BNB Chain has unveiled its technical roadmap for the second half of 2026, and it is, without exaggeration, one of the most ambitious plans in the industry. The team not only intends to once again double the throughput of the BSC mainnet but is also preparing to launch an entirely new Layer 1 (L1) blockchain, designed for performance exceeding 100,000 transactions per second (TPS).
Results of Six Months of Work: Speed and Stability
The progress achieved over the past six months is impressive. The block interval has decreased from 750 to 450 milliseconds, and in-memory finalization from 1125 to 650 milliseconds. Reference throughput has increased from ~2800 to 5200 TPS. The network has also become noticeably more stable: after the Osaka/Mendel hard fork, the number of reorganizations on the BSC mainnet has significantly decreased.
These results were made possible by four key improvements: Block-level Access List (BAL), incremental snapshots for fast node synchronization, EVM "superinstructions" to reduce overhead, and expanded voting rules for fast finalization. Special mention goes to the Rust client for BSC, which achieved full compatibility with Reth v2.0, resulting in a twofold performance increase.
Beyond the base layer, the team released middleware including tools for autonomous on-chain agents (BNB Agent Studio and BNB Agent SDK), the MPP payment protocol, and developments for institutional privacy.
Plans for the Second Half: Doubling and a New L1
For the second half of the year, the team has made three commitments. First, to double the throughput of the BSC mainnet with a long-term goal of tenfold growth. Second, to isolate applications from each other so that a surge in load on one does not degrade the performance of others. Third, to lower the entry barrier through more flexible fees for companies from Web2 and Web3.
Instead of global fee changes, targeted adjustments are planned for specific industry verticals. Simultaneously, the network is preparing for the arrival of institutional players: new token standards for stablecoin issuance and privacy frameworks for various regulatory requirements are being explored.
The main strategic news is a next-generation Layer 1 blockchain. It is designed for performance exceeding 100,000 TPS, transaction pre-confirmation in less than 50 milliseconds, and block finalization in under one second. The architecture includes several unusual solutions. The TxStream mechanism abandons the public mempool—a common queue of unconfirmed transactions visible to all network participants. Transactions go directly to the block leader, reducing latency and blocking frontrunning by default. The PriorityLane mechanism reserves space in the block for critical traffic: oracle data, liquidations, and cross-chain bridges.
Also built-in are native privacy with selective data disclosure for regulatory compliance and a set of account abstraction tools—a technology that makes wallet management more flexible. It allows, for example, paying fees on behalf of a user or logging into an account using a passkey—a passwordless access key instead of a seed phrase. Launch on the testnet is scheduled for the end of 2026, and on the mainnet for the beginning of 2027.
A separate focus remains post-quantum security. The team is testing a hybrid approach, layering quantum-resistant protection on top of current cryptography, and exploring how account abstraction will allow users to transition to the new system without changing addresses.
My Expert Analysis
This is not just an upgrade, but a paradigm shift for BNB Chain. Abandoning the public mempool and introducing PriorityLane is a direct response to the MEV and frontrunning issues that plague Ethereum and its L2s. If the team manages to deliver on its promises, BSC could become not just the fastest, but also the "fairest" network for DeFi and institutional applications. The integration of post-quantum security and account abstraction is particularly interesting—this is a foundation for the next decade that could attract large businesses concerned about both regulatory risks and future cryptographic threats.