Security & scams

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BNB Chain: from Binance’s coin to an entire digital city

BNB is the coin that pays for transactions, underpins staking and is used in the applications of BNB Chain, an ecosystem whose main chain is BNB Smart Chain. It launched in 2017 as Binance Coin on Ethereum and, on October 31, 2026, ranked fourth by market cap on CoinGecko, at about $92.916 billion. We’ll separate the coin from the exchange, explain the technology and look at the trade-offs that come with the low fees. BNB Chain aims to be low-cost application infrastructure, with BNB as its fuel and a limited validator set as its main compromise. TokenBNB, now branded “Build and Build” Launch year2017 for BNB, September 1, 2020 for BNB Smart Chain What it doesPaying fees, staking, taking part in governance and use in applications Consensus mechanismParlia, Proof of Staked Authority Max / circulating supplyInitial issuance of 200 million BNB; about 131.511 million in circulation as of Oct 31, 2026; quarterly burns target 100 million Market cap rank4th, CoinGecko, Oct 31, 2026 The problem BNB Chain addresses the need to use blockchain applications without every action costing a disproportionate amount or requiring a long wait. Imagine wanting to make a small token swap and first having to ask yourself whether the fee is worth it. For payments, games and frequent transactions, the fee is part of the functionality itself. There is also the developer side. Anyone who has already built an app for Ethereum would rather reuse that work than rebuild everything from scratch. BNB Smart Chain (BSC) offers compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), the execution environment for smart contracts. Of course, low costs don’t solve the problem of decentralization on their own. BSC relies on a relatively small elected set of block producers and on demanding node hardware. That is where the real debate lies: how much independence are we willing to trade for speed and convenience? BNB Chain’s solution BNB Chain combines application execution, additional scaling and data storage in separate systems. BSC is the main base-layer chain, or layer 1, where smart contracts, accounts and applications run. Alongside it are opBNB and Greenfield. Think of a city: BSC is the downtown, opBNB an additional transport network that absorbs traffic, and Greenfield the storage space. They have different jobs, and therefore different technical assumptions. They don’t all automatically get the same security just because they share a name. A clear separation from Binance, the company that runs the centralized exchange, is also needed. The ecosystem’s official position is that the chain is neither owned nor controlled by Binance. The company’s historical and economic influence, however, remains a separate and legitimate target of criticism. BNB is not a share in Binance and does not automatically entitle you to its profits. Trading fee discounts and participation in certain exchange programs are different uses, with terms that depend on the product and the jurisdiction. The technology Consensus and validators BSC uses Parlia, a Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) mechanism. BNB that is staked and delegated affects the ranking of validators, who produce blocks and take part in consensus. There is no mining as in Bitcoin, and it is not the same model as Ethereum’s either. The documentation describes a daily election of 45 active validators: the 21 highest-ranked, called the “cabinet,” and 24 “candidates.” In each operating period, or epoch, 21 are selected for consensus: 18 from the first group and three from the second. So the numbers 45 and 21 describe different sets. Holders can delegate BNB to a validator and share in the eligible rewards after the validator’s commission. Missed blocks or double signing can lead to penalties or temporary jailing. Choosing a validator matters, even if you don’t run your own node. Speed and upgrades BSC’s block interval has been cut to about 0.45 seconds, but that is not the same as irreversible confirmation. Finality refers to when a transaction is considered irreversible under the protocol. The actual experience also depends on load and on the application. In 2025, the Lorentz upgrade cut the interval from about three seconds to 1.5 seconds, and Maxwell to about 0.75. The image below shows those steps, before Fermi on January 14, 2026, which brought the interval to 0.45 seconds via BEP-619. BSC block time reductions during 2025, before the 2026 Fermi upgrade · Source: storage.ghost.io On the execution side, “Super Instructions” combine common EVM operations, with the team reporting an improvement of about 10%. Scalable DB aims to tackle the growth of chain state, meaning the data the chain needs in order to operate. The target of 20,000 transactions per second in the 2026 roadmap remains a target, not proof of sustainable production performance. EVM, nodes and tooling EVM compatibility makes it easier to port applications, but it doesn’t automatically carry over their liquidity or security. BEP-20 is a widely used fungible token standard on BSC. A contract may look technically similar to one on Ethereum but operate in a different risk environment. Validators take part in consensus, while full nodes and archive