$BNB **BNB: The Fuel of the Binance Ecosystem**

BNB, formerly known as Binance Coin, is the native cryptocurrency of the Binance ecosystem, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Launched in 2017 through an initial coin offering (ICO), BNB initially functioned as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain before migrating to its own chain, Binance Chain, and subsequently to Binance Smart Chain (BSC), now known as BNB Chain.

Originally conceived as a utility token to provide discounts on trading fees on the Binance exchange, BNB has significantly evolved in its functionality. It is now used to pay transaction fees on BNB Chain, participate in token sales on the Binance Launchpad platform, and as a means of payment in a wide range of businesses and services.

A key feature of BNB is its quarterly burn mechanism. Binance uses a portion of its profits to buy back and "burn" BNB tokens, thereby reducing the total supply and potentially increasing its long-term value. This process continues until 50% of the total BNB supply has been burned.

BNB Chain, powered by BNB, has become a popular alternative to Ethereum due to its lower transaction fees and faster confirmation times. This has driven the growth of decentralized applications (dApps) and DeFi (decentralized finance) projects on the chain.

In summary, BNB is more than just a cryptocurrency; it is an integral component of the Binance ecosystem, driving a wide range of services and applications, and continues to evolve to meet the needs of the growing cryptocurrency world.