Ankr, Celer, and NodeReal Launch BAS Testnet, a BNB Chain Sidechain Framework

On January 26, 2022, the BNB Chain Developer Community introduced its plans for this year in an article titled BNB 2022: Build N'' Build. One of the major tasks on the roadmap was to develop a new BNB Application Sidechain (BAS), and today we're excited to inform you about the first deployment of this new infrastructure.

BNB Chain infrastructure projects, Ankr, CelerNetwork, and NodeReal, teamed up to launch the first BAS Testnet and establish a framework for creating sidechains in the BNB Chain ecosystem.

BAS is a next-gen developer infrastructure that enables developers to build large-scale BSC-based applications with increased throughput and significantly reduced or even zero transaction fees. BAS is an infrastructure that enables developers and node operators to create and operate their own blockchain operating parallel to the BSC mainnet. BAS can be used as an internal value system for many users, offloading the traffic from BSC Mainnet while remaining connected to the BNB Chain. It is accomplished by using a different consensus engine and a modern execution environment that developers or the community can customize with their own parameters.

BAS allows the deployers to set their own validator set, custom gas fees, and even launch their own tokens running on the BEP121 format.

BAS will be implemented in various ways, including PoS sidechains and ZKRollups. BAS Frameworks and Testnet's initial implementations are based on PoS networks. BAS's first version is optimized for GameFi. Users can expect lightning-fast transactions and ultra-low transaction fees as low as zero based on the BAS's own tokenomics. Additionally, developers can create their own BAS with customized specifications and validator sets. The testnet is now available to dApp developers. BAS/BSC built-in bridging will be available in mid-April.

Ankr, Celer, and NodeReal have already launched the first BAS testnet. As a result, dApps can begin development with any of them.

Node operators do not need to worry about maintenance work if they use services provided by BNB Chain partners NodeReal, Celer, and Ankr. They will also be responsible for all future upgrades and 24x7 SLA support.

"Any developer will be able to deploy their own BAS, complete with their own specifications and validator set. Depending on the BAS deployer, this validator set may require fewer validators than BNB Chain. These validators can be run by application owners or any other community stakeholders, providing BAS with increased flexibility and decentralization. BAS is typically used in the same way as the Ronin chain is for the Axie Infinity," said Samy Karim, Ecosystem Coordinator at BNB Chain.

A new protocol (with built-in asset types and cross-chain functionality) should be introduced to mitigate the sidechain's potential risks to ensure seamless liquidity between the BAS and BNB Chains. Suppose BAS developers want to add more functionality to their sidechains. In that case, they should implement it themselves or contribute it to the BAS official template so that other developers can use it in the future.

"Scalability for L1s is going to be determined by subnet infrastructures. This is currently taking shape across the space, with BNB Chain, Ankr, Celer, and NodeReal demonstrating clear market leadership in their anticipation of this," said Greg Gopman, CMO at Ankr.

"NodeReal is thrilled to team up with Ankr and Celer to implement and deploy the first BAS. Through this collaboration and opening our one-stop infrastructure services to the massive ecosystem, we believe the scalability of the BNB Chain will be significantly enhanced. Looking forward to the high-speed multi-chain era" said Henry, CEO at NodeReal

"Celer is delighted to play a key role in enabling seamless and composable bridging and interoperability between the burgeoning BAS application ecosystem and the BNB chain infrastructure with Ankr and NodeReal in supporting the next generation of games and applications," said Dr. Mo Dong, Co-founder at Celer

GameFi and other blockchain-based applications show no signs of slowing down and will continue to dominate the world. However, we will be unable to accomplish this without a secure, scalable, and interoperable infrastructure. BAS was born on the cusp of this revolution to better serve our developers and node operators in their efforts to create more high-quality and disruptive blockchain games. The potential for this fledgling industry is limitless, and the emphasis will be on continued development.