BNB Smart Chain activated the hard fork Osaka/Mendel on its mainnet on April 28, 2026, in an update aimed at introducing improvements to transaction execution, performance under load, and finality within the network.
The activation occurs in a high activity context on-chain inside BNB Smart Chainwith the use of DeFi applications, trading and other services over the network. In this scenario, the network prioritizes more consistent and predictable behavior.
Among the BNB Smart Chain technical changesthe update introduces stricter limits on block size and gas usage, with the aim of avoiding congestion. It also incorporates a limit per block for transactions Blobdesigned to transport large volumes of data, in order to prevent a single operation from consuming resources disproportionately.
He hard fork includes a total of nine proposals (BEP)including six EIPs from Ethereum, two specific BNB Chain improvements and a coordination proposal. In addition, optimizations are added to the gas rate model, improvements to block construction, and new tools for developers.
Another of the central settings is the implementation of a pool memory votingwhich allows validator votes to be processed with lower latency. This change aims to accelerate the finality of transactions, that is, the moment at which they are considered irreversible within the network.
As part of the process, node operators, validators, and exchange infrastructures were required to update their software to the supported version to stay in sync with the mainnet. This type of updates involves non-backward compatible changesso prior coordination is key to avoid interruptions.
It is worth noting that Osaka/Mendel It is part of a series of recent updates focused on performance. During 2025 and early 2026, BNB Chain progressively reduced block time through Lorentz, Fermi, and Maxwell upgrades, as reported by CriptoNoticias. These changes made it possible to reduce rates, shorten confirmation times and reduce the incidence of practices such as malicious MEV.
Unlike those speed-focused improvements, the Osaka/Mendel update introduces adjustments aimed at sustaining network performance under high-demand conditions, with the goal of maintaining more stable and predictable processing as usage increases.