The BNB Chain’s Pasteur hard fork has produced an early increase in network capacity, with live mainnet data showing that block gas capacity rose 28% after the upgrade was activated on Aug. 25, 2026. The improvement is being driven by BEP-675, which is designed to remove redundant execution steps during block production and improve the efficiency with which BNB Smart Chain uses available computing capacity.

According to CoinTrust, block production on BNB Smart Chain previously involved three EVM execution passes during the assembly process. BEP-675 reduces that workload by allowing builders to send fully executed blocks, known as BidBlocks, directly to validators. Eliminating one duplicated execution stage leaves more of each block’s execution window available for transaction processing.

Blocks using the new BidBlock V2 format have averaged 28% more gas capacity than blocks produced under the previous Bid V1 format. Peak capacity reached 43.8 million gas, compared with 33.8 million under the older system.

The results indicate that the upgrade is improving block utilization rather than relying solely on longer block times or other changes to increase throughput.

Nearly All Blocks Shift to the New Format

Adoption of BEP-675 accelerated rapidly after the Pasteur hard fork. During a three-day observation period ending Sept. 1, BidBlock V2 was used for about 98% of the blocks produced on BNB Smart Chain. The remaining 2% continued to use Bid V1, which remains available as a fallback to support network stability during the transition.

The largest builders have played a significant role in the shift. 48Club and BlockRazor together produced nearly 98% of the blocks during the period, helping make the new format the dominant method of block production.

Of the 49 registered builders, 24 had integrated BEP-675 during the observation period, while all 33 active builders were using the upgrade. The figures show that the technical changes introduced by Pasteur moved quickly from testing into regular mainnet operations.

BNB Chain Plans Larger Gas Limits

BNB Chain is also preparing for further increases in block capacity. The network is operating around a 55 million gas limit and plans to raise the ceiling in stages to 70 million, 80 million and eventually 90 million, subject to mainnet performance.

Validators had already begun increasing the limit, with the figure exceeding 55 million as of Sept. 14, 2026. Network utilization was above 95%, indicating strong demand for available execution capacity.

The planned expansion toward a 90 million gas limit could substantially increase transaction capacity. It will also test whether validators, nodes and synchronization systems can maintain performance as blocks become larger.

The development is part of BNB Chain’s broader effort to increase throughput. Earlier upgrades, including Fermi and the Osaka/Mendel hard forks, focused on reducing block times and maintaining network stability. Pasteur takes a different approach by targeting greater efficiency in the block-production process.

Testnet results cited in the report showed throughput increasing from 1,237 transactions per second to 2,324 TPS, an 88% gain.

Potential Impact on BNB and Network Adoption

BNB, the native token of BNB Chain, was trading at $724.58, down 0.19% over 24 hours. The network upgrade itself may not immediately produce a significant token-price reaction, but improved capacity could strengthen the chain’s longer-term appeal to decentralized applications and institutional users.

Higher throughput could allow applications to process larger transaction volumes while maintaining the network’s existing settlement characteristics. However, scaling through larger blocks also creates additional infrastructure demands, making node efficiency, synchronization and network reliability increasingly important.

The Pasteur upgrade represents an important stage in BNB Chain’s scaling strategy. By reducing duplicated EVM execution and creating additional block capacity, BEP-675 provides more room for transaction processing as network activity grows.

The next stages of the gas-limit expansion will test whether BNB Chain can convert its improved block efficiency into sustained higher throughput without compromising network stability and security.