Tentatively, the BNB Chain Fusion has been set for April 2024.
Developers of Binance’s BNB Smart Chain are keen on fusing the BNB Beacon Chain (BEP-2) and BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) into one single blockchain. The team revealed the reason behind its plans as one that is geared towards growth. In the Monday announcement, developers admitted that the Beacon Chain has now grown burdensome. They also added that running dual chains has done nothing but stall growth and pose security threats to the network.
Hence, users are strongly advised to immediately discard their BEP-2 and BEP-8 (mini BEP-2 tokens). They can do so by transferring such Beacon Chain tokens to the BEP-20 chain without any losses. That is, the transfer will ensure that their token assets are preserved on a 1:1 ratio.
In transferring the tokens, users may employ centralized and decentralized exchanges. They may also choose to go through the BNB Chain Wallet or any other preferred self-custody wallet.
BNB Developers Sets Deadline for Beacon Chain Sunset, Explains Post-Fusion Scenario
Tentatively, the BNB Chain Fusion has been set for April 2024. Although the exact fusion date is yet to be communicated, developers have assured users, who fail to transfer their assets before time, that they may still be able to. However, they may have to wait another seven days by that time to recover their BEP-2 assets. That is because the backup recovery solution is operated via a command-line prompt and does not have a user interface UI.
Interestingly, not all users may be eligible to recover their assets after the deadline. The catch is that the backup solution will only apply to those assets that have enabled cross-chain features. Part of the statement reads:
“BEP2/BEP8 assets that do not support cross-chain functionality will be permanently lost after the Beacon Chain Fusion. Users will be unable to recover these assets.”
Given all the limitations that users may face after the Beacon Chain sunset, developers have shared some recommendations. First off, they advise that users get on with transferring the tokens as early as possible. For those whose assets do not support cross-chain transfers, they recommend using the Token Bind Tool to enable cross-chain functionality.
Binance issued its native token, BNB, in July 2017. Presently, BNB BEP-2 is being used as gas fees to power ecosystem transactions, while BEP-20 tokens possess smart contract functionality, just as ERC-20 tokens.
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