UPDATED 21:39 EDT / APRIL 18 2019

BLOCKCHAIN

Binance launches its own custom blockchain to take on Ethereum

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, today launched its own blockchain in a play to take on the Ethereum blockchain.

The Binance Chain, unlike other new blockchains, is starting with a massive bang, with the company announcing that it will be moving its existing Binance Coin or BNB onto the Binance Chain on April 23.

First announced as coming in December, the Binance Chain is mainly focused on the transfer and trading of blockchain assets, as well as providing “new possibilities for the future flow of blockchain assets.” According to Binance, the “Binance Chain will focus on performance, ease-of-use, and liquidity.”

The custom blockchain comes with a range of appealing features to those who may be considering using it.

Binance Chain has no custody of funds allowing traders to maintain control of their private keys and funds, coupled with low latency and high throughput for high-liquidity trading. The company claims that another advantage is low cost in both fees and liquidity cost, combined with an easy user experience and fair trading.

The new blockchain has found decent support from a range of cryptocurrency wallets, including Coolwallet, TrustWalletApp and others.

Where the Binance Chain becomes a direct competitor for Ethereum is in its provision of an open platform.

“You can issue new tokens on the blockchain, which you can then send, receive, burn, mint, freeze, or unfreeze,” the company said in a statement. “In addition, any participant in the chain can propose the trading pairs they want to see and, with enough support, start trading in that exact pair he proposed.”

Binance Coin, the token soon to be native to the Binance Chain and named in March as possibly being the next bitcoin, bounced on the news today, surging 11%, to $21.78, as of 9:30 p.m. EDT. BNB’s performance has been stellar this year, rising by roughly 350 percent from a low of $6.02 Jan. 1.

Image: Binance

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