What is the BNB Chain Fermi Hard Fork?

The BNB ChainFermi Hard Fork is the latest upgrade to the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) network. Its main goal is to improve speed and efficiency by reducing block time by 40% — from 750 milliseconds to 450 milliseconds.

In practical terms, this means transactions on BNB Smart Chain will confirm faster, the network can handle more activity, and the user experience will become smoother.

The upgrade, known as version 1.6.2, also includes improvements for miners, MEV (Maximal Extractable Value), and overall performance. It introduces five new BEPs (BNB Evolution Proposals) aimed at optimizing block production, stability, and developer support.

The testnet activation for Fermi is set for November 10, 2025, at 2:25 AM (UTC). The mainnet launch date will be finalized after a full stress test, allowing developers and community members to validate the upgrade under real network conditions.

Why the Fermi Hard Fork Matters

BNB Chain’s Fermi upgrade represents a key step in the network’s ongoing push for faster transaction processing and better validator coordination.

By reducing the block interval to 450ms, BNB Chain becomes one of the fastest major blockchains in operation — even ahead of several leading Ethereum-compatible chains.

Key goals of the Fermi Hard Fork:

• Shorter block times for faster transaction confirmation.
• Higher throughput for increased transaction capacity.
• Optimized MEV handling to improve fairness and efficiency.
• Improved block propagation to reduce latency between validators.
• Enhanced stability under high transaction loads.

These technical refinements ensure that BSC can handle increasing traffic without compromising decentralization or performance.

The Technical Core: BEPs Introduced in Fermi

The Fermi Hard Fork introduces five new BEPs (BNB Evolution Proposals) that define its technical structure and functionality.

1. BEP-590: Extended Voting Rules for Fast Finality Stability

This proposal suggests improving how validator votes are counted in BNB Smart Chain’s Fast Finality protocol. The goal is to make block confirmation more stable and reliable, even when the network faces delays or issues, while also allowing the chain to safely support shorter block times.

2. BEP-619: Short Block Interval Phase Three (0.45 Seconds)

BEP-619 implements the key feature of the Fermi upgrade — reducing block time to 0.45 seconds. This marks the third phase of BNB Chain’s ongoing effort to shorten intervals while maintaining validator performance and network synchronization.

3. BEP-592: Non-Consensus Based Block-Level Access List

This BEP adds Block-Level Access Lists (BAL) — a type of metadata attached to each block. BAL allows nodes to preload storage data in advance while importing blocks. By caching accounts and storage slots that are often used, it helps speed up block processing and boost overall network performance.

4. BEP-593: Incremental Snapshot

This update introduces incremental state snapshots, allowing nodes to store blockchain data more efficiently. It reduces memory usage, speeds up syncing, and makes node operations lighter and more stable.

5. BEP-610: Implement EVM Super Instruction

BEP-610 focuses on Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) optimization by adding “super instructions.” These are pre-compiled EVM operations that make smart contract execution faster and less resource-intensive.

Together, these five BEPs improve performance at multiple levels — from transaction speed to validator stability and contract execution.

What’s New in Version 1.6.2

Besides the major BEP upgrades, version 1.6.2 of the BNB Smart Chain software introduces several optimizations designed for miners and MEV handling.

The update focuses on:

• Faster block propagation between validators.
• Reduced latency in transaction broadcast and block finalization.
• More transparent MEV management to ensure fairness in transaction ordering.
• Higher network throughput to support large-scale dApp and DeFi activity.

These improvements strengthen the chain’s operational performance, especially under high transaction volumes common in decentralized finance and gaming applications.

The Road to Mainnet: Testing and Validation

The Fermi Hard Fork testnet goes live on November 10, 2025, where community members and developers can participate in performance testing.

BNB Chain’s team plans to perform a stress test — simulating high transaction loads — before confirming the mainnet activation date.

This phased rollout allows developers to identify and resolve potential issues early. It also gives validators time to upgrade nodes, adjust configurations, and test the new consensus rules.

Once the testnet validation is complete and performance metrics meet expectations, the Fermi Hard Fork will be deployed on the BNB Smart Chain mainnet.

Background: Continuous Optimization Since Lorentz

The Fermi upgrade is part of a long series of BNB Chain performance improvements.

• Lorentz Hard Fork: Reduced block time from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds and improved validator stability.
• Maxwell Hard Fork: Brought block time down further to 0.75 seconds.
• Pascal Hard Fork: Enhanced Ethereum compatibility with support for EIP-7702 smart contract wallets and BLS12-381 cryptography.

Now, with Fermi, block time is being cut again — from 750ms to 450ms — marking another leap in responsiveness.

Each upgrade builds on the last, improving speed, scalability, and Ethereum interoperability, which are critical for both users and developers operating in the BNB ecosystem.

Why the Block Time Reduction Matters

Shorter block times improve nearly every aspect of blockchain usability.

Key advantages include:

• Faster transaction confirmation: Users see near-instant updates to their balances.
• Higher network responsiveness: Smart contracts and dApps react more quickly.
• Improved validator efficiency: Validators process data faster and maintain network health.
• Better scalability: The network can handle more concurrent transactions without congestion.

These gains are especially valuable for DeFi platforms, GameFi projects, and NFT marketplaces, where transaction speed directly affects user experience.

Developer Impact and Ecosystem Growth

For developers, Fermi simplifies building and deploying scalable applications on BNB Smart Chain.

With faster finality and optimized EVM execution, dApps can now run complex operations with less delay and gas overhead.

The improved MEV handling also encourages fair competition among validators and transparent transaction sequencing, key elements for healthy on-chain economies.

By aligning technical efficiency with open development, the Fermi Hard Fork strengthens BNB Chain’s position as a leading EVM-compatible network.

Conclusion

The BNB Chain Fermi Hard Fork is a focused technical upgrade designed to make the BNB Smart Chain faster, more efficient, and more reliable.

By cutting block time from 750ms to 450ms, adding five new BEPs, and improving MEV handling and validator performance, Fermi strengthens the network’s ability to handle more transactions while maintaining both decentralization and security.

This upgrade follows BNB Chain’s consistent strategy of gradual, measurable improvement — prioritizing speed, stability, and scalability for users and developers alike.

Resources:

1. BNB Chain Developers X platform: https://x.com/BNBChainDevs

2. About v1.6.2: https://github.com/bnb-chain/bsc/releases

3. About v1.5.7 (Pascal hard fork): https://github.com/bnb-chain/bsc/releases/tag/v1.5.7

4. BNB Chain X platform: https://x.com/BNBCHAIN