From exchange token to network coin
The original 2017 issue was a straightforward utility token: hold BNB, pay lower fees on Binance. In 2019 it migrated to its own chain, and in 2020 a second, smart-contract-capable chain launched alongside it. The two later merged under the name BNB Chain.
The token now serves several purposes: paying transaction fees on the chain, trading fee discounts on the exchange, staking, and participation in various platform mechanisms.
The burn mechanism
BNB has a deflationary supply schedule. A portion of tokens is destroyed at regular intervals, permanently removing them from circulation, with the stated aim of reducing total supply toward 100 million from an original 200 million.
This is worth understanding as a supply mechanic rather than as a guarantee about price. What it does reliably is make the total number of tokens fall over time.
Speed, cost and the address hazard
Transfers confirm in a few seconds and cost cents. For stablecoin payments the chain is a reasonable middle option: cheaper than Ethereum, more widely supported than TON, more expensive than Solana.
The hazard deserves its own paragraph, because it causes real losses.
BNB Chain is EVM-compatible, which means it uses exactly the same address format as Ethereum: 0x followed by 40 hexadecimal characters. An address valid on one is valid on the other, and a wallet will accept it without complaint on either.
Send BEP-20 USDT to an address the recipient monitors only on Ethereum, and the funds are on the wrong chain. They are recoverable if the recipient controls the private key and can add the network in their wallet; they are gone if the recipient is an exchange that does not credit that chain.
The check is to confirm the network with the recipient explicitly, because the address itself will not tell you.
Where BNB Chain fits for a merchant
Its position is the middle of the range, and that is a real position rather than a compromise nobody wants.
Ethereum has the deepest support and the highest fees. Solana and TON have the lowest fees and narrower coverage. BNB Chain sits between them: cents per transfer, seconds to confirm, and support from essentially every exchange and wallet because of the Binance ecosystem behind it.
For a business selling into Asia, where Binance holds a large share of retail crypto activity, BEP-20 stablecoins are frequently what customers actually hold. That is usually the deciding argument.