BNB Smart Chain Speeds Up with Maxwell Upgrade, Cutting Block Times to 0.8 Seconds

Maxwell Hard Fork Goes Live, Halving Block Times Across BNB Chain

BNB Smart Chain has successfully implemented its Maxwell upgrade, a significant network-wide enhancement aimed at boosting speed and scalability. The hard fork, which went live on June 30 at 2:30 am UTC, reduced average block times from 1.5 seconds to just 0.8 seconds—nearly halving the confirmation time for transactions across the network.

“This isn’t just another upgrade—it’s a technical leap forward,” the BNB Chain team said in an official update.

The upgrade is already producing visible performance improvements, with faster finality and more efficient validator coordination reported just hours after deployment.

What’s Included in the Maxwell Upgrade? A Breakdown of BEPs

The Maxwell hard fork includes three core BNB Evolution Proposals (BEPs), each targeting different areas of the network:

BNB Chain’s block time has already dropped from 1.5 seconds to 0.8. Source: BscScan

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BEP-563: Enhancing Validator Communication

This proposal optimizes peer-to-peer messaging between validators, enabling faster block proposal communication. It aims to reduce sync delays and minimize missed consensus votes, improving network reliability.

“Hitting the 0.75s target requires precise coordination. BEP-563 helps us get there,” said the BNB Chain team.

BEP-564: Faster Syncing with New Messaging Protocol

Introduces two new message types:

• GetBlocksByRangeMsg: Requests multiple recent blocks in a single request.

• RangeBlocksMsg: Delivers those blocks in one response.

These enhancements streamline block synchronization, helping validators stay in sync even under heavier network loads.

Source: BNB Chain developers 

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BEP-524: Further Reducing Block Time

Building on April's Lorentz upgrade, which reduced block times from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds, BEP-524 cuts them even further to 0.8 seconds, increasing transaction throughput and responsiveness for DeFi and DApp ecosystems.

Developers and Validators Urged to Prepare

Ahead of the upgrade, the BNB Chain team issued guidance for developers and validators:

• DApp developers should test applications under the new faster block interval, refactor any code dependent on 1.5-second assumptions, and verify all time-based logic.

• Validators are advised to benchmark their infrastructure for 0.75-second performance and prepare for higher message throughput and faster consensus cycles
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“If something breaks, it’s probably your code—not the chain,” the team emphasized.

BNB Price Climbs Ahead of Network Upgrade

BNB, the native token of BNB Chain, gained 6.5% over the past week in anticipation of the Maxwell upgrade. The token traded between $617 and $655, with a 24-hour increase of 1.2%, reaching $655.70, according to CoinGecko.

Despite the short-term rally, BNB remains 17% below its all-time high of $788, set on December 4.

Conclusion: Maxwell Marks a Major Step Forward for BNB Chain

The successful rollout of the Maxwell upgrade represents a significant leap in performance, scalability, and validator efficiency for BNB Smart Chain. With block times now under one second, the chain is better positioned to support high-speed DeFi protocols, next-gen DApps, and enterprise-grade blockchain infrastructure.

As developers adjust to the accelerated environment and more protocols deploy on the chain, the Maxwell hard fork could set the stage for BNB Chain’s next growth phase.

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