nodes serve and verify data. There is Geth-based software, as well as Reth-based full node and archive node versions. The December 2025 roadmap described the Reth validator client as planned, not as an already completed production deployment. opBNB and Greenfield opBNB is a second-layer, or layer 2, network based on an optimistic rollup. It processes transactions in batches, instead of executing each action separately on BSC. It is like shipping parcels in bulk, but its settlement, dispute and bridge-transfer rules need checking in their own right. BNB Greenfield is about decentralized storage. It coordinates requests and providers, with a proof of challenge mechanism designed to check data availability and integrity. BSC executes the application’s instructions; Greenfield serves a different need. The BNB token Uses and supply BNB’s main utility is paying gas fees and taking part in network security through staking. It can also be used for payments, as collateral or as a trading pair asset where supported. Governance rights depend on the relevant mechanism. In 2017, 200 million BNB were initially issued, and Binance reported raising $15 million through its initial coin offering (ICO). The stated allocation was as follows, with a vesting schedule for the team. RecipientsBNBShare Public ICO100 million50% Founding team80 million40% Early private investors20 million10% The initial distribution has not gone unchallenged. A Forbes investigation on October 5, 2023 estimated, based on wallet transfers, that up to 10.78 million BNB reached public investors during the offering. That is a journalistic estimate, not a fact established in court. In 2019, Binance announced that the team allocation would contribute to the 100 million BNB burn program. The announcement does not prove each member’s current holdings. Likewise, we don’t have a documented complete list of early investors. On October 31, 2026, CoinGecko showed total and circulating supply of about 131.511 million BNB, but a “max” of 200 million. CoinMarketCap used a max close to the remaining amount. The different labels do not mean that an extra 200 million BNB can be issued. Burns without magic promises BNB has two separate burn mechanisms, which reduce supply without guaranteeing a price increase. The quarterly Auto-Burn uses the BNB price and a block production count, with parameters adjusted for the shorter block intervals. According to the foundation, it is verifiable and independent of Binance’s trading volume. On October 19, 2026, a burn of 1,646,196.44 BNB was announced, worth about $1.197 billion at the time. The remaining supply was reported at 131,512,085 BNB, at 10:05 UTC. The dollar value of the burn does not mean an equivalent amount was bought on the market. In parallel, BEP-95 burns a share of fees as blocks are produced, at a rate set through governance. The 100 million BNB target applies to the quarterly program, not necessarily to stopping every burn at exactly that level. A burn removes coins from the supply; it does not automatically put money in the holder’s pocket. Staking and real yield Staking rewards come mainly from transaction fees, with no regular inflationary block subsidy in newly issued BNB. This differs from models in which rewards systematically increase total supply. The yield depends on activity, commission and validator performance. On October 31, 2026, Staking Rewards showed an annualized reward rate of 0.90% and about 24.15 million BNB staked. Another dashboard showed a median annual percentage rate, or APR, of 0.75% over a seven-day window. The metrics don’t rely on identical assumptions, and none of them is a guarantee. A 2026 trust filing describes a seven-day unbonding period, with possible additional delays from providers. Liquid staking, where you receive a token representing your position, adds contract, liquidity and depegging risks. Changes in the price of BNB remain a separate risk. History, founders and crises The history of BNB begins with Binance in 2017, but it gradually moves from the exchange to broader infrastructure. Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, had worked at technology and crypto companies before founding the company. Co-founder Yi He, who had previously worked at OKCoin and Yixia Technology, took on business development and marketing; a Decrypt profile dates her joining as co-founder to August 2017. BNB started as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and later became the native asset of Binance Chain. BSC went live on September 1, 2020. Today development is open source, with contributors, validators and organizations involved, and no complete current list of engineers is available. The chain’s most serious historical test came on October 6–7, 2022. A verification bug in the BSC Token Hub bridge let the attacker obtain 2 million BNB using forged cross-chain messages. Coinbase’s analysis put the nominal value at about $586 million, estimating that about $110 million was moved off BSC. Validators coordinated a halt of about eight hours before the network restarted. The image below shows the path through Venus and bridges toward stablecoins, coins that aim for a stable reference value. The intervention limited how far the incident went, but it made the debate about concentration of power very concrete. The path of the BNB from