What is BEP-20: tokens on BNB Smart Chain

BEP-20 is the name for fungible tokens on BNB Smart Chain (BSC). BSC is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine, so BEP-20 tokens implement the same interface as ERC-20: balanceOf, transfer, approve, transferFrom and the Transfer event. Wallets such as MetaMask work with BSC once the network is added.

BSC is popular for payments because transactions are typically cheap and blocks are produced quickly. USDT, USDC and many other tokens have BEP-20 versions. Network fees are paid in BNB, so a customer who wants to send USDT on BSC needs a small amount of BNB in the same wallet.

The most important trap is the address format. BSC addresses look exactly like Ethereum addresses: 0x followed by 40 hex characters. The same private key controls the same address on both networks. This makes it very easy to send tokens on the wrong network: a customer withdraws USDT from an exchange choosing “ERC20” instead of “BEP20”, and the funds arrive at the same address but on Ethereum. They are not lost if the recipient controls the key, but a payment system watching BSC will not see them.

Developers should also note decimals. USDT and USDC on BSC (the Binance-Peg versions) use 18 decimals, unlike 6 on Ethereum. Code that assumes “USDT always has 6 decimals” will miscalculate BSC payments by a factor of 10¹².

Moonvex accepts BNB, USDT and USDC on BNB Smart Chain. The payment page states the network explicitly, and the service manages gas in BNB when consolidating received funds.