BNB Chain DEX Volume Hits $166B After Maxwell Upgrade Cuts Block Time

BNB Chain the Maxwell upgrade on June 30, 2025, cutting block time from 1.5 seconds to 0.75 seconds, according to BscScan. The upgrade immediately delivered a massive boost to the network’s performance, which in turn helped fuel a record-breaking month for its decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem.

The Maxwell upgrade followed a similar speed-boosting hardfork in April, which had reduced block time from 3 seconds to 1.5 seconds. It included three proposals: BEP-524, BEP-563, and BEP-564. These proposals addressed transaction speed, validator messaging, and node synchronization.

BEP-524 introduced a shorter block interval, enabling quicker transaction confirmation. This adjustment lowered the time needed for DeFi and GameFi transactions to be finalized.

BEP-563 improved validator communication by upgrading the consensus process. It minimized message delays and reduced the chance of vote drops. These changes were designed to keep the network responsive under heavy load.

Together, both proposals enhanced BNB Chain’s ability to handle higher traffic without compromising block validation or finality.

BEP-564 added two message types: GetBlocksByRangeMsg and RangeBlocksMsg. These features let validators exchange block data in batches instead of individually.

This helped slow nodes synchronize faster and decreased the time needed to recover from delays. The feature was introduced to support high-volume environments with minimal downtime and efficient validator coordination.

Following the Maxwell upgrade, BNB Chain DEX volume reached $166.6 billion in June 2025, marking its highest level on record. The data comes from DeFiLlama.

BNB Chain led all other blockchains in daily DEX volume during the month. It surpassed both Ethereum and Solana combined in terms of on-chain decentralized trading volume.

The BNB Chain DEX volume spike came alongside lower block times and increased transaction speed, both introduced by the Maxwell upgrade.

PancakeSwap, BNB Chain’s largest decentralized exchange, processed over $139 billion in trading volume in June. This positioned it ahead of Uniswap and Raydium, according to

The exchange handled a significant portion of total BNB Chain activity during the month. Its volume increase reflects the impact of reduced transaction times enabled by the network upgrade.

PancakeSwap benefited from improved infrastructure that minimized delays during high activity periods, supporting more stable DeFi interactions.