to review all time-based logic to ensure performance remains stable under the new block speed.
“If something breaks, it’s probably your code, not the chain,” the BNB Chain team noted. This remark underscores the upgrade’s rigor and its demand for developer-side optimization.
Validators are required to benchmark their infrastructure to the 0.75-second cycle and to be ready to serve more messages. The sync delay margin decreases as consensus cycles become shorter and validator turns become shorter. Their level of gas was also reduced by half, from 70 million to 35 million, to balance with the higher frequency of block production.
The technical complexity of the upgrade is part of its broader purpose, which is to enable BNB Chain to enhance its capacity to host fast dApps and provide products with a growing and higher level of performance for Web3 users.
Related: BNB Chain Gears Up: Lorentz Hard Fork Completed on Testnet
Competitive Shift in Layer 1 Blockchain Race
Maxwell follows the Lorentz upgrade, which in April reduced BNB’s block time from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds. This continued reduction shows BNB Chain’s commitment to performance-based enhancements.
Other blockchains like Solana are known for their fast throughput, while Ethereum leads in developer activity but operates at a slower block speed. BNB Chain now positions itself between, offering a fast, stable, and cost-effective network that can handle heavy workloads while still delivering near-instant transaction finality.
Institutional-grade prospects are also available due to this advancement. Companies in need of credible, real-time blockchain infrastructure can now consider BNB Chain a viable alternative to the platforms they have been using, especially in areas where applications require low-latency transactions, such as trading, tokenizing, and deploying real-world assets.
