What is Binance Coin (BNB)?

BNB is a cryptocurrency that was originally introduced as Binance Coin. The core asset of the Binance ecosystem, BNB is issued by the Binance exchange. Simply put, BNB is Binance's own crypto coin. It is used to trade on the Binance network while offering users benefits such as transaction fee discounts. The story of BNB dates back to the summer of 2017. So, when exactly did BNB launch? The coin was launched in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) between June 26 and July 3, 2017. At the time, 2,700 BNB were sold for 1 Ethereum and a total of 200 million BNB were offered. 100 million were offered to the public, while the rest were reserved for the core team and investors.

Initially, it was running on the Ethereum network on the ERC-20 standard. But in 2019, Binance launched its own network, Binance Chain (later BNB Beacon Chain). During this ERC-20 to BSC transition, ERC-20 BNBs were moved to Binance's own network in a one-to-one ratio. In 2020, a new network called Binance Smart Chain (BSC) was launched. BSC enabled Ethereum-compatible smart contracts, and BNB gained an active use in this network as well. In 2022, these two networks merged under the name “BNB Chain”. In summary, BNB has become an important cryptocurrency used in Binance's blockchain networks while providing transaction fee discounts on the Binance exchange. But there is more to know about BNB. Let's take a look at the story of BNB together!

Definition and Origin of BNB

The emergence of BNB (Binance Coin) dates back to the ICO process in 2017. This ICO, led by Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), took place on June 26-July 3, 2017. At that time, BNB tokens, which were sold at the rate of “1 ETH = 2,700 BNB”, were produced over a total supply of 200 million. During Binance's founding phase, 100 million BNB were sold to the public, with the remaining supply split between the core team and investors. At the time of the ICO, the price of BNB was around $0.10 and around $15 million was raised.

Soon after, with the launch of the Binance exchange in July 2017, BNB tokens attracted significant interest. However, these tokens initially entered the market as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum chain. Users converted the ERC-20 BNBs they held in their Binance wallets into BEP-2 tokens at a 1:1 ratio when the Binance Chain main network was launched in 2019. Thus, BNB was moved to Binance's own blockchain and used for transaction fees.

When Binance Chain launched in April 2019, 11 million BNB were initially burned and 48 million tokens were frozen (reserved). The remaining 141 million tokens began circulating in the market. Soon after, in September 2020, a new blockchain called “Binance Smart Chain (BSC)” was launched. BSC works in parallel with Binance Chain, bringing smart contract support and staking to BNB. BNB was introduced as a transaction fee token on BSC with the BEP-20 standard. By the end of 2020, the BNB Chain ecosystem became the home of DeFi projects and NFTs thanks to its smart contract platform.

In the process, BNB was born as a token we used to pay a discounted transaction fee on Binance's centralized exchange. Over time, it has taken on the role of a “gas fee” on its own blockchain and has found countless new uses in the ecosystem. In short, BNB's definition and purpose is to add value to the Binance ecosystem and offer benefits to its users.

History of BNB: Key Milestones

BNB has seen several major developments, driven by the Binance exchange, which has long been the global leader in terms of daily trading volume. The major milestones can be summarized as follows:

• 2017 (ICO and Initial Offering): BNB entered the crypto world with its ICO in July 2017. A total of 200 million tokens were offered; half were offered to the public, half were distributed to investors and the core team. Approximately $15 million was raised from this ICO. At that time, BNB appeared on the Ethereum (ERC-20) network. At this point, searches for BNB coins went through the roof.
• 2019 (Binance Chain Mainnet): On April 18, 2019, the Binance Chain mainnet was launched. Binance made a 1:1 swap to convert ERC-20 tokens to the BEP-2 standard. This is the day BEP-2 BNB was born. The total supply remained stable at 200 million; 11 million BNB were burned in the first phase, 48 million BNB were frozen (reserve). The remaining 141 million tokens entered circulation. At the same time, with the launch of Binance Chain, BNB is now used for on-chain transactions as well as exchange functions.
• 2020 (Binance Smart Chain): Binance Smart Chain (BSC) went public on September 1, 2020. BSC became an Ethereum-compatible blockchain that runs parallel to Binance Chain. With this new chain, smart contract and validator features were added to BNB. BNB became a gas fee token on BSC with the BEP-20 standard and the staking mechanism was activated. BSC has spread rapidly as a DeFi alternative with low transaction fees and high speed. Binance Chain and BSC merged into one under the name BNB Chain by 2022.​