the 2022 incident through Venus and bridges to other networks · Source: images.ctfassets.net On November 21, 2023, Binance pleaded guilty in the US to violations related to, among other things, money laundering, unlicensed money transmission and sanctions. The settlement exceeded $4 billion, Zhao stepped down and, on April 30, 2024, was sentenced to four months in prison. The cases concerned the company and its chief executive, not a finding of violations by the BSC protocol. The US SEC had filed a civil lawsuit on June 5, 2023, with allegations that also concerned BNB. On May 29, 2025, a motion for dismissal with prejudice was filed, meaning the same lawsuit cannot be brought again. It was a policy decision by the agency, not a court ruling that BNB can never be a security. Meanwhile, Fusion moved staking and governance to BSC. The old Beacon Chain was shut down on December 3, 2024, at block 385,251,927, together with the old native bridging architecture. Older diagrams showing two active chains are now historical. On October 29, 2026, Binance reported a new incident affecting the exchange’s wallets, with affected assets of about $6.3 billion and about $3 billion frozen onchain. On October 30, Reuters reported that more than $6.34 billion had been committed to cover the losses. Analysts attributed the attack to a group linked to North Korea, but attribution and recovery were still ongoing as of October 31: no failure of BSC consensus had been shown. The ecosystem today BNB Chain has significant activity, but addresses, deposits and transactions measure different things. In decentralized finance (DeFi), PancakeSwap is a typical decentralized exchange and Venus a lending application. Using them does not mean every user deals directly with Binance. A dashboard with DefiLlama data showed, on October 31, 2026, total value locked (TVL) of about $5.24 billion, sixth among 106 chains. It also showed about $14.25 billion in stablecoins, with USDT accounting for 64.3%. The two figures should not be added together, since they may include overlapping value. Active addresses were about 2.84 million per day as a seven-day average, not the same number of verified people. BscScan’s historical series recorded about 15.74 million transactions on October 18, 2026. The image below shows 2025 activity, when the team announced what was then a record of 31 million transactions on October 5. BSC daily transactions in 2025 and the October peak, not unique users · Source: storage.ghost.io A separate dashboard showed 55 validators and a staking ratio of about 19%, which does not mean 55 simultaneous block producers. On the market side, CoinGecko showed BNB at $706.52 and daily trading volume of about $827.3 million on October 31, 2026. It recorded an all-time high of $1,369.99 on October 13, 2025; the live fields update asynchronously. The competitors BSC competes with Ethereum and Solana in application execution, but the numbers below are not a lab ranking. The cost refers to an indicative simple transfer, not a complex swap, and block interval is not finality. Market caps are CoinGecko snapshots from October 31, 2026. NetworkMechanismBlock intervalIndicative feeMarket cap BSC / BNBPoSAAbout 0.45 sec.$0.00073$92.916 billion Ethereum / ETHProof of StakeAbout 12 sec.$0.0083$274.434 billion Solana / SOLProof of Stake with Proof of History timingAbout 0.5 sec. on this particular tracker$0.00059$56.551 billion The fees come from a point-in-time Gem Wallet reading and change over time. Even Solana’s times differ by measurement method. For us, the useful question is which combination of security, decentralization, tooling and real usage serves the application, not which row wins a table. What it means for holders in Greece For a holder in Greece, choosing the right network and custody comes before staking. Self-custody with a compatible wallet leaves you responsible for your keys, while a hardware device can keep the signing keys offline. Third-party custody adds operational and withdrawal risk. Native BNB on BSC, the ERC-20 representation and an old BEP-2 balance are not the same transfer route. The old Beacon Chain recovery app stopped being supported on July 1, 2026, while the more technical self-service route has limitations. Don’t assume every old balance can be recovered automatically. On tax treatment in Greece, the available information does not establish a specific rate or tax return code for BNB and staking rewards. Keep a record of your transactions and rewards and ask a tax professional for a personalized assessment; this article is not tax advice. Information The official documentation is the reference point for the current architecture, while the original whitepaper describes a different era. A copy of it is available for the historical background, but it is not a guide to today’s full ecosystem. WebsiteBNB Chain DocumentationTechnical documentation WhitepaperOfficial whitepaper repository ExplorerBscScan Burn trackerBNB Burn Social - CommunityX, Developer Forum, GitHub Our view We think BSC has proven the usefulness of low-cost, Ethereum-compatible infrastructure, not that it has eliminated its compromises. We are convinced by its existing liquidity, its tooling, its successive upgrades and the clear separation of execution, scaling and storage. Retiring the old Beacon Chain also