Ethereum, as the first blockchain of its kind, is an OG and a recognized leader in the space. Yet more and more chains appear inspired by Ethereum while also trying to challenge its dominance.
BNB Chain is one of the strongest contenders, always positioned as a faster and cheaper alternative. What is it that Binance Smart Chain offered that Ethereum lacked long before it evolved into BNB Chain?
Let's dig deeper and consider factors like fees, performance, dApp variety, and detailed statistics at play when choosing one network over the other to use or build on.
What is the Ethereum Network
Ethereum blockchain has been in operation since 2015, making it one of the oldest and most established Layer-1 blockchain platforms. Co-founded by Vitalik Buterin and led by his vision, it quickly attracted a large community of developers, users, and projects, becoming the leader in the space.
Ethereum Key Features
Among the features that fuel Ethereum’s success the following stand out:
- Ethereum was the first to offer a programmable platform for creating smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps);
- It hosted many of the earliest and most impactful DeFi and NFT projects, including decentralized exchanges, lending platforms, and marketplaces;
- Every ETH node in the network operates its own version of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) that ensures contracts and dApps are recognized across other EVM-compatible chains;
With the growing demand, the blockchain keeps facing network congestion issues resulting in high transaction costs for users. It has been introducing significant upgrades to compete with newer blockchains like BNB Smart Chain, but the scalability challenge is still ongoing.
Layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum, Base, Blast, Polygon, and Optimism are currently the main solutions for improving accessibility to the Ethereum ecosystem while reducing gas fees.
What is BNB Smart Chain (BSC)?
BNB Smart Chain origins lie in Binance Chain launched by Binance in 2019, optimized for fast decentralized trading. The Binance Smart Chain was introduced later in 2020, which added smart contract functionality and compatibility with Ethereum.
Now officially known as BNB Smart Chain with “BSC” still used to refer to the network, it operates autonomously, not influenced by Binance's leadership.
BSC Key Features
BNB Smart Chain is designed with many of the same features as Ethereum. This makes it compatible with the broader ETH ecosystem and defines some of its capabilities:
- BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is part of the bigger picture, an ecosystem of multiple interconnected chains that together form a BNB Chain;
- It handles the execution of smart contracts, processes transactions, and supports decentralized applications, making it the core layer responsible for the computational functions of the BNB Chain;
- As an EVM-compatible blockchain, it can use Solidity programming language, tools, and wallets, and run the same smart contract or dApps built for Ethereum;
- Users and developers familiar with Ethereum can easily transition to using BSC without a steep learning curve.
Despite the similarities, however, BSC has improved some of Ethereum's limitations, particularly in terms of speed and cost.
BNB Smart Chain vs. Ethereum
To understand the key differences between BNB Chain and Ethereum, it’s worth going back to the origins of BSC.
Binance Smart Chain was technically launched as a hard fork of Ethereum, essentially a copy of it. Although they share much of the underlying technology, some modifications were made to elevate the network performance.
So what is it that Binance Smart Chain modified in Ethereum:
- A larger block size, meaning each block can handle more transactions;
- Faster block time (from 15 to 3 seconds) ensuring transactions are confirmed more quickly;
- An optimized consensus algorithm with a smaller number of validators for faster transaction processing times and lower fees.
The table reflects how this affects the difference in key metrics between Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain (BSC) as of Q2 2024.
| Key Metrics | Ethereum | BSC |
|---|---|---|
| Mainnet ID | 1 (0x1) | 56 (0x38) |
| Native Currency | ETH | BNB |
| Main Token Standard | ERC-20 | BEP-20 |
| dApp Count | 5,446 | 4,725 |
| dApp TVL | $38.36B | $9.98B |
| DeFi TVL | $48.5B | $4.2B |
| Transaction Speed (TPS) | 22.7 | 378.3 |
| Average Gas Fee | $2.5 | $0.11 |
| Active Daily Users | 519k | 894k |
Let’s now address each of these aspects separately.
Consensus Mechanism
Ethereum turned off the Proof-of-Work (PoW) system it used to achieve consensus across its network in 2022. This shift from mining to staking, or Proof-of-Stake (PoS), is also known as the Merge event.
Not only it solved the problem of wasting a lot of electricity, but set the stage for scalability improvements, with PoS creating a more flexible base for these advancements.
