BNB Smart Chain in one minute
BNB Chain is a high-throughput blockchain ecosystem powered by BNB. BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is the EVM-compatible network where you deploy Solidity contracts, mint BNB20 tokens, launch NFTs, and build DeFi — with low gas fees and ~3 second block times. BNB Toolset deploys directly to BSC mainnet and BSC Testnet from your wallet.
- BSC speaks the same EVM language as Ethereum — Solidity, OpenZeppelin, Hardhat, Foundry, and wagmi all work.
- Native gas token is BNB (not ETH). BNB20 is the fungible token standard on BNB Smart Chain — the same interface wallets and DEXes expect.
- BscScan is the primary block explorer for verifying contracts and reading transactions.
Mainnet and testnet
Production apps deploy to BNB Smart Chain (chainId 56). Practice and classroom work should use BSC Testnet (chainId 97). Claim free test BNB from faucets, deploy a practice token, then move to mainnet when ready.
- Mainnet chainId: 56 — real BNB, real value.
- Testnet chainId: 97 — free test BNB from faucets.
- Always confirm the network name in your wallet before signing.
Tokens, NFTs, and DeFi
Most BNB Chain products use BNB20 for tokens, BNB721/BNB1155 for NFTs, and OpenZeppelin building blocks for vesting, staking, DAOs, and marketplaces. Liquidity often routes through PancakeSwap — the same ABI patterns as Uniswap-style AMMs.
- BNB20 tokens use the familiar transfer/approve/balanceOf interface — wallets and DEXes expect the same methods.
- NFTs use BNB721 / BNB1155 with IPFS or on-chain metadata.
- Compose audited OpenZeppelin contracts instead of hand-rolling standards.
Wallets, gas, and explorers
Connect MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, or WalletConnect. Add BSC RPC if needed. Gas is paid in BNB and is typically much cheaper than Ethereum L1. Read every transaction on BscScan before you trust an address.
- Never share seed phrases — support will never ask for them.
- Verify contract source on BscScan after deploy.
- Use testnet first for every new template.