$BNB (Binance Coin) is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance ecosystem, originally launched in 2017. Initially issued as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum, BNB has since migrated to Binance's own blockchain, BNB Chain (formerly Binance Smart Chain). It is used to pay for trading fees on Binance with discounts, participate in token sales on Binance Launchpad, and power transactions on the BNB Chain. BNB also supports decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Its utility, strong backing by Binance, and regular token burns to reduce supply have contributed to its popularity and value within the crypto space.