BNB Chain executes hard fork upgrade- Here’s everything you need to know

• The latest upgrade brings to the table several security enhancements for the cross-chain bridge.
• BNB Chain lost the first spot in the rankings of the chain with the greatest number of daily active users to Tron.

The BNB Smart Chain performed the ‘Plank’ hard fork on 12 April, intended to improve the security and stability of the layer-1 network. Through a tweet, Binance confirmed the completion of the upgrade and announced the resumption of deposits and withdrawals on the chain which were halted temporarily.

Please note that the upgrade is now complete.

Deposits and withdrawals on BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) have resumed.

— Binance (@binance) April 12, 2023

The native token of the ecosystem, Binance Coin [BNB], responded positively. It recorded 24-hour gains of 1.06% on its price at press time, per CoinMarketCap.

Read Binance Coin [BNB] Price Prediction 2023-24

Much-needed upgrade?

As part of the security enhancements, the cross-chain bridge between the Beacon Chain and the Smart Chain will be made stronger by introducing several features.

They include enabling validators to pause cross-chain channels, automatic pausing in case of forged proof detection, and applying a timer lock for large cross-chain transfers.

The upgrade comes at a time when the BNB Chain was making headlines for an increase in cross-bridge hacks.

As per a report by ImmuneFi, a Web3 bug bounty platform, BNB Chain was the most targeted in Q1. There were 33 incidents of hacking on BNB Chain, representing more than 40% of the total losses across targeted chains.

Source: ImmuneFi

In fact, when we asked ChatGPT if increasing hacks will be the undoing for Binance, it responded by stating that they were ‘definitely a cause for concern.’

The AI bot added that hacks could impact not only the adoption of the BNB Chain but the value of the BNB coin as well.

Source: ChatGPT

BNB stays in uncertainty

Despite the growing incidents of hacks and looming regulatory concerns, BNB Chain adoption didn’t show signs of sluggishness. According to Token Terminal data, daily active users on the platform surged 10% over the last 30 days. However, it lost the first spot in the rankings of the chain with the greatest number of daily active users to Tron [TRX].

The transaction fees collected on the platform exhibited a steady growth rate over the previous month. Conversely, the fees declined by 2% in the last week.

Source: Token Terminal

How much are 1,10,100 BNBs worth today?

BNB’s Open Interest (OI), or the dollar value locked in the outstanding contracts on futures exchanges, was $308.72 million. This represented a fall of 0.12% in the last 24 hours.

The OI has moved sideways in the last few days of trading, implying that bullish and bearish traders were uncertain about the direction of BNB.

Source: Coinglass