How long does a BEP-20 transfer take?

About a second to confirm on-chain after the 2025 block-time upgrades. Exchange deposits typically credit in under two minutes once the platform's confirmation count is met. Any longer delay is the platform, not the chain.

Is BEP-20 USDT the same as ERC-20 or TRC-20 USDT?

Same issuer and peg, different networks — and not interchangeable in transit. BEP-20 settles on BNB Smart Chain and must go to a wallet watching that network. Pick whichever standard the receiving side lists; fees in 2026: BSC and Tron are cents, Ethereum a bit more.

I sent BEP-20 tokens to my Ethereum address — are they lost?

If you control the address's keys, no: the same key controls that address on BSC. Add BNB Smart Chain to your wallet and the tokens appear. If the address belongs to an exchange that doesn't support BSC deposits, contact their support — recovery is possible but discretionary.

What happened to BEP-2 addresses (bnb1…)?

The BNB Beacon Chain that used them was shut down in 2024, and assets migrated to BNB Smart Chain. If an old guide or service mentions BEP-2 or a bnb1… address with a memo, it's obsolete — modern BNB transfers use 0x addresses on BSC, no memo involved.

What is BNB used for?

BNB pays gas on BNB Smart Chain, secures the network through staking with its validator set, and earns fee discounts inside the Binance exchange ecosystem. BNB's supply also shrinks through scheduled burns — quarterly auto-burns plus a portion of gas fees — toward a long-term 100 million target.

Can I buy BNB in the United States?

Yes — Anytime Capital, a US-based money services business, sells BNB for debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, wire, and cash in person, delivered to any 0x address on BNB Smart Chain. That includes customers who can't access Binance.US in their state.

Does BNB have a maximum supply?

BNB launched with 200 million tokens and burns supply on a published schedule — quarterly auto-burns plus the BEP-95 share of gas fees — with a stated target of 100 million BNB. Well over a third of the original supply had been destroyed by the mid-2020s.

Do I need BNB to move my BEP-20 USDT?

Yes — gas on BNB Smart Chain is paid in BNB, so an address holding BEP-20 tokens needs a small BNB balance to send them. A dollar or two of BNB covers a long run of transfers at 2026 fee levels.

Crypto network guide

BNB Smart Chain & BEP-20, Explained

Quick answer

BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is the Ethereum-compatible network in the Binance ecosystem, live since 2020. After 2025 upgrades it produces a block every 0.75 seconds, charges cents per transfer, and hosts tokens under the BEP-20 standard — including one of the largest USDT supplies.

Buy BNB now BNB calculator

Updated August 2026 · Reviewed by the Anytime Capital trading desk

BNB Smart Chain at a glance

Launched: 2020
Consensus: Proof of Staked Authority (elected validator set)
Block time: ~0.75 seconds
Typical transfer time: Under 2 minutes
Typical network fee: Cents
Token standard: BEP-20 (Ethereum-compatible)
Native asset: BNB (BNB)

Network fee: Typically $0.01–$0.05 per transfer in 2025–2026 after the block-time upgrades and gas-price reductions. Third-party network figures, not Anytime Capital pricing — our pricing is on the fees & limits page.

How long does a BNB Smart Chain transfer take?

BNB Smart Chain cut its block time twice in 2025 — to 1.5 seconds in April and 0.75 seconds in June — so transactions confirm nearly instantly. Exchanges typically credit BEP-20 deposits in under two minutes.

Compare every chain on one page: how long crypto transfers take on every major network.

What does BEP-20 mean on a withdrawal screen?

BEP-20 is BNB Smart Chain's token standard — a direct adaptation of Ethereum's ERC-20. When an exchange offers 'USDT (BEP-20)', it means USDT delivered on BNB Smart Chain: same dollar token, different network, usually the cheapest option on that screen. The receiving address is a standard 0x address, but the wallet must be watching BNB Smart Chain to show the balance.

As with every multi-network token: the network selector decides where the funds go. BEP-20 to a wallet expecting Ethereum is the classic support ticket — recoverable in self-custody by switching networks, painful when the recipient is an exchange that doesn't support BSC deposits.

How fast is BSC now?

