The ongoing success of Binance and its associated BNB token has attracted a lot of attention. For those who are able to look past the hype and glamour, it would seem some genuine concerns are being raised regarding Binance Coin. With the “blockchain” launching in a few days, the lack of full node open source code has many people wondering what the current plan is. Moreover, one has to wonder if BNB would effectively violate Binance’s own semi-official coin listing policy.
The Binance Coin Concerns Seem Genuine
As is always the case in the cryptocurrency industry, there will be people who doubt specific projects first and foremost. While most of these concerns appear to be FUD in the end, the current discussions pertaining to Binance Coin appear to fall into a different category altogether. There are a fair few uncertainties which can easily be addressed by the team in the coming days, albeit they are cutting it close for a project which should get a mainnet launch later this week.
More specifically, most cryptocurrencies and tokens running on their own native chain will come with some sort of full node software. These nodes are then set up by network participants to relay transactions and ensure the network behaves according to plan. As Binance Coin is getting its mainnet launch this week, the lack of an open source full node software repository is somewhat disconcerting. It will be interesting to see if this code will ever be made open source, as someone will have to run full nodes on the network once it launches.
As BNB tokens are “migrated” to the new chain launched today, BNB itself probably no longer be complies with @binance’s own (unofficial) listing policy, as the node software isn’t open source, and they wouldn’t list other coins where source code isn’t available.
cc @cz_binance https://t.co/LHCNHgb2xt
— Udi Wertheimer (@udiWertheimer) April 23, 2019
This lack of full node source code also raises another interesting question. Since multiple projects have indicated they are willing to shift from Ethereum to Binacne’s own chain in the future, it may prove difficult to do so. Especially without these projects seeing any piece of code pertaining to Binance Chain or its full nodes. While that doesn’t have to be a major red flag right away, it confirms chasing the “popular solution” without conducting research isn’t exactly professional.
If push comes to shove and Binance Coin’s new chain launches without open source full node code, a very interesting situation is created. Not just because it would potentially put a shady spin on this entire project, but also because BNB would violate Binance’s own – unofficial – policy in terms of listing specific coins, tokens, and assets. While not an official requirement, it seems the company shuns projects which have no full node open source code available at that time.
As these discussions take place, one has to keep in mind all of these concerns can be addressed. Binance’s chain will launch in a few days from now, thus there is ample time to offer the full node code in an official manner. This may all be part of their plan, for all one knows, yet it is only normal to see some people raise some questions. For the time being, there is no reason to think this migration is part of an elaborate scam of sorts, even though some people will undoubtedly claim that is the case regardless.
What is rather interesting is how hardware wallet provider Ledger confirmed their solution is compatible with the Binance Coin mainnet. As such, there is some code which can be made accessible to the right parties. However, that does not address the full node code issue at this time. There are still some unknown factors which the team needs to address sooner rather than later, but there is a genuine chance everything will be on the up-and-up by the time the chain launches.
Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The above article is for entertainment and education purposes only. Please do your own research before purchasing or investing into any cryptocurrency.