The developers of Binance’s BNB Chain aim to consolidate the dual-chain structure of the BNB Beacon Chain (BEP2) and BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) into a single blockchain.
Users are “strongly recommended” to transfer their BEP2 and BEP8 (mini BEP2 tokens) to the BEP20 chain, which will preserve assets in a 1:1 ratio, per the January 8 announcement.
Self-custody wallets, centralized and decentralized exchanges, and the BNB Chain Wallet are all viable options for completing the transfer. April 2024 is the provisional due date for the BNB Chain Fusion.
Users may continue to bridge their assets after the deadline by utilizing a legacy feature. Users will, however, be required to wait up to seven days to retrieve their BEP2 assets following the fusion, as the recovery function lacks a user interface and only provides a command line prompt.
Line Furthermore, developers cautioned that BEP2 tokens generated without cross-chain functionality would be ineligible for recovery after fusion:
“Failure to establish cross-chain functionality for these tokens before the BNB Beacon Chain is deactivated will lead to their irreversible loss, with no chance of recovery. Actively participating in this process is vital to the protection of your assets.”
In July 2017, Binance introduced its native token, BNB. BNB BEP2 is employed as gas fees to facilitate transactions within the ecosystem, whereas BEP20 tokens exhibit smart contract capabilities akin to those of ERC-20 tokens.
“The Beacon Chain has become a burden due to the rapid evolution of BSC,” developers wrote, adding that the current dual-chain structure exposes BNB to security vulnerabilities and slows down development iteration through the need for continuous bridging.
