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In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the need for solutions that balance high performance, affordability, and scalability has never been more significant.
As various industries digitize their operations and seek cost-effective ways to navigate the blockchain world, the BNB Chain ecosystem competes to be relevant in the blockchain ecosystem with its high performance, low cost, Layer-2 solution – opBNB. This community-focused solution is built for over 4,000 transactions per second (TPS) and offers an incredibly low average gas fee of less than $0.005.
This article explores the immense potential of opBNB to deliver substantial cost savings and performance improvements, particularly for blockchain gaming applications. We will delve into the potential cost savings of opBNB and illustrate its practical advantages through five case studies of platforms that can reap significant benefits: PancakeSwap, Cyber Connect, Stargate, Galxe, and Hooked Protocol.
The Unique Appeal of opBNB: Scalability and Affordability
When it comes to financial transactions, the cost involved plays a pivotal role. opBNB aims to achieve an average transaction fee of about $0.005 on its mainnet. This impressive cost reduction, owed to opBNB’s commitment to delivering an efficient and scalable platform, makes it a highly appealing solution in the current digital landscape. This distinctive cost savings is evident when compared to major Layer 1 (L1) networks and even some Layer 2 networks.
However, it is noted the gas fee for various decentralized applications would exhibit significant differences due to their distinct transaction types. For instance, a Defi dApp is likely to incur a considerably higher average gas fee compared to a gaming dApp.
To calculate the estimated range of saved funds for gas fees across various projects, we consider that different transaction types have varying levels of complexity. As a result, we apply a conservative approach by taking a range when estimating the potential savings in gas fees (e.g., +/- 50%). This ensures that the projected cost savings are comprehensive and encompass the potential fluctuations in gas fees for different types of transactions.
The gas fees mechanics of opBNB will be similar to other Layer 2 networks where there are two components to these fees: i) a L2 gas fee composed of a base fee and a tip fee and ii) a L1 data fee for relaying back to the L1 network. Through efficient design of L2 mechanics, and the recent reduction of gas price on the L1 side(5->3 Gwei), we hope to see the compound benefit in terms of lower overall gas fee.
The Impact on the Gaming Industry
Gaming is another sector that stands to gain significantly from the adoption of opBNB. Today’s gamers demand high responsiveness and minimal latency, requiring instant transactions and real-time updates to ensure a smooth, immersive gaming experience. Any delays caused by network congestion or slow transaction times can frustrate players and detract from the game’s overall enjoyment.
The advanced features of opBNB, such as high throughput and quick transaction speed, make it an ideal ledger for gaming applications. Moreover, the BNB Smart Chain (BSC) can operate as a secure settlement layer, finalizing transactions and guaranteeing security, thus striking the perfect balance between performance and security in the gaming world.
Case Studies: Gaining a Competitive Edge with opBNB
Gas Fees consumed by protocols between 1 January 2023 to 19 July 2023 (both inclusive)
| Project | Total Gas Fee in BNB (As of 19 July 2023) | Estimated Total Gas Fees in USD(Based on BNB exchange rate on 19 July) | Gas per TX in BNB | Gas per TX in USD | Total Active Users | # of TX |
| PancakeSwap (V2) | 112,948 | 27,238,530 | 0.002 | 0.43 | 17,538,942 | 63,521,809 |
| Cyber Connect | 11,024 | 2,658,444 | 0.001 | 0.19 | 7,546,390 | 14,343,646 |
| Stargate | 3,055 | 736,685 | 0.001 | 0.24 | 2,002,976 | 3,117,746 |
| Galxe | 5,432 | 1,310,068 | 0.001 | 0.20 | 2,611,995 | 6,434,417 |
| Hooked | 3,055 | 736,773 | 0.0001 | 0.03 | 23,318,515 | 23,936,394 |
Given that the categories are different, the gas fee per transaction will vary, but for simplicity in estimation, we are using a range of $0.005 to $0.01 when testing some of the estimation scenarios.
PancakeSwap
PancakeSwap is a decentralized exchange (DEX) that operates on the BNB Smart Chain and specifically caters to BEP20 tokens. Similar to platforms like UniSwap, PancakeSwap allows users to trade their coins directly with other users, eliminating the need for intermediaries. This specialization on BEP20 tokens allows PancakeSwap to cater to the unique token ecosystem of the BNB Smart Chain, providing users with a decentralized and efficient platform for swapping BEP20 tokens.
When you consider the scale of PancakeSwap’s operations, this reduction in cost represents substantial savings. Year-to-date, they’ve processed approximately 63.5 million transactions. At an average of $0.005 per transaction, the same volume will amount to approximately $317,609. However, year to date, PancakeSwap consumed over 112,000 BNB worth of gas (approximately $27.2 million).
