The birth of Binance and Binance Coin (BNB)
Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (often referred to as "CZ"), Binance was born with the ambition of becoming a fast, secure, and accessible cryptocurrency exchange platform. From the very beginning, it offered an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of Binance Coin (BNB), raising nearly 15 million dollars. Initially, BNB was mainly used to pay transaction fees on the platform with significant discounts, but its function quickly diversified.
The meteoric rise
Thanks to effective marketing strategies, an extensive crypto offering, and reduced fees, Binance quickly became one of the largest exchange platforms in the world. At the same time, BNB gained popularity, seeing its price explode over the years.
In 2019, Binance launched its own blockchain (Binance Chain) and transferred BNB from the Ethereum network (where it operated as an ERC-20 token) to its own network. This strategic decision strengthened Binance's autonomy and expanded the uses of BNB, particularly in the fields of payment, staking, and decentralized applications.
Binance Smart Chain: a revolution
In 2020, Binance introduced Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a parallel blockchain optimized for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Faster and cheaper than Ethereum's, BSC experienced meteoric success, attracting numerous decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and strengthening the Binance ecosystem.
Thus, BNB becomes a cornerstone of this ecosystem: used to pay transaction fees on BSC, it acquires fundamental utility beyond mere speculation.