removes a layer of historical architectural complexity. We are concerned by the small elected consensus set, the node requirements, the uncertainty around the initial allocation and the continuing economic ties to Binance. The 2022 halt shows a practical ability to intervene in a coordinated way, not, on its own, that a single company controls every validator. That distinction needs to be kept in any criticism too. Cheap transactions make room for both useful applications and automated noise. Contract scams, bridges and maximal extractable value (MEV), meaning profit from selecting or reordering transactions, don’t disappear just because gas is cheap. Still, we see infrastructure with real weight, which should be judged by its resilience and its distribution of power, not just by its transaction counter. Frequently asked questions Is BNB a share in Binance? No. BNB does not automatically give you equity in Binance or a claim on its profits. It has uses on the network and, under certain conditions, in the exchange’s services. Can you mine BNB? Not with proof of work as in Bitcoin. BSC uses PoSA, with validators and BNB delegated through staking. Do burns guarantee a price increase? No. They reduce supply, but the price also depends on demand, liquidity, risks and the market. Is BNB Beacon Chain still running? No. It was shut down on December 3, 2024, and staking and governance functions moved to BSC. Recovering old balances is subject to technical limitations. Sources docs.bnbchain.orgcoingecko.comcoinmarketcap.commessari.ioacademy.binance.comcoinbase.comtheblock.codecrypt.coen.wikipedia.orgbnbchain.org

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A golden-yellow BNB coin in front of a miniature city with apps, a railway and a data warehouse.

What are NFTs and what do you actually get when you buy one?

NFTs are digital tokens with a unique identity on a blockchain, which can be linked to an image, a collectible or an access right. The name stands for non-fungible tokens: they are not interchangeable units like euros. Owning an NFT does not automatically give you the copyright to the work attached to it.What does “non-fungible” mean?The term is confusing, because NFTs can be sold and transferred just fine. “Non-fungible” here means that one token cannot be swapped for any other as if they were exactly the same thing.Think of a one-euro coin. When you pay, you usually don’t care which specific coin you hand over, since units of the same face value are equivalent. By contrast, two tickets to the same concert may be for different seats and not offer the same experience.An NFT is more like the second example. It has a distinct identity within a specific smart contract, even if its image looks like others or is identical to them. Technical uniqueness, of course, guarantees neither artistic originality nor financial value.How NFTs work on the blockchainA blockchain is a shared digital ledger in which transactions are recorded. A smart contract, that is, code that runs on the network, defines how the NFT is created and how it is transferred. Ethereum, for example, can run such contracts.At creation, known as minting, the token is recorded and assigned to a wallet address. Its history lets us track its transfers on that particular network. It does not necessarily reveal the real identity of each holder.Where is the image?Often the file itself is not stored on the blockchain. The token points to metadata, that is, information such as the title, description and location of the image. This may sit on an ordinary server or on a distributed storage system such as IPFS.Here lies a real trap: the token’s lifespan does not guarantee the file’s availability. If its hosting stops, the record may remain but the image may not load. Also, some contracts allow the metadata to be changed.What is the difference between NFTs and cryptocurrencies?NFTs and cryptocurrencies use related infrastructure, but they don’t necessarily serve the same purpose. Units of the same cryptocurrency, such as ETH, are usually treated as equivalent. NFTs are identified individually.An NFT may be priced in a cryptocurrency, while creating or transferring it may require network fees (gas fees). These are separate from a platform’s commission. Some services also accept card payments, without this changing the nature of the token.What do you actually get with an NFT?You get control of the token, according to the rules of the contract and the way it is stored. What else comes with that ownership depends on the creator’s terms: it may be personal use of an image, access to a community or a specific commercial license.The token, the digital file and the copyright are different things. Buying a painting doesn’t automatically give you the right to print it on T-shirts. Likewise, buying the NFT of an image doesn’t automatically transfer the rights to exploit it.