On July 10, 2026, BNB Smart Chain (BSC) successfully deployed the Osaka/Mendel hard fork on its mainnet. The upgrade represents a major technical milestone, designed to address the surging on-chain activity and further strengthen the network's underlying infrastructure.
Core Objectives: Enhance Performance Under Growing Demand
With the rapid expansion of DeFi, GameFi, and AI agent ecosystems on BSC, daily transaction volumes and smart contract calls have reached new highs. The Osaka/Mendel fork focuses on improving EVM compatibility, boosting parallel execution, and accelerating block finality. These changes directly respond to community demands for lower gas fees and faster confirmations.
Nine Protocol Upgrades: A Broad Infrastructure Refresh
The hard fork incorporates nine BEPs (Binance Evolution Proposals) covering execution, consensus, networking, and developer tooling. Key highlights include:
- Execution layer: Optimized precompiled contracts reduce unnecessary gas consumption and introduce more efficient storage patterns.
- Consensus layer: Adjusted validator election and block proposal processes to lower fork probability and enhance network security.
- Network layer: Updated P2P handshake protocols to minimize redundant data propagation and accelerate block synchronization.
- Developer tools: Added support for the latest Solidity version and streamlined on-chain debugging interfaces.
These improvements build upon previous network speed upgrades, solidifying BSC's competitiveness in high-frequency trading and real-time dApp execution.
Market Response: BNB Edges Up, Ecosystem Projects Align
Following the announcement, BNB token price recorded a modest 0.29% increase within 24 hours. Market sentiment remained positive, with major ecosystem projects such as PancakeSwap and Venus Protocol announcing compatibility tests scheduled for the coming week.
BSC has been particularly active recently: BNB Chain introduced an Agent Survival Kit with AI partners for on-chain payments; BNBRouter launched integrating over 36 AI models; and Uniswap moved to expand fee mechanisms and UNI burning on BSC. These developments continue to drive daily active addresses and TVL upward.
Looking Ahead: Hard Fork as a Stepping Stone
The Osaka/Mendel hard fork is not the end but a step in BSC's long-term scaling strategy. With subsequent Kyoto hard fork already in the planning pipeline (note: not part of this upgrade), BSC aims to introduce zero-knowledge (ZK) precompiles and account abstraction in the latter half of 2026.
The community urges all node operators and developers to upgrade to the latest client to fully leverage the enhancements. For builders, the new precompiles and opcodes will lower the barrier to developing complex dApps, inviting a new wave of innovation on BSC.