BNB Smart Chain has successfully implemented its Maxwell upgrade, slashing average block times to 0.8 seconds from 1.5 seconds earlier this week, marking a significant stride in the network’s speed and efficiency. The Maxwell hard fork officially went live on June 30 at 2:30 am UTC, following weeks of preparation after its testnet launch on May 26. “This isn’t just another upgrade—it’s a technical leap forward for faster blocks, better validator coordination, and smoother network performance,” the BNB Chain team stated , highlighting that the upgrade aims to boost scalability, improve validator synchronization, and enhance the user experience for decentralized applications (DApps) on the network. The upgrade has been designed to reduce latency for decentralized finance (DeFi) users, making transactions faster and enabling developers to build more responsive DApps without the friction of slower confirmation times. Key Proposals Target Messaging and Validator Sync The Maxwell hard fork integrates three proposals — BEP-524, BEP-563, and BEP-564 — to strengthen the chain’s core speed and reliability. BEP-563 focuses on improving peer-to-peer messaging between validators, allowing faster block proposal communication and minimizing the risk of missed votes or synchronization delays. “This reduces the risk of missed votes or delayed proposals — key for hitting that 0.75s target,” the BNB Chain team noted . BEP-564 adds two new message types to the protocol, GetBlocksByRangeMsg and RangeBlocksMsg, enabling validators to request and receive multiple blocks in a single call, which is expected to significantly improve synchronization speeds across the network. Meanwhile, BEP-524 directly reduces block times, building on the Lorentz upgrade in April that previously reduced block times from three seconds to 1.5 seconds. BNB Chain Developers and Validators Gear Up for Faster Blocks Ahead of the upgrade, the BNB Chain team urged developers to test their DApps under the new, faster block timing and adjust any time-based logic within their applications to align with the 0.8-second block intervals. “If something breaks, it’s probably your code — not the chain,” the team added, emphasizing the importance of preparation. Validators have also been advised to ensure their systems are equipped to handle faster message throughput and quicker consensus cycles. Meanwhile, the BNB token has shown strength ahead of the upgrade , rising 6.5% over the past week, trading around $655 while remaining 17% below its all-time high of $788. The post BNB Smart Chain’s Maxwell Upgrade Cuts Block Times in Half appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .
