Update July 16, 2025, and 1:30 pm UTC: This article has been updated to add comments from a BNB Chain representative.
BNB Chain is set to undergo a major infrastructure upgrade in the second half of 2025, aiming to support up to 5,000 decentralized exchange swaps per second and significantly enhance its onchain capacity.
In its outlook for the remainder of 2025 and 2026, BNB Chain plans to increase its block gas limit from 100 million to 1 billion to keep up with user demand and ensure smooth activity across decentralized applications (DApps).
The network said it’s rolling out a Rust-based client optimized for high-throughput performance. This will be built on Ethereum’s Reth architecture with some modifications. It offers faster node syncing, improved memory management and efficient smart contract execution.
The team said the upgrade is part of a broader push to future-proof the network.
BNB Chain shares upgrade plans for 2025 and 2026
BNB Chain also mentioned Super Instructions, which are optimized smart contract functions that bundle multiple operations into a single action. The network said this would streamline complex interactions like launch events and token swaps.
In addition, the network will also improve its StateDB system, aiming to reduce redundant data access and unlock faster execution across a much larger data set.
The StateDB is part of the blockchain system that manages accounts, balances, smart contracts and their data. When upgraded, the blockchain can run faster, handle more users and execute complex transactions more efficiently without overload.
In 2026, BNB Chain said it’s developing a blockchain architecture capable of processing 20,000 transactions per second (TPS) with under 150 milliseconds confirmation times.
It will introduce native privacy features, upgradable virtual machines and user-friendly tools that may provide the feeling of a centralized exchange while having Web3 levels of control.
“The next phase of BNB Chain will make onchain access as intuitive as logging into your favorite app, while still giving you full control of your assets,” BNB Chain wrote.
Upgrade stems from an increase in demand
A BNB Chain representative told Cointelegraph that the planned upgrades reflect the chain’s current momentum and future demand.
The BNB Chain team said that the network saw significant growth in activity, logging 12.4 million daily transactions in the first half of the year. The representative also shared that the network peaked at 17.6 million transactions in a single day.
“Our 5,000 swaps per second goal this year is about proactively scaling infrastructure to ensure smooth UX during peak moments, without compromising cost, speed, or fairness,” the representative told Cointelegraph.
The representative also told Cointelegraph that the team will work with its community to explore native protocol-level privacy infrastructure. They said that users want to transact and interact with smart contracts without exposing sensitive details publicly.
“Also, professional traders eager to introduce more traditional financial services to protect their trading,” the representative said.
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Ethereum gears up for the upcoming years
Apart from BNB Chain, Ethereum is also gearing up for the upcoming years. On July 11, Ethereum Foundation developer Sophia Gold wrote that the network is preparing to integrate zero-knowledge technology into the mainnet.
Furthermore, Ethereum proponents are pushing the idea of layer-1 networks transitioning to Ethereum layer 2s. On Wednesday, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested a minimalistic approach to building layer-2 networks, supporting the narrative of layer-1 networks switching to Ethereum.
Magazine: TradFi is building Ethereum L2s to tokenize trillions in RWAs — Inside story