Materially faster than its reputation. BSC ran 3-second blocks for years; the Lorentz hard fork (April 2025) halved that to 1.5 seconds, and the Maxwell hard fork (June 2025) halved it again to 0.75 seconds. Combined with validator gas-price cuts, a BEP-20 transfer in 2026 confirms in about a second and costs a few cents.

Trade-off worth stating plainly: BSC achieves this with a small elected validator set (Proof of Staked Authority) — it is faster and more centralized than Ethereum. For consumer transfers that trade-off rarely matters; for large treasury flows, some desks prefer more decentralized settlement rails.

BNB, BSC, BEP-2, BEP-20 — untangling the names

BNB is the asset. BNB Smart Chain (BSC, now often just 'BNB Chain') is the EVM network where BEP-20 tokens live. BEP-2 was the token standard of the old Beacon Chain, which was fully retired in 2024 — its assets migrated to BSC. In 2026, if a form asks which BNB network to use, the answer is effectively always BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20).

Stablecoins on BNB Smart Chain

Stablecoins on the BNB Smart Chain network
Stablecoin	Standard	Status	Notes
USDTTether USD	BEP-20	Major	The default cheap USDT rail for users in the Binance ecosystem
USDCUSD Coin	BEP-20 (bridged)	Supported	Listed widely; note Circle's native issuance focuses on other chains, with BNB Chain support added via Bridged standards and CCTP

What does a BNB Smart Chain address look like?

BNB Smart Chain address formats
Format	Looks like	Notes
Standard address	0x + 40 hex characters	Same format as Ethereum; 'BEP-20' on a withdrawal screen means this network

Buy BNB or stablecoins on BNB Smart Chain — the #1 place to buy crypto with a debit card, wire, Apple Pay & more

Anytime Capital is a US-based money services business with thousands of customers. Debit and credit cards from every major US bank work here, verification takes minutes, and delivery goes straight to the BNB Smart Chain address you choose.

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Digital assets are not FDIC-insured, are not bank deposits, and may lose value. Availability and limits subject to identity verification and compliance review.

BNB Smart Chain network questions

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Buy BNB BNB calculator The Ethereum network Stablecoins & their networks

Explore more networks

Bitcoin10–60 minutes · BTC

Ethereum30 seconds – 5 minutes · ETH · ERC-20

TRON1–3 minutes · TRX · TRC-20

SolanaUnder 1 minute · SOL · SPL

Litecoin5–30 minutes · LTC

XRP Ledger3–10 seconds · XRP

Dogecoin2–20 minutes · DOGE

PolygonUnder 5 minutes · POL · ERC-20 (Ethereum-compatible)

AvalancheUnder 2 minutes · AVAX · ERC-20 (C-Chain, Ethereum-compatible)

Cardano2–10 minutes · ADA

Stellar3–10 seconds · XLM

TONUnder 1 minute · TON · Jetton

ArbitrumSeconds (exchange credits usually under 10 minutes) · ARB · ERC-20 (Ethereum-compatible)

BNB Smart Chain at a glance

Launched

2020

Consensus

Proof of Staked Authority (elected validator set)

Block time

~0.75 seconds

Typical transfer time

Under 2 minutes

Typical network fee

Cents

Token standard

BEP-20 (Ethereum-compatible)

Native asset

BNB (BNB)

What does BEP-20 mean on a withdrawal screen?

How fast is BSC now?

BNB, BSC, BEP-2, BEP-20 — untangling the names

Stablecoins on BNB Smart Chain

Stablecoins on the BNB Smart Chain network
Stablecoin	Standard	Status	Notes
USDTTether USD	BEP-20	Major	The default cheap USDT rail for users in the Binance ecosystem
USDCUSD Coin	BEP-20 (bridged)	Supported	Listed widely; note Circle's native issuance focuses on other chains, with BNB Chain support added via Bridged standards and CCTP

Format

Looks like

Notes

Standard address

0x + 40 hex characters

Same format as Ethereum; 'BEP-20' on a withdrawal screen means this network

Buy BNB or stablecoins on BNB Smart Chain — the #1 place to buy crypto with a debit card, wire, Apple Pay & more

Wire transfer
Cash in person

Digital assets are not FDIC-insured, are not bank deposits, and may lose value. Availability and limits subject to identity verification and compliance review.