By integrating opBNB, the cost would be reduced dramatically for the same number of transactions, representing an impressive 98.8% decrease in gas fees. DeFi transactions are often, though not always, more complex than other types of transactions, hence even if we assume that Pancake Swap incurs a higher gas fee per transactions (e.g., $0.01 per transaction), the savings are still considerable at 97.7%.
Previously we have observed that Pancake Swap incurs an average gas fee of ~2 to 3 times that of the chain average, however, the integration of opBNB could mean potential drastic reduction in transaction costs that would not drive DeFi applications to become more affordable and accessible over the long term.
Cyber Connect
CyberConnect, a trailblazer in Web3’s decentralized social networks, could significantly benefit from the integration of opBNB. As of April 2023, over 875,000 Web3 users have minted a CyberProfile, with over 14.3 million transactions made. On average, CyberConnect sees over 300,000 active users each month.
Given the high transaction volumes and active user base, a move to opBNB would yield considerable cost savings. Suppose each transaction on CyberConnect’s current blockchain costs an average gas fee of $0.19. With a total of 14.3 million transactions, that would translate to an expense of close to $2.7 million. Now, if CyberConnect integrates opBNB, with its low gas fee of $0.005 on average per transaction, the cost for 8.6 million transactions would be just slightly over $71,000.
This results in a significant cost reduction of 97.3%, providing considerable savings for users of the platform. Alternatively, even if the average transaction fees was $0.01, then Cyber Connect can estimate a gas fees savings of approximately 94.6%.
Stargate
Stargate Finance, an omnichain-native asset bridge, has been pioneering in addressing the blockchain trilemma, offering a blend of decentralization, security, and speed. Year-to-date, they have processed over 3 million transactions, consuming over $736,000 in gas fees. Transitioning these transactions to opBNB, the cost for executing the same number of transactions would likely plummet to slightly over $15,000 to $31,000. This equates to a dramatic cost reduction of about 95.8% to 97.9%—a significant saving that could be passed on to users, making transactions more affordable and possibly driving increased usage of Stargate’s services.
Apart from cost savings, the adoption of opBNB could also have a positive impact on the speed and scalability of transactions on Stargate. Given that opBNB has a high transaction throughput, it could accommodate the high volume of transactions required by Stargate without compromising on speed or performance.
Galxe
Galxe, launched on Binance Launchpool, has distinguished itself as a leading Web3 credential data network. The platform is designed to foster an open, collaborative credential data network that allows Web3 developers and projects to capitalize on credential data, thereby building superior products and communities.
Consider the fact that Galxe is executing several transactions daily for its various services such as NFT loyalty programs, data curation, and integration of on-chain and off-chain credentials. With a standard transaction fee on the BSC, these operations could quickly add up to significant costs. However, by adopting opBNB, Galxe could dramatically reduce these costs.
For example, year-to-date Galxe has processed over 6.4 million transactions, spending approximately $1.3 million in gas fees. However, if the same number of transactions were processed on opBNB at a fee, the total cost would likely be around $32,000 to $64,000 in the same period. This represents an astounding cost savings of about 95.1% to 97.6%!
Hooked
Hooked’s emphasis on fostering an intuitive and engaging learning environment is evident in its innovative Hooked Academy, a 30-second Meme Video Portal for Web3 learning. Given the number of transactions generated through its various activities such as quizzes, games, referrals, staking, and swapping, Hooked could greatly benefit from integrating opBNB. As we’ve seen in previous examples, opBNB’s ultra-low transaction fees and high-speed processing capabilities could result in significant cost savings and an enhanced user experience.
Consider this, at an average of $0.03 per transaction on BSC with a year to date volume of over 23.9 million transactions, the integration of opBNB can bring gas fees down to approximately $119,000 to $240,000 for Hooked. That’s 67.5% to 84.0% in potential gas savings. Moreover, the rapid transaction speeds and scalability offered by opBNB could prove invaluable to Hooked, particularly given its emphasis on providing a seamless and engaging user experience.
Conclusion
The integration of opBNB into various blockchain applications demonstrates the rollup solution’s immense potential to deliver improved performance, significant cost savings, and potentially, a more enjoyable user experience. Each of our case studies reveals the tangible benefits of opBNB adoption, highlighting the vast opportunities it presents across the digital landscape and Web3 ecosystem. As more applications begin to embrace more cost effective and high performance
Layer 2 solutions like opBNB, the potential for further growth and evolution becomes more accessible. With its combination of high performance, low cost, and scalability, opBNB can empower the next-generation dApps you’re building.
To learn more about how L2 solutions like opBNB enhance performance and improve cost savings, read BNB Chain’s in-depth explanation here.