• 2021-2022 (Bruno Fork and Innovations): Towards the end of 2021, an update called “Bruno” was released. This hard fork aimed to accelerate BNB burning. Around the same time, the BEP-95 upgrade came into effect, automatically burning some of the transaction fees on the BSC. These steps reinforced the deflationary nature of BNB. In February 2022, Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain were renamed BNB Chain; a large blockchain ecosystem centered on BNB was announced.
• 2023-2025 (New Projects and Burns): The BNB Chain ecosystem announced innovative projects such as opBNB (layer-2) and BNB Greenfield (distributed storage) in 2023. On the other hand, Binance continued to hold regular quarterly BNB burns. If we look at the latest data, the 30th and 31st rounds of burns in the first quarter of 2025 removed a total of approximately $916 million worth of BNB from circulation.

In this historical process, BNB has evolved from an ICO to a centralized exchange token to a gas coin of a multi-chain ecosystem. Now, BNB not only provides advantages on Binance's centralized platform, but is also an important tool that runs many applications on the BNB Chain.

Why is BNB valuable?

The value of BNB is primarily driven by its diversity of uses and its deflationary nature. The most prominent reasons are the following:

• Exchange token and transaction fee discount: BNB is the native token of the Binance exchange. This means that Binance users get significant discounts when they pay trading fees with BNB. For example, in the early years, this discount was up to 50%. Today, the use of BNB still reduces transaction costs on the exchange. BNB is also available as a transaction fee on platforms like Binance DEX.
• The transaction fee token: BNB is the gas coin on the BNB Smart Chain (BNB Chain). This means you pay BNB when you want to run any smart contract, token swap or wallet transaction on BSC. This makes BNB the main fuel for all DeFi, NFTs, and dApps on the BSC network. As Binance Smart Chain emerged as a low-cost and fast network, BNB became a prerequisite for entry.
• DeFi and the NFT ecosystem: With the popularity of BSC, BNB has found a place in DeFi protocols. For example, on decentralized exchanges such as PancakeSwap, BNB is used as a pool token and to participate in liquidity pools. In lending protocols like Venus, BNB is a collateral and reward tool. In addition, the Binancé NFT marketplace and other dApps also accept BNB as a means of payment. In short, BNB is active as the primary cryptocurrency in thousands of projects built on BSC.
• Launchpad and investment opportunities: Platforms like BNB Launchpad use BNB to invest in new projects. Those who want to participate in token sales offered on Binance Launchpad typically pay a participation fee in BNB. Therefore, BNB is needed to gain early access to new crypto projects. The more widely BNB is used, the easier it is to participate in projects through mechanisms like launchpad.
• Staking and becoming a validator: Since BSC has a Proof-of-Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism, you can contribute to the network by staking BNB. According to the BNB Smart Chain launch, anyone can become a validator by staking BNB. Thus, BNB holders can earn rewards by participating in block creation and validation. It's also possible to accumulate BNB and earn interest through services like Binance Earn.
• Liquidity: Because Binance is the world's largest exchange, BNB is constantly being traded. This increases BNB's liquidity and supports its value. Assets like BNB, which are known as “centralized exchange tokens” on centralized exchanges (e.g. CRO, HT, etc.), often move in tandem with exchange success. The volume of BNB in the market is very high and continues to attract interest despite geopolitical or market volatility.
• Deflationary burning mechanism: BNB is a deflationary cryptocurrency. It was initially promised to permanently destroy half of the total supply (100 million BNB). Binance fulfills this promise by buying back and burning BNB with a portion of its profits each quarter. Also, thanks to updates to the BNB Chain, such as BEP-95, a small fee from every transaction on BSC is automatically burned. Reduced supply theoretically makes every BNB more scarce and valuable. This deflationary structure is also an important factor supporting the value of BNB.

The combination of these features makes for a powerful ecosystem. In a nutshell, BNB is a versatile token with a “finger in everything”. It plays a role in many areas such as discounts on the Binance exchange, transactions on BSC, DeFi/NFT applications, investment in new projects. And thanks to its transparent burning program, its supply is constantly decreasing. For all these reasons, BNB is a valuable and in-demand asset in the crypto ecosystem. The BNB token price reflects this. As of April 2025, BNB is trading at $601.44. The all-time high price was recorded as $793.35 on December 4, 2024. The lowest price was $0.0961 on August 1, 2017.