“So why not just take a screenshot?” You can copy the image, but that doesn’t move the token into your wallet. On the other hand, the token doesn’t technically stop anyone else from copying the file.Nor does it prove on its own that the issuer is the legitimate creator. Someone can issue an NFT linked to another person’s work without permission. The blockchain records the issuance; it doesn’t check whether the issuer had the right to do it.Where are NFTs used?Digital art and collectibles are their best-known uses. An artist can link a work to specific tokens and set the terms on which they are offered. However, their royalties from resales are not guaranteed on every marketplace and transfer route.Profile pictures and communitiesPFP NFTs, short for profile picture, are collections often used as profile pictures. They may come with access to communities or events. These perks depend on the team and the project’s terms, not just on the existence of the token.Games, tickets and certificatesIn games, an NFT can represent an item or a character. That doesn’t mean it will work in any other game, or that it will stay useful if the service shuts down. Moving it between apps requires cooperation and technical support.There are also potential applications in tickets, memberships and certificates. Their usefulness depends on whether the organizer or issuer recognizes them. Similarly, an NFT linked to real estate does not on its own replace the legal title deed.How is an NFT created?Creating NFTs is not limited to companies. A creator can use a suitable platform or their own contract. The usual process includes the following:Choosing a work or perk and checking that you hold the necessary rights.Choosing a network, a wallet and a minting method.Preparing the file, the metadata and the terms of use.Minting the token and covering any fees.Checking the listing and, if you wish, offering it on a marketplace.On some services minting is deferred until a later action, such as the first purchase. That doesn’t necessarily mean zero cost. Creating an NFT doesn’t automatically create demand, nor does it prove the work’s authenticity.Where can you find NFTs?Platforms such as OpenSea and Rarible are used to browse collections and trade, while SuperRare focuses on digital art. Each service’s supported networks, fees and features can change.Creators also showcase work on social media and in their communities. But an ad or a message doesn’t prove authenticity. You need to verify the official collection and the contract address, not just recognize the name or the image.Value, risks and common scamsAn NFT’s price can be influenced by its creator, its utility, its provenance and a community’s interest. Rarity alone is not enough. In any case, we consider the distinction between the price a seller asks and the price someone is willing to pay to be crucial.Liquidity can be very limited: even if a high previous sale is displayed, there is no guarantee of a next buyer. At the same time, there are technical risks, storage problems and dependence on teams that may abandon the project.Wash trading: transfers between wallets controlled by the same person or by collaborators, to make activity look bigger.Pump and dump: generating hype so that early holders can sell.Fake collections: copies of the works or names of well-known creators.Phishing: fake pages and signature requests that can lead to the loss of your assets.Never give your seed phrase (recovery phrase) to a platform or so-called support. Connecting a wallet, signing a message and approving a transfer are not the same thing. A “free NFT” can end up costing you dearly.What applies to users in Greece?The EU’s MiCA regulation does not automatically cover every NFT. Crypto-assets that are genuinely unique and non-fungible are excluded from its scope, but the “NFT” label alone is not enough for the exemption. Issuance in a large series or collection may indicate fungibility, and the actual characteristics are examined.Being exempt from MiCA does not mean being exempt from every other law or tax obligation. A tax assessment in Greece requires a suitable professional to examine the activity and the facts. Useful records include your transaction history, commissions, receipts and the corresponding value in euros.Our viewWe think NFTs are interesting when they solve a specific problem: recording provenance, transferring a digital perk or managing access. The hard part is keeping the content, the rights and the service that supposedly come with them available.The record on the blockchain can be verified. A team’s promise to build something useful remains a promise. We consider this difference more important than any impressive number shown next to an image.Frequently asked questionsWhat is an NFT, with an example?It is a distinct digital token on a blockchain. It may, for example, be linked to a digital artwork, without owning it automatically transferring the copyright.Are NFTs cryptocurrencies?They are crypto-assets, but they don’t work like the equivalent units of an ordinary cryptocurrency. Each NFT is identified individually and can represent different content or a different right.Can someone copy my NFT?They can copy the linked image or mint another token with the same image. That doesn’t give them control of your token, nor does it create the same record in the same contract.Does every NFT have value?No. A unique identity doesn’t guarantee demand, utility or the ability to resell. A displayed price is no proof that a buyer is available.Can I create an NFT for free?Some services let you create one without an upfront fee or defer the minting. However, network fees or commissions may come up later, depending on the platform and the action.

What are NFTs and what do you actually get when you buy one?