Wrapped BNB (WBNB) Project Update

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• opBNB Fourier Upgrade Preparation: The opBNB network prepared for the Fourier hardfork, with a testnet activation scheduled for November 6, 2025, and a mainnet rollout expected in early December 2025 3. The upgrade reduces block time from 500 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds, and all mainnet and testnet nodes were required to upgrade to opBNB v0.5.4 and Op-Geth v0.5.8 prior to activation 3. This matters because faster block times improve transaction efficiency and overall network performance for users transacting on the BNB ecosystem.
• opBNB v0.5.4 Release: The opBNB v0.5.4 client was released on October 28, 2025, bundling the Fourier hardfork changes that cut block time in half 4. Node operators were instructed to upgrade op-geth to v0.5.8 ahead of the hardfork windows 4. This release is the technical prerequisite that enables the network-wide performance improvements described above.
• BobaBNB Sunset: Boba Network announced that the Boba Governance Foundation would shut down BobaBNB due to changes in BNB that made the chain incompatible with the OP Stack 5. Users were required to withdraw all assets starting September 15, 2025, and no later than October 15, 2025, with failure to withdraw risking permanent loss of access to assets 5. This is relevant because it reflects how ongoing BNB Chain changes can render dependent Layer 2 solutions obsolete, forcing users to migrate.

Biggest Stories of 2025

• BNB Chain Year-End Review: BNB Chain closed 2025 with Total Value Locked (TVL) up 40.5%, an all-time high of 31 million daily transactions in October, and zero downtime, while total unique addresses surpassed 700 million 6. Infrastructure upgrades including the Lorentz, Pascal, and Maxwell hardforks reduced block times to as low as 0.75 seconds, and the stablecoin market cap doubled to $14 billion 6. (December 31, 2025)
• 2026 Tech Roadmap and Fermi Hard Fork Announcement: BNB Chain released its 2026 Tech Roadmap and 2025 Year End Report, and announced the mandatory Fermi Hard Fork scheduled for January 14, 2026, which would reduce the BSC block interval from 750ms to 450ms 7. BNB deposits and withdrawals also went live on Gemini, and the 0 Fee Carnival for stablecoins was extended until January 31, 2026 7. (December 25–31, 2025)
• Weekly Ecosystem Report (Dec 18–24): Kalshi began supporting deposits for BNB Smart Chain assets, and the 0 Fee Carnival for USD1 and USDC transfers was extended until December 31 8. Node operators were mandated to migrate from Erigon to Reth or Geth by December 31, and new proposals BEP-592 and BEP-640 were introduced while BEP-341 went live to enhance network stability 8. (December 26, 2025)
• Weekly Ecosystem Report (Nov 20–26): All Multi-Sig Wallet users were mandated to migrate to Safe Global before the current wallet sunset, and Nina Rong was appointed as the new Executive Director of Growth 9. The 0 Fee Carnival for USD1 and USDC transfers was extended until December 31, node operators were urged to migrate from Erigon to Reth or Geth, and BSC performance improved with blocks running near 450ms 9. (November 28, 2025)
• Fourier Upgrade (opBNB) Announced: The opBNB Fourier hardfork was scheduled for testnet on November 6, 2025, and mainnet in early December 2025, reducing block time from 500 milliseconds to 250 milliseconds 3. Nodes were required to upgrade to opBNB v0.5.4 and Op-Geth v0.5.8 prior to the upgrade 3. (October 28, 2025)
• opBNB v0.5.4 Release: The opBNB v0.5.4 client was released, incorporating the Fourier hardfork upgrade that halves block time to 250 milliseconds 4. All mainnet and testnet nodes were required to upgrade before the respective hardfork times 4. (October 28, 2025)
• BNB Chain Wallet Sunset: The BNB Chain team announced that the BNB Chain Wallet (BEW) sunset would take effect on October 15, 2025, with the extension beginning its sunset process on September 15, 2025, and no further updates, bug fixes, or support provided after that date 10. The team stated the sunset does not affect the safety of user funds and outlined migration steps 10. (September 15, 2025)
• BobaBNB Sunsetting: Boba Network announced the shutdown of BobaBNB due to BNB changes that made the chain incompatible with the OP Stack, requiring users to withdraw all assets between September 15 and October 15, 2025 5. Failure to withdraw by the deadline could result in permanent loss of access to assets 5. (September 15, 2025)
• BNB 2025 & 2026 Roadmap: The BNB Chain team outlined infrastructure upgrades for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026, including increasing the block gas limit to 1G, introducing a Rust-based client built on Ethereum's Reth capable of up to 5,000 DEX swaps per second, and implementing Super Instructions and StateDB optimizations 11. Plans for 2026 and beyond included a new Layer 1 blockchain, a new virtual machine for massive parallel execution, and expanded native privacy features 11. (July 16, 2025)
• BNB Chain 2025 and 2026 Roadmap (Discussed): BNB Chain detailed its roadmap, noting that in the first half of 2025 it reduced block time to 0.75 seconds and finality to 1.875 seconds through the Lorentz and Maxwell hardforks, with network bandwidth reaching 100 million gas per second and average gas fees falling to $0.01 12. The roadmap also proposed a next-generation Layer 1 targeting sub-150 millisecond finality and over 20,000 transactions per second for complex operations 12. (August 6, 2025)
• Lorentz Hard Fork (Mainnet): The Lorentz Hard Fork was set for BSC Mainnet on April 29, 2025, featuring BEP-520 to shorten the block interval to 1.5 seconds, along with parameter changes including increasing the epoch from 200 to 500 and Consecutive TurnLength from 4 to 8 13. All BSC mainnet nodes were required to upgrade to v1.5.10 prior to the hard fork 13. (April 27, 2025)
• Lorentz Hard Fork (Validator Update Window): BNB Chain advised that due to validator configuration changes in the upcoming Lorentz hard fork, the suggested update window for release v1.5.10 or 1.5.11 would be within a 24-hour window from April 28 to April 29, 2025, to avoid potential network throughput impact 14. (April 27, 2025)
• Volta Upgrade (opBNB): The Volta upgrade for opBNB mainnet was scheduled for April 21, 2025, requiring node operators to upgrade their op-node to v0.5.3-hotfix and op-geth to v0.5.7 15. A key feature was the implementation of BEP-543, reducing block time from 1 second to 0.5 seconds to improve transaction efficiency and network performance 15. (April 17, 2025)
• Lorentz Hard Fork (Testnet): The Lorentz Hard Fork was applied to the BSC Testnet on April 8, 2025, following the release of BSC v1.5.9, including BEP-520 to shorten block interval time to 1.5 seconds from 3 seconds and various MEV and security improvements 16. (April 2, 2025)
• opBNB v0.5.3 Release: The opBNB v0.5.3 client was released, implementing BEP-543 to reduce block time from 1 second to 500 milliseconds, with activation scheduled for the opBNB Testnet on April 2, 2025, and Mainnet in mid-April 2025 17. All nodes were required to upgrade before the respective hardfork times, with op-geth updated to v0.5.7 17. (March 29, 2025)