BNB Chain has outlined plans to build a second layer-1 blockchain — a base network that settles transactions on its own chain rather than on top of another — targeting performance levels typically associated with centralized exchanges.

Updated BNB Chain documentation, revised on October 22, 2026, describes a high-performance, EVM-compatible network provisionally named NewL1. EVM compatibility means applications written for Ethereum's execution environment can, in principle, run on the network with minimal changes — a detail that lowers the barrier for developers already building on Ethereum-style chains. The chain is designed for latency-sensitive workloads such as high-frequency trading and AI-driven activity.

Changpeng Zhao, the BNB Chain founder known as CZ, has weighed in with a direct reassurance for existing holders: BNB will remain the only token used for gas fees — the payments required to process transactions — along with staking and governance across the BNB Chain networks.

The Performance Targets in the Documentation

The updated documentation lays out a set of performance targets that would address a longstanding pain point for anyone who has watched an order fail during a volatile market.

The headline figure is a 200 ms block interval, meaning the chain aims to produce a new block five times per second. Pre-confirmations are targeted at approximately 20 ms — essentially a fast, early signal that a transaction is in line to be included before it is fully locked in. Full transaction finality is targeted at sub-second speeds; finality is the point at which a transaction can no longer be reversed making sub-second settlement a meaningful benchmark for trading applications.

To reach those numbers, BNB Chain plans to use an enhanced version of Parlia, the consensus mechanism its existing chain already relies on. Overall throughput is targeted to exceed 100,000 transactions per second, a goal attributed to a combination of consensus optimization and parallel execution, which allows the network to process multiple transactions simultaneously rather than sequentially.

Beyond raw speed, the plans include several features expected to improve usability:

• Native account abstraction, which allows wallets to behave more like programmable accounts.
• A shielded privacy pool, intended to give users greater transaction privacy.
• Improved transaction capacity, rounding out the performance push.

Where the Project Stands

NewL1 is not yet live for the public. It currently runs as an internal, multi-validator development network, which the research describes as operational as of October 2026. A public testnet is anticipated by late 2026, and a full mainnet rollout is projected for early 2027.

The project did not appear out of nowhere. BNB Chain first highlighted NewL1 in its H2 2026 technical roadmap, published on July 8, 2026. That roadmap argued that on-chain infrastructure needs to compete with centralized exchanges on performance, and it singled out users who depend on autonomous trading and AI applications as a key audience. The October documentation update fills in that earlier sketch with specific technical goals.

Why a Second Chain, and Why BNB Stays Central

BNB Chain is framing NewL1 as an addition to its ecosystem rather than a replacement. The stated goal is to extend existing infrastructure without disrupting the frameworks already in place, including BSC.

CZ affirmed that BNB is set to be the single asset for gas, staking, and governance across both BSC and the new layer-1. That matters for the broader ecosystem because a shared gas and staking asset means developers and validators moving between the two networks would not need to adopt a different token to operate.

What This Means

For traders, the pitch is simple: if NewL1 hits its targets, on-chain trading could start to feel closer to the responsiveness of a centralized venue while assets remain in self-custody. A 20 ms pre-confirmation and sub-second finality would narrow one of the biggest gaps between decentralized and centralized trading.

The AI angle is also notable. Autonomous agents that trade or transact on their own need fast, predictable settlement, and the roadmap explicitly names them as a target user base.

There are risks. Performance targets demonstrated on an internal devnet do not always survive contact with a public network, adversarial users, and unpredictable demand.

The milestones to watch are straightforward. First, whether the public testnet arrives in late 2026 as anticipated. Second, whether measured performance on that testnet comes close to the 200 ms blocks and sub-second finality promised in the docs. Then comes the early 2027 mainnet window.

Source: CryptoBriefing