Who is the Founder of BNB?

So, who is the founder of BNB coin? The name behind BNB and the Binance exchange is Changpeng Zhao (often referred to as CZ). But who exactly is “CZ Binance”? CZ is a Chinese entrepreneur and well-known in the crypto world. He started his career at Bloomberg in 2001, working on financial software. He later joined the financial firm Fusion Systems. In 2013, he became a developer team manager at Blockchain.info (now Blockchain.com). In 2015, he developed the idea for Binance while working at OKCoin, a Chinese cryptocurrency exchange. In 2017, Changpeng Zhao founded the Binance exchange and became its CEO. At the same time, he also launched the BNB token, creating Binance's own cryptocurrency. Through quick strategic decisions and aggressive growth plans, CZ quickly built Binance into one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. This success has directly increased the popularity and value of BNB. One of Binance's co-founders is He Yi. However, CZ often stands out as the spiritual leader of BNB.

In 2023, Zhao stepped down as CEO and agreed to pay a $50 million fine for violating US anti-money laundering laws. Binance also agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine. In 2024, Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison for condoning money laundering. Richard Teng was appointed as the new CEO of Binance, replacing Zhao. Zhao, however, continues to maintain his influence in the cryptocurrency industry. It is stated that it plans to make investments especially in artificial intelligence and biotechnology and focuses on developing educational platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You may still have questions about BNB and the Binance ecosystem. Below, we'll explain what BNB is, how it works, its uses, and its relationship with Binance:

• What is BNB and what does BNB do?: BNB is a cryptocurrency on the Binance platform and stands for “Build and Build” (formerly Binance Coin). BNB offers trading fee discounts on Binance's exchange, and is used to trade on Binance Chain (BNB Chain) and Binance Smart Chain. In short, BNB works as the fuel for Binance's vast crypto ecosystem. BNB is also useful in many areas. Its most well-known feature is that it provides transaction fee discounts on the Binance exchange. Also, in response to the question of what Binance coin does, BNB is used to pay the fee (gas) of all transactions on the Binance Smart Chain. Apart from that, BNB also serves different purposes such as participating in new token sales on Binance Launchpad, buying NFTs, paying with Binance Card. In other words, BNB is a versatile coin with both in-exchange benefits and a wide range of uses in blockchain applications.
• How to buy Binance Coin: To buy BNB, you first need to create an account on the Binance exchange and complete the authentication process. You can deposit fiat money into your account via credit card, bank transfer or other supported payment methods. You can then select BNB from the “Buy Crypto” tab to make the purchase. Alternatively, you can trade BNB directly with other users via Binance's P2P platform. You can store your purchased BNB in your Binance wallet or transfer them to supported wallets such as Trust Wallet.
• What is BNB coin burn: BNB burning is a process to reduce the amount of BNB in circulation. Every quarter, Binance permanently removes a certain amount of BNB from circulation by buying it back from the market. This is designed as a deflationary mechanism to maintain and increase the value of BNB. Launched in 2021, the automatic burn mechanism determines the amount of BNB to be burned based on the BNB token price and the number of blocks on the BNB Smart Chain. The goal is to reduce the total supply to 100 million BNB.
• Where is BNB used? BNB is used in many areas in the Binance ecosystem. It provides discounts when used to pay trading fees on the Binance exchange. BNB is required to invest in new projects on Binance Launchpad. It is also used as a means of payment in DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces and various dApps on Binance Smart Chain. BNB is also accepted as a payment method in areas such as travel bookings, entertainment and online services.
• Can BNB be staked: Yes, BNB can be staked. So, what is BNB staking? Binance Smart Chain uses the Proof-of-Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism and users can contribute to the security of the network by staking BNB. In exchange for the staked BNB, users earn rewards. BNB staking can be done on the Binance platform through services such as “Binance Earn” or “BNB Vault”. It is also possible to stake BNB through supported wallets such as Trust Wallet.
• Is the supply of BNB limited: Yes, the total supply of BNB is limited. Initially, there was an initial supply of 200 million BNB, which is being reduced by Binance's regular burns. The goal is to reduce the total supply to 100 million BNB. This limited supply and regular burn mechanism supports a deflationary structure designed to maintain and increase the value of BNB.

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