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BNB Chain is set to undergo its third major network upgrade on January 14, introducing the Fermi hard fork, a technical overhaul designed to increase transaction speed and improve finality across the blockchain.
The Fermi Upgrade at a Glance:
- Block times reduced from 0.75s to 0.45s (~40% faster)
- Finality reduced to ~1 second
- Improved validator coordination
- More efficient blockchain data access
- Enhanced transaction execution efficiency
- Validators must upgrade to v1.6.4 and rebuild state snapshots
From the upgrade, transaction finality is expected to approach one second, making confirmations more predictable and reducing risks such as slippage during volatile market conditions.
Fermi is named after Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi, continuing BNB Chain’s tradition of honoring prominent scientists. Previous upgrades were named after Blaise Pascal and James Clerk Maxwell.
Fermi activates tomorrow on BNB Smart Chain, 14 Jan at 02:30 UTC.
— BNB Chain Developers (@BNBChainDevs) January 13, 2026
Action required:
🔸 Validators and node operators upgrade to v1.6.4
🔸 Expect snapshot regeneration on first startup
🔸 Plan for log indexing during restart
Please upgrade ahead of the hard fork to avoid network… pic.twitter.com/rq0b7HYZKc
Faster Blocks, Stronger Finality
According to BNB Chain, the Fermi upgrade focuses on improving both speed and reliability. Alongside shorter block times, the network will implement changes to reduce finality to around one second, ensuring that transactions become irreversible more quickly.
Finality refers to the point at which a transaction can no longer be altered or reversed. Faster finality improves user experience, particularly for applications that rely on real-time execution such as trading, DeFi, and on-chain gaming.
Additional changes in the upgrade include:
- Adjustments to how validators coordinate
- More efficient access to blockchain data
- Improvements to transaction execution efficiency
BNB Chain has historically prioritized speed and scalability, even if it meant sacrificing some decentralization. However, recent advancements across the industry suggest that performance improvements may no longer require such tradeoffs.
Developers Urged to Upgrade Nodes
Ahead of the hard fork, BNB Chain issued an urgent message to validators and node operators, instructing them to upgrade to version v1.6.4 to avoid falling out of sync with the network.
Failure to upgrade could result in nodes losing access after the fork. Developers are also required to rebuild their state snapshots after installing the new version.
The notice applies strictly to validators and node operators. Regular users are not required to take any action.
The goal of the upgrade, according to BNB Chain, is to ensure smooth network operation and better overall functionality as usage continues to grow.
Rising Network Usage
As of December 2025, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao reported that BNB Chain had surpassed 2.4 million daily users, highlighting its status as an active Layer-1 blockchain.
The increase in network activity has placed greater demands on transaction throughput, which BNB Chain has identified as a key motivation for the Fermi upgrade.
Toward Sub-Second Transactions
With the reduced block time, BNB Smart Chain is approaching near-instant transaction confirmations. The upgrade also strengthens fast-finality rules and improves validator synchronization to prevent delays during congestion.
These changes are aimed at improving responsiveness for use cases where timing is critical, including:
- Real-time trading
- Instant DeFi transactions
- On-chain interactive games
The Fermi upgrade is also aligned with BNB Chain’s broader roadmap, which emphasizes performance, stability, and efficiency.
Looking Ahead
While the Fermi hard fork focuses on immediate performance improvements, BNB Chain has outlined longer-term plans that include higher throughput, improved database scalability, and parallel processing to support future growth.
For now, the January 14 upgrade represents a significant step in BNB Chain’s ongoing effort to deliver faster, more predictable transaction processing as network usage continues to expand.
