Introduction
Hello everyone and welcome to another article for my blog Vendata's journey of the crypto world! BNB over the past few days has spiked up in price, now stabilising to around 550 USD at the time of this article, and I believe it will in due time rocket up in price for numerous reasons over the next few weeks, most likely to or beyond 1000 USD. Recently Binance developed its own blockchain and it has begun to gain popularity and usage, more and more people and crypto services beginning to join the community. I find Binance as an amazing crypto exchange with so many projects and options available to cater for every crypto investor, and Binance now becomes even better by creating its own blockchain. I believe Binance's blockchain will have great potential, possibly challenging the two crypto giants BTC and ETH! What I want to do in this article is to explain the basics of the Binance blockchain which I will get with the internet's help, thus teaching both me and you about yet another great feature of the crypto world.
What Is The BSC?
Binance's blockchain is called BSC, which stands for Binance Smart Chain. Why is it called smart? I would guess that it is referring to smart contracts. For those who do not know what smart contracts are, smart contracts are essentially an automatic agreement between a buyer and seller that is achieved by directly writing lines of code, which are contained in a decentralised blockchain network.
However, what is important to point out is that BSC is not entirely decentralised, being controlled by Binance who is a centralised crypto exchange. BSC is unique from ETH by being based on the hybrid consensus algorithm called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) that drives more efficient transactions without costing any security. Another important feature between the ETH blockchain and BSC is the fact that ETH has an infinite supply, while BSC does not limit to 170,532,785 BNB since it is based on BNB. This means that BSC validators who keep the BSC alive are not rewarded with newly created BNB, rather from transaction fees that they handle.
Looking At BSC Services
Surprisingly, BSC was launched by Binance in April 2019, 2 years from now, yet only recently have I heard its popularity. My guess is the popularity was a result of the massive influx of users into Binance alongside the boom in the price for BNB, accelerating at a faster rate over the past few months/weeks. Just like any massive blockchain, BSC has tons of crypto services available, many more yet to be created! One which is very appealing to me is Binance's DEX (Decentralised EXchange), powered by BSC. This is a great addition to trading with Binance, allowing traders to trade in one of the most reliable crypto companies in a decentralised manner. The Binance DEX is essentially Binance but decentralised. The interface is the same, the way to use it is the same, and the pairs are mostly the same. What differs the Binance DEX from Binance is the unavailability of some services, such as launch pool or flexible savings, and quite a gap in trading pairs between the two exchanges, Binance exchange on the upper hand.
Some of the top BSC services include:
- PancakeSwap
- Nerve Finance
- Autofarm
- Math Wallet
- Venus Protocol
- FARM Finance
Using The BSC Wallet
BSC sounds fantastic overall with a great variety of crypto services, many of which I recognise and praise. Now that I have a good idea of what BSC is with its potentials, it is time to begin using the BSC! Of course, to begin using the BSC, I need to have a wallet, which I have already created. However, for the benefit of those who do not know how to make one, I will go through the process here.
1. Downloading The BSC Extension
To start, head over to the Chrome web store and search something along the lines of Binance Chain Wallet (or click here!). Once on the page, which should look similar to the page below, click on the download button. Before I move on to the next step, I want to point out that there is a shockingly low rating on the BSC wallet, even though Binance is so esteemed in the crypto world. Looking at some of the reviews, there seem to be some bugs in registering or using it, so beware!
2. Creating A Wallet Account
Once Binance Chain Wallet is downloaded, I recommend first pinning the extension, which is done by clicking the extension button then on the pin beside the Binance Chain Wallet extension. By doing this, you can conveniently use it when required, rather than searching through all the extensions you have to find it, which is I find useful. Now, to create a Binance Chain Wallet account is quite straightforward. Click on the extension, then follow the prompts given. Please remember to save your password and seed phrase, which are extremely important in accessing and securing your wallet. After following the prompts, pesto! you have created a Binance Chain Wallet account!
3. Using The BSC Wallet
Now that you have a BSC wallet, you can use all the crypto services which are available in the BSC! As an example, I will be showing you how to connect to PancakeSwap, which is a Defi exchange. It is quite simple to do. What you need to look for is a "connect" button that allows you to connect your BSC wallet into the crypto service. With PancakeSwap, it is on the top right corner, which I will click to show a variety of wallet options.
Since I am want to use the BSC wallet, I will select that option. Upon selecting the connection option, the BSC wallet will turn on, asking for permission to connect with the desired crypto service. Select "approve," and voila! you can now use the crypto service!
Conclusion
The BSC is another magnificent crypto service in the crypto world, and I find it promising for the future it holds alongside the current projects which are associated with it. With BNB on the rise, BSC is sure to become a competitor to the ETH and BTC blockchains, giving a wider option for crypto projects on where they grow. I hope the information has been helpful to you and entertaining, which has taught me a good deal about the crypto world!
Exploring the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), I am hit with another wave of discoveries, even more channels opening within the crypto mine.
Thumbnail Source: https://www.binance.com/en/blog/421499824684900754/Completed-and-Upcoming-Changes-for-Binance-Chain-+-Binance-Smart-C