BNB Chain Fermi Hardfork Goes Live: What You Need To Know

The BNB Chain Fermi hard fork is now live, and it reduces block time on the BNB Chain from 0.75 seconds to 0.45 seconds. Activated on Jan. 14 at block height 75,140,593, the upgrade focuses on faster and more predictable transaction confirmation while keeping network stability intact.

What Is The Fermi Hard Fork?

The Fermi hard fork is the latest protocol upgrade to BNB Smart Chain and part of BNB Chain’s 2026 technology roadmap. It follows earlier performance upgrades like Lorentz, Pascal, and Maxwell, each of which progressively reduced block times and improved Ethereum compatibility.

Fermi completes the network’s “Short Block Interval Roadmap.” The goal is to shorten the time between blocks without breaking validator coordination or finality guarantees.

After the upgrade, BNB Smart Chain now produces blocks every 0.45 seconds, or roughly 2 to 3 blocks per second.

What Did The Fermi Hard Fork Change?

The most visible change is faster block production. Block time dropped by 40%, moving from 750 milliseconds to 450 milliseconds. This puts BNB Smart Chain close to the physical limits of global block propagation.

The upgrade also introduced stronger confirmation rules so faster blocks do not increase chain instability.

Key changes introduced by Fermi include:

• Shorter block intervals for quicker confirmations
• Improved validator coordination under high load
• More reliable fast finality
• Better block propagation across the network
• Improved performance for real-time applications

These changes are designed to keep block production predictable as network usage grows.

Why Does Faster Block Time Matter?

Block time determines how quickly transactions are confirmed. Reducing it affects almost every onchain activity.

For users, this means balances update faster and swaps execute with less delay. For applications, it means smart contracts respond closer to real time.

Shorter block time improves:

• Transaction confirmation speed
• Throughput during high activity
• Price accuracy for decentralized exchanges
• Automated liquidation efficiency
• User experience in wallets and games

BNB Chain specifically targets “exchange-grade” DeFi performance, where even small delays can increase slippage or execution risk.

The Fermi upgrade is also a strategic move. Many Ethereum Layer 2 networks offer fast execution using sequencers, but settlement still depends on slower base layers.

BNB Chain takes a different approach. It delivers sub-second settlement directly on the base layer.

What Are The Five BEPs Introduced In Fermi?

The Fermi hard fork introduces five BNB Evolution Proposals, or BEPs. Each targets a different performance bottleneck.

BEP-590: Extended Voting Rules For Fast Finality Stability

This proposal improves how validator votes are counted in the Fast Finality protocol. It ensures block confirmation remains stable even when network conditions are not ideal.

The changes allow shorter block times without increasing the risk of reorgs or delayed finality.

BEP-619: Short Block Interval Phase Three

BEP-619 is the core of the Fermi upgrade. It reduces block time to 0.45 seconds and marks the third phase of BNB Chain’s block interval reduction plan.

Validator performance and synchronization rules were adjusted to support the faster pace.

BEP-592: Non-Consensus Based Block-Level Access List

This proposal introduces Block-Level Access Lists, or BAL. These lists allow nodes to preload frequently used account and storage data while importing blocks.

By caching this data in advance, block processing becomes faster and more efficient.

BEP-593: Incremental Snapshot

BEP-593 improves how nodes store and update blockchain state. Instead of creating full snapshots, nodes now store incremental changes.

This reduces memory usage, speeds up syncing, and improves node stability.

BEP-610: Implement EVM Super Instruction

This BEP focuses on Ethereum Virtual Machine optimization. It introduces pre-compiled instruction sets that execute common operations faster.

Smart contracts benefit from lower execution overhead and improved consistency.

How Does Fermi Affect MEV And DeFi Trading?

MEV, or Maximal Extractable Value, refers to profits validators can extract by reordering or inserting transactions.

With faster blocks, poorly managed MEV systems can increase instability. Fermi addresses this by improving transaction handling and block propagation rules.

For DeFi users, the effects are practical:

• Reduced slippage during swaps
• Faster liquidation execution
• More consistent pricing during volatility
• Better performance for high-frequency strategies

These gains are critical for protocols that operate at high speed and volume.

Why Is This Upgrade Important For Developers?

For developers, Fermi improves the baseline performance of the network without requiring changes to application logic.

Faster finality and improved EVM execution allow dApps to:

• Execute complex transactions with less delay
• Support real-time interactions
• Reduce gas overhead for repeated operations
• Scale during peak usage

Applications such as trading platforms, blockchain games, and interactive wallets benefit the most.

The announcement follows BNB Chain’s release of its 2026 technology roadmap just weeks earlier, which details plans to refine the network into a more optimized trading-focused blockchain. The roadmap is based on production data from 2025, a year in which BNB Chain processed sustained growth in trading activity, stablecoins, and real-world assets while maintaining continuous uptime.

Conclusion

The BNB Chain Fermi hard fork is a focused performance upgrade that reduces block time by 40 percent and strengthens validator coordination. By introducing five BEPs and improving MEV handling, block propagation, and EVM execution, the upgrade improves speed without sacrificing reliability.

Fermi continues BNB Chain’s strategy of incremental, technical optimization aimed at supporting high-volume DeFi, interactive applications, and future machine-driven systems while keeping settlement predictable and stable.

Resources

1. BNB Chain developers on X: Posts in January, 2026

2. BNB Chain Github 1: About v1.6.2

3. BNB Chain Github 2: About v1.5.7 (Pascal hard fork): 

4. BNB Chain announcement: Tech Roadmap 2026