White paper drafted under the European Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 for FFG H8BH7VR5W

The ASTER tokens referred to in this white paper are crypto-assets other than EMTs and ARTs, and are issued on the BNB Smart Chain network (2025-10-29 and according to DTI FFG shown in F.14) with a total number of 8,000,000,000 token. The first activity on BNB Smart Chain can be viewed on 2025-09-01 6:39:06 (see https://bscscan.com/tx/0x7acf90901f792f0f91f408b6cd4d0c13b2883c9a3205222bbe4012460d4754f1).

Not applicable.

The token has been admitted to trading to the trading platform operated by Bitstamp Europe S.A. on its own initiative.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

As a MiCAR-licensed operator of the trading platform, Bitstamp Europe S.A. shall comply with the requirements set out in Article 5 of MiCAR when admitting to trading on its own initiative a crypto-asset for which no white paper has been published in accordance with MiCAR. In such cases, including admission of the token to trading, Bitstamp Europe S.A. shall provide, notify and publishing the crypto-asset white paper in accordance with the relevant provisions of MiCAR.

Bitstamp Europe S.A. is a Crypto-Asset Service Provider authorized with the CSSF under the number N00000003 to provide the following crypto-asset services:

• providing custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients;

• operation of a trading platform for crypto-assets;

• exchange of crypto-assets for funds;

• exchange of crypto-assets for other crypto-assets;

• execution of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients;

• reception and transmission of orders for crypto-assets on behalf of clients; and

• providing transfer services for crypto-assets on behalf of clients.

Bitstamp Europe S.A. is a payment institution authorized with the CSSF under number Z00000012 to provide the following payment services:

3.a) execution of direct debits, including one-off direct debits,

3.b) execution of payment transactions through a payment card or a similar device,

3.c) execution of credit transfers, including standing orders and

6.) money remittance.

Bitstamp Europe S.A. has notified the cross-border provision of payment services and of crypto-asset services in all EU and EEA member states.

Bitstamp has admitted the asset to which this white paper relates to, to trading on its own initiative on its trading platform.

Robinhood Markets, Inc is the holding company for the Robinhood group.

Crypto Risk Metrics GmbH, Lange Reihe 73, 20099 Hamburg

Crypto Risk Metrics GmbH, Lange Reihe 73, 20099 Hamburg, was mandated to draw up the white paper by Bitstamp Europe S.A.

The Aster project refers to a decentralised trading infrastructure designed to enable the exchange of digital assets through automated protocols. The system combines functionalities for spot and derivative trading within a non-custodial and on-chain environment.

The project architecture is based on smart contracts deployed across multiple blockchain networks. Its technical concept allows users to interact directly with the protocol without the intermediation of centralised custodians. The platform integrates liquidity-provision mechanisms and staking functionalities intended to support market operations and token utility within the ecosystem.

The crypto-asset associated with the project serves as a token within this environment. It is intended to facilitate access to platform services, to support potential governance participation, and to enable the execution of internal incentive mechanisms defined by the protocol.

At the time of drafting, the project remains under continuous technical development. Specific functional features, governance procedures, and ecosystem parameters may be subject to further adjustments following implementation or subsequent protocol upgrades.

According to publicly available information, the Aster project has completed several initial milestones, including the deployment of its decentralised trading infrastructure, the launch of spot and perpetual trading functionalities, and the integration of liquidity-pool mechanisms within its protocol architecture. These developments constitute the foundation of the AsterDEX platform and establish the operational use of the ASTER token within the ecosystem.

Further project milestones have included the implementation of cross-chain functionality, allowing interaction with multiple blockchain networks, and the introduction of token-based participation mechanisms such as staking or liquidity provision.

Future plans communicated by the project outline continued technical expansion, including the integration of additional blockchain networks, refinement of governance structures, and gradual enhancement of the protocol’s liquidity and risk-management framework. These measures are intended to strengthen the ecosystem’s operational resilience and user participation.

It should be noted that these milestones and development targets represent indicative plans rather than binding commitments. The realisation of the planned developments depends on the availability of internal resources, market conditions, and the outcome of technical audits or governance processes. Adjustments to the project roadmap may occur without prior notice, which could affect the timing or scope of the token’s intended functionalities.

According to publicly available information from the official AsterDEX documentation (https://docs.asterdex.com/usdaster/tokenomics, accessed 2025-11-02) the total token supply of the ASTER token is 8 billion ASTER.

The documentation states that this supply is allocated among several functional categories intended to support the project’s ecosystem, development and early-stage participants. Specifically:

- 53.5% of the total supply is allocated to “Airdrops” (community distribution)

- 30% is allocated to “Ecosystem & Community” to drive the development and growth of the ecosystem

- 7% is allocated to the “Treasury” for protocol reserves

- 5% is allocated to the “Team” (locked / reserved for contributors)

- 4.5% is allocated to “Liquidity & Listing” purposes (market-making, early exchange listings).

While these categories outline the intended resource allocation within the ASTER ecosystem, the documentation does not provide in full public detail a binding vesting schedule (or fully detailed release timeline) for each category beyond the published allocation percentages. As a result, the effective timing and availability of tokens from each category may vary depending on implementation or future protocol decisions.

It should be noted that the disclosed figures represent indicative allocations at the time of publication and may be subject to discretionary adjustments by the project’s governing entities or token-issuer mechanism. Any material changes to these allocations or to the release schedule could influence the token’s supply structure, liquidity and concentration risk over time.

The current token distribution can be traced on-chain via the BNB Smart Chain network at:

https://bscscan.com/token/0x000Ae314E2A2172a039B26378814C252734f556A#balances.

Investors and users should be aware that token distribution data alone does not identify the actual concentration of holdings or the identities of token-holders associated with each allocation. Blockchain addresses do not necessarily correspond to identifiable persons or entities, which limits the ability to assess the economic influence of specific token-holders. Consequently, risks of high concentration or rapid redistribution cannot be excluded and may affect governance dynamics or value stability in the future.

Not applicable, as this white paper was drawn up for the admission to trading and not for collecting funds for the crypto-asset-project.

Bitstamp Europe S.A. has admitted the token to trading based on its market considerations.

Investors can access the trading platform through https://www.bitstamp.net or via the Bitstamp applications.

There are no costs involved in creating an account on the trading platform, however trading fees and other costs apply in accordance with the fee schedule available at https://www.bitstamp.net/fee-schedule.

Not applicable, as Bitstamp Europe S.A. has only admitted token to trading on its platform on its own initiative and has not been involved in offering the token to the public.

There are no conflicts of interest of the persons involved in the admission to trading. Bitstamp Group has a strict Code of Conduct and Trading Policy in place. They both mitigate the possibility of conflicts of interest.

In accordance with the Code of Conduct all officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, contractors and consultants (and other persons, regardless of job or position), are required to report any situation where there is the potential for conflict of interest between their interests and interests of Bitstamp. The Trading Policy that is in place within the Bitstamp Group prohibits all forms of market manipulation and has been designed to prevent insider trading.

Not applicable, as this point pