BNB Chain activated the Fermi hard fork on January 14, 2026. This is a major performance upgrade that reduces block time from 0.75 seconds to 0.45 seconds and enhances finality rules. At the time of this upgrade, the number of daily active addresses has surged to 2 million to 3 million, approaching the peak levels of 2021, while the total value locked remains around $7 billion, well below its peak of over $20 billion. Fermi aims to stabilize the network to cope with this high transaction volume and low liquidity usage pattern, thereby preventing network congestion and ensuring reliable transaction execution.