BNB Chain’s Pascal Hardfork Update

BNB Chain’s upgrade brings better EVM compatibility and developer flexibility, going live on the mainnet on March 20.

Overview

BNB Chain’s Pascal hardfork, an upgrade set to bring several enhancements to the blockchain network, will deploy on the mainnet this March. According to an announcement, this upgrade is scheduled to go live in about two weeks, specifically on March 20, 2025.

Importance of the Pascal Hardfork

The mainnet activation of the latest BNB Chain upgrade follows the testnet release of the hardfork in February 2025. Initially, the developer team mentioned a tentative launch date in mid-March, but now it is confirmed for March 20, 2025.

Pascal enables compatibility with the Ethereum (ETH) Virtual Machine through its improvement proposal EIP-7702, allowing externally owned accounts to execute smart contracts. This innovation means wallets can act as smart contracts, facilitating gasless transactions, batch approvals, and swaps.

Features and Benefits

Pascal introduces EVM compatibility, with features similar to those targeted by Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade. The update aims to enhance user experience and simplify web3 onboarding, while decentralized applications cover gas fees.

Before the Pascal hardfork takes place, node operators, validators, exchanges, infrastructure providers, and developers must update to ensure compatibility, as failing to do so could lead to participants being out of sync after the mainnet upgrade.

Future Developments

Post-Pascal, BNB Chain will focus on two significant milestones in network speed: the Lorentz hardfork in April 2025, aiming for faster blocks at 1.5 seconds, and the Maxwell hardfork in June 2025, targeting sub-second transaction finality at 0.75 seconds.

These advancements are critical as BNB Chain seeks traction in decentralized finance (DeFi) and artificial intelligence (AI), highlighted by a newly unveiled AI roadmap.

Notably, the combination of DeFi and AI has led to the rapidly growing ecosystem of DeFAI, which presents opportunities for yield optimization, cross-chain intelligence, and liquidity management.