Conversely, BNB Smart Chain has since inception adopted a staking-based mechanism, more specifically, Proof-of-Staked-Authority (PoSA) with a limited number of validators. Initially launched with 21 validators it now supports a larger set of 40, aiming for a future increase to 100.
Since a larger number of validators typically means a more decentralized network, this is exactly what is posing Ethereum superior to Binance Smart Chain in the eyes of some users.
Transaction Speed
BNB Smart Chain is significantly more scalable and faster due to its approach to consensus design. More to that, according to CoinGecko’s report, BSC nodes handle more transactions per second (TPS) than any other EVM chain with maximum recorded 378.3 TPS. Ethereum, with 22.7 transactions can hardly compare.
| Metrics | Ethereum | BSC |
|---|---|---|
| Highest Recorded TPS | 22.7 | 378.3 |
| Average TPS | 12.62 | 38.81 |
| Theoretical Capacity | 119 TPS | 2,000 TPS |
| Transaction Finality | 16m | 7.5s |
BSC vs Ethereum: Transaction speed and related stats as of Q2 2024. Source: CoinGecko, Chainspect
On the other hand, Ethereum users have an option to use L2 solutions like Base, Arbitrum, and Polygon to transact at cheaper costs and faster speeds.
Transaction Fees
Gas fees are a big unsolved issue on the Ethereum mainnet. As of August 2024, Ethereum’s average fee is $2.5, while using BSC results in a much lower cost at $0.11. This makes it accessible for daily transactions or users who cannot afford higher fees.
It is also 44x cheaper to perform a token swap on BNB Chain using a DEX.
Source: Etherscan, BscScan
It should be added that Ethereum currently experiences less activity on the network, so the cost to execute transactions or smart contracts is at its lowest point.
Additionally, the Dencun upgrade in March this year had massive implications for the fees paid on L2 networks that now in most cases require next to zero cost to transact.
N.B.: Want to explore Layer-2 blockchains further? Check out our detailed L1 vs L2 guide.
Network Traffic
When comparing the number of active wallets and overall user activity, BNB Chain is the fourth most used blockchain at the time of writing with close to 1M daily active wallets. Ethereum is lagging behind, remaining in the top 10 most-used networks.
Source: Token Terminal
However, in terms of developer activity, Ethereum remains the leading platform with the highest number of monthly active developers.
DApps
Ethereum’s large user base, high liquidity, and security make it an ideal platform for:
- DeFi applications that require trust and large capital flows;
- Innovations in DeFi, such as innovative staking solutions Etherefi and EigenLayer.
Additionally, Ethereum is still the leading platform for NFTs.
Source: DappRadar
As for BSC, its cost-efficiency attracts:
- DeFi apps that require frequent, small transactions like yield farming and trading;
- Gaming projects like Treasure Ship Game and StarryNift, where users need to interact frequently with the blockchain at affordable fees;
- Projects initially developed on Ethereum that transferred to BSC to take advantage of its lower fees and performance.
Source: DappRadar
BNB Smart Chain’s accessibility allows for experimentation and rapid deployment of high-volume, low-cost applications, which explains its leading position among all other protocols, totaling 5,446 decentralized applications.
How to Convert BNB Smart Chain to Ethereum
Both BNB Smart Chain (BSC) and Ethereum networks can be accessed and managed using non-custodial wallets that have EVM support like MetaMask or Coinbase wallet. There, you can easily switch between them using a dropdown list of networks.
To move assets between the networks, however, you would need to use trusted cross-chain bridge services like the ones recommended on the official BNB Chain website or via a built-in bridge feature in wallets like MetaMask. DEXs that support cross-chain exchanges can also guide on how to swap BNB Smart Chain assets to ETH.
Conclusion
In summary, Binance Smart Chain and Ethereum are similar in many ways. BSC, however, is on a mission to improve some of Ethereum's limitations, particularly in terms of speed and cost. BNB Chain’s strengths align well with the needs of dApps, where user experience and affordable transaction costs are critical. Security, network effects, and a mature ecosystem make Ethereum appealing to projects focusing on security and innovation.
Whatever network you prefer to build on, GetBlock offers RPC nodes and API access to BSC, ETH, and 50 extra blockchains to support the launch and functioning of your high-throughput DeFi, gaming, and other applications. Create a free account and test the GetBlock capabilities now.
