A fast finality mechanism on the BNB Chain would mean a safer environment for decentralized applications (dApps).
Binance’s BNB Chain is scheduled for two upgrades this month to improve the chain’s finality and its compatibility with other Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) blockchains. The hard forks are expected to reduce the likelihood of malicious blockchain reorganization and are scheduled for August 10 and 30.
The first upgrade, called the Plato upgrade has already occurred and introduces BEP-126. BEP-126 is an improvement proposal that introduces a fast finality mechanism to the BNB Smart Chain. Arno Bauer, a senior solution architect at BNB Chain explained that the fast finality mechanism is expected to reduce the possibility of chain reorganization and stabilize block production, allowing users immediate access to accurate data from the latest finalized block in the chain.
“Overall, BEP-126 aims to enhance blockchain security and efficiency on the BNB Smart Chain by introducing a fast finality mechanism,” Bauer stated.
Finality refers to a point at which a blockchain transaction or block can no longer be changed or reversed. It is one of the most important features of blockchain technology as it is key to maintaining trust and preventing double-spending. A fast finality mechanism on the BNB Chain would mean a safer environment for decentralized applications (dApps). Improved transaction finality speed is also expected to improve the responsiveness and efficiency of dApps run on the network.
The fast finality introduced by BEP-126 occurs via a series of steps. First, a validator proposes a block, which is propagated to other validators. The validators use their private key to sign for the block as a vote message. Validator votes are then gathered into a pool and aggregated if the direct parent block has enough votes.
Validators are expected to strictly adhere to guidelines when voting for blocks. For example, validators can not publish contrasting votes for the same height. The guidelines also state that a block is “justified” if its child block header contains an attestation and it is “finalized” if it and its direct child are justified.
The second upgrade is the Hertz hard fork which is expected to catch the BNB Chain up to the latest developments of EVM blockchains. According to Bauer, the chain’s block and transaction structures and its base EVM need to stay updated to match Ethereum’s latest Berlin and London forks.
“Therefore, for compatibility reasons it is important that those EIPs are also enabled on BSC to ensure a smooth development and ecosystem growth,” explained Bauer.
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