VALLETTA, Malta—Binance, which says it is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has launched its own digital ledger.
The company is seeking to leverage its clout to get developers to switch projects from rival platforms such as Ethereum to its own native blockchain, Bloomberg reported.
The distributed ledger, called Binance Chain, will allow crypto startups to issue coins directly on the company’s platform. It will also serve as the basis of Binance’s planned decentralized exchange, which will let customers trade more directly than on centralized exchanges. The exchange’s native coin, known as BNB, will move off the Ethereum network to the new blockchain, Bloomberg said.
"The launch of Binance Chain is one of the most important crypto events of the year," Kyle Samani, co-founder of crypto hedge fund Multicoin Capital Management in Austin, Texas, told Bloomberg.
‘Big Attraction’
“Raising funding through Initial Coin Offerings conducted directly on the Binance Chain is seen as a big attraction for token issuers and investors because of the liquidity and exposure of the Binance exchange. In the past, startups that issued coins on the Ethereum network often found it difficult to get their tokens listed on exchanges even if they were willing to pay listing fees,” Bloomberg noted.
"Binance Chain is competing with one of the primary use cases that helped catapult Ethereum into what it is today: issuing and trading tokens," Samani said. "And because Binance Chain is designed with that specific purpose in mind, it does a much better job (speed, transaction fees, etc.) than Ethereum can. I expect all of the regulated token offerings and ICOs moving forward to take place on Binance Chain as it simply provides a much better platform for these use cases."