BNB Smart Chain has activated the Pasteur hard fork on mainnet, bringing a set of changes focused on bridge verification, validator authorization and block handling. The upgrade combines three BNB Evolution Proposals and is intended to improve bridge, staking and governance security while also increasing transaction capacity.
According to the source article, the changes were deployed without altering BSC’s 450-millisecond block time. Alongside the security updates, the fork introduces an additional path for block submission designed to fit more transactions into each block during periods of heavier demand.
Three proposals bundled into one upgrade
Pasteur rolls together BEP-682, BEP-695 and BEP-675. Each proposal targets a different part of how the network validates cross-chain data, manages validator permissions and handles block construction.
BEP-682 rejects duplicate validator entries during cross-chain light-block verification. That change is meant to stop validators from being counted more than once when bridge approvals are checked, closing a verification gap identified in the previous design.
BEP-695 adds tighter controls around validator key rotation, slashing and governance voting. As described in the source article, it removes authority from old validator keys and prevents restricted addresses from taking part in voting.
Bridge and governance safeguards tightened
The security-related changes are aimed at reducing risks around both bridge approvals and validator authorization. In practice, the fork addresses two areas: preventing duplicate validator counts in bridge-related verification and limiting the ability of outdated or restricted credentials to influence network actions.
That means the hard fork touches more than just cross-chain operations. It also affects staking and governance-related processes by narrowing which keys and addresses can still exercise authority after validator changes or restrictions are applied.
New block submission route added
Pasteur also changes how certain specialist builders can submit blocks to validators. Under the older route, a builder executed transactions and then sent a proposed block to a validator, which re-executed those transactions before signing the block.
The new route lets builders submit blocks that have already been executed. Validators then check the blocks against consensus rules, sign and broadcast them, and only afterward complete full execution verification. The earlier route remains available, so builders are not forced to switch immediately.
Test results showed higher throughput
In controlled testing cited by the source article, the new submission path increased throughput by about 88%, rising from 1,237 transactions per second to 2,324. Average gas per block also increased during those tests, indicating more transactions were being packed into each block.
The article noted that these figures came from a controlled test workload rather than live mainnet activity. As a result, they should be treated as test results rather than confirmed mainnet performance.
What is confirmed after the fork
The confirmed outcome so far is that Pasteur is live on the BSC mainnet and that its main features include the three proposal changes around bridge verification, validator controls and block submission.
The next observable step will be whether the network’s new block-building route delivers similar gains under real mainnet conditions. For now, the published evidence is limited to test measurements, while the security and governance-related rule changes have already been activated as part of the fork.
Source: cointelegraph.com