4 Min Read 
In the latest release of Edge, we’ve added support for Binance Coin (BNB) on the Binance Smart Chain. Having previously supported BNB on the Binance Beacon chain, with this integration, users can now hold BNB on both the Binance Beacon Chain and Binance Smart Chain.
What is BNB?
BNB is the native cryptocurrency of Binance, the industry’s largest exchange in terms of trading volume.
With a market cap well above $65 billion (as of March 18, 2022), BNB is currently the 4th largest digital asset, ranking behind only Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT).
BNB was launched through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) conducted in June / July 2017, with 100,000 tokens distributed among various participants, including angel investors and the Binance founding team.
Unlike multiple other projects launched through an ICO, BNB does not provide the token holders with a claim on Binance profits; neither does it represent an investment in Binance.
The BNB token was initially running on the Ethereum network as an ERC-20 token, but is now based on Binance’s own blockchain, BNB Beacon Chain (formerly known as the Binance Chain) and BNB Smart Chain (BSC), which, in turn, are both part of the BNB Chain ecosystem.
What is BNB Chain?
Announced in February 2022, BNB Chain is an ecosystem of Binance’s blockchain networks, namely BNB Beacon Chain and BNB Smart Chain.
BNB Beacon Chain allows people to transact on Binance’s decentralized exchange (DEX), while BSC, which has smart contract functionality, is designed for building decentralized applications (dApps).
The main idea behind the BNB Chain is to create a community-driven, open-sourced and decentralized ecosystem of large-scale applications, including decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3, NFTs, GameFi, SocialFi, and the Metaverse, all going under an umbrella term of “MetaFi.”
As explained by Binance, MetaFi is a blend of two words – ‘Meta’ for meta ecosystem and ‘Fi’ for DeFi.
“Today, the words ‘Meta’ and ‘Metaverse’ are used by experts and companies worldwide,” Binance said in a blog post announcing the initiative. “However, for BNB Chain the use of the word ‘Meta’ means an “all-encompassing,” or “a means to an end,” rather than an acronym for the Metaverse. We prefer the term MetaFi.”
BNB Use Cases
Initially, BNB was created as an utility token for discounted trading fees on Binance, however, over the time its use cases have expanded to a host of other applications.
According to Binance, these also include:
- Paying for trading fees on Binance Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and providing liquidity on Binance Liquid Swap.
- Paying for transaction fees on the BNB Smart Chain.
Users can also use BNB to participate in token sales hosted on the Binance Launchpad, the exclusive token launch platform of Binance, as well as to pay for goods and services for both online and in-store purchases using Binance Card or Binance Pay.
When it comes to the BNB Chain, BNB also acts as a governance token, enabling holders to participate in BNB Chain’s decentralized on-chain governance.
BNB Supply and Price
BNB came with an initial total supply of 200 million coins. 100 million BNB was offered in the ICO, but the current total supply is lower due to periodic burning events and a real-time burning mechanism, first introduced in January 2022.
The latter is also known as auto-burn and, as Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao put it, aims to replace the previous burn mechanism “in favor of a more objective process independent of the Binance centralized ecosystem.”
Token burn events are supposedly meant to make the cryptocurrency deflationary, which means that the token’s circulating supply is expected to decrease over time, thus giving it a store of value appeal.
Since its launch in 2017, BNB has garnered support from a host of partnerships that played their role in the token’s value soaring to a record high of $686 in May 2021.
The price of BNB was close to a new all-time high in November 2021 as it climbed above $650, however, it failed to reach new heights and is currently changing hands arounds $400 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko.
The important thing to take into account is that Binance operates two token standards: BEP2 on the BNB Beacon Chain network and BEP20 on the BNB Smart Chain network. While the value of the token is the same across both chains, users have to make sure to select the intended network before depositing and withdrawing funds.
Create your BNB wallet in a matter of seconds
Creating your BNB wallet in Edge is only a couple of taps away:
1. On the Wallets screen in Edge, tap “Add Wallet” and choose BNB as your wallet type
2. Specify the fiat currency denomination and name your wallet
3. Confirm details, and your wallet is created
Want to be part of the BNB network? Try Edge today!
With seamless wallet creation and readily available exchange integrations, all inside of an easy to use self-custody application, Edge has now introduced another way for BNB users to be part of the network.
Edge was designed to be easy enough for the everyday user, while including functionality even advanced enthusiasts appreciate. We’re excited to be supporting BNB as the token is garnering increased adoption across the crypto space.
For those interested in using BNB in Edge, click here. To stay up to date with Edge company announcements and the latest developments in the crypto space, be sure to sign up for our newsletter below.
