 |
| Foto:X |
VISTORBELITUNG.COM,JAKARTA—In the ever-evolving world of digital assets, one coin consistently commands attention: BNB (originally Binance Coin, now a token for the "Build'N'Build" ecosystem). Regularly ranking among the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, BNB has expanded its role far beyond its initial purpose as a discount token, becoming the foundational currency for one of the largest blockchain ecosystems in the world.
The origin of BNB is inextricably linked to Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The coin was first launched in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in July 2017.
The person most widely recognized as the founder of Binance and thus central to the creation and initial success of BNB is Changpeng Zhao, commonly known as 'CZ'. Zhao, a Chinese-Canadian software engineer, led Binance from its inception in 2017. While he stepped down as CEO in November 2023 following a settlement with U.S. authorities, his impact, and the company's continuous development, remain the core drivers of the BNB ecosystem.
In essence, BNB is a project championed and largely developed by the Binance community and its associated entities, with CZ as the pivotal founding figure. The coin’s initial token distribution included allocations to the founding team and angel investors, underscoring its private company origins before its transition toward a more community-driven model.
What exactly does BNB do? Its functions have grown substantially from merely offering a fee discount on the Binance exchange. Today, BNB acts as a premier utility token that powers an entire digital ecosystem, primarily the BNB Chain.
1. Powering the BNB Chain Ecosystem
BNB is the native "gas" currency for the entire BNB Chain, which includes the high-performance BNB Smart Chain (BSC). This is arguably its most critical function. Users must hold and spend BNB to:
Pay for transaction fees (gas fees) when executing trades, sending tokens, or interacting with decentralized applications (dApps) on the BNB Chain.
Stake their coins to participate in securing the network and earning rewards through the Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism.
Contribute to governance, having a say in proposed changes and the future direction of the BNB Chain.
2. Exchange Benefits on Binance
On the centralized Binance exchange, BNB retains its original utility:
Trading Fee Discounts: Users who pay their trading fees in BNB receive significant discounts, a strong incentive for active traders.
Access to Token Sales: BNB holders often gain preferential access or participate in token launches on the Binance platform, such as through Binance Launchpad.
3. Real-World and Financial Use Cases
BNB's utility extends to various real-world applications and digital financial services:
Payments: It can be used for payments in a variety of places, including booking travel and online services, often facilitated through Binance Pay and other integrated partners.
DeFi Applications: Within the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector on the BNB Chain, the coin is used for lending, borrowing, and yield farming on popular dApps like PancakeSwap.
NFTs and Gaming (GameFi): BNB is often the required currency for minting Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and participating in many blockchain-based games hosted on the network.
The Deflationary Edge: BNB Burning
A key feature designed to maintain BNB's value and scarcity is its quarterly coin burning mechanism. Binance uses a portion of its profits to periodically repurchase and permanently destroy (or "burn") BNB tokens. This process reduces the total supply of BNB over time, aiming for a total of 100 million coins to be burnedb half of the original maximum supply thereby making the remaining coins scarcer and potentially more valuable.
From a simple discount token to the utility backbone of a vast, global blockchain ecosystem, BNB's journey mirrors the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency industry itself. Driven by the infrastructure of the world’s biggest exchange and the vision of its founder, Changpeng Zhao, BNB is a critical asset whose utility is woven deeply into the fabric of the BNB Chain, underpinning everything from governance to the daily cost of a transaction. Its continued expansion and role in securing a highly active network cement its status as one of the crypto market's enduring powerhouses.