BNB Chain introduced the Pascal Hardfork on March 20, an upgrade designed to boost transaction efficiency and improve its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
This update integrates Ethereum Improvement Proposal (EIP) 7702, enabling advanced functionalities such as gas abstraction, smart contract wallets, and batch transactions.
Pascal Hardfork
The Pascal Hardfork marks a major step in the network’s development, positioning it as an early adopter of this critical EVM enhancement.
A key feature of EIP-7702 is the introduction of smart contract wallets, which temporarily function as smart contracts. This allows for gasless transactions, batch approvals, and smoother asset swaps.
The upgrade is also expected to improve user onboarding and provide greater flexibility for dApp developers.
In preparation for the upgrade, the Binance-backed blockchain has advised node operators, validators, exchanges, and infrastructure providers to update their systems. Without this update, nodes risk falling out of sync after the hard fork.
Meanwhile, crypto exchanges and infrastructure providers are expected to confirm compatibility, while developers must ensure their dApps are aligned with the new transaction structure.
Beyond Pascal, BNB Chain has additional improvements on the horizon. The Lorentz Hardfork, scheduled for April 2025, aims to reduce block times to 1.5 seconds, enhancing network speed.
In June 2025, the Maxwell Hardfork will further decrease block processing times to 0.75 seconds, making transactions even faster.
BNB Chain’s growth
The upgrade comes when decentralized exchange (DEX) activity on the BNB Chain is surging.
According to DeFiLlama, BNB Chain recorded $2.13 billion in DEX transactions over the past 24 hours, outpacing Ethereum’s $1.75 billion and Solana’s $1.48 billion.
At the same time, weekly trading volume on BNB Chain has climbed nearly 60%, reaching $13.56 billion. This increase contrasts with rival networks, which have seen declines of about 40% during the reporting period.
Much of this momentum comes from the rising popularity of memecoins like Mubarak, which have fueled trading activity on PancakeSwap. The network’s primary DEX facilitated $2.56 billion in transactions over the past day, nearly double Uniswap’s total volume during the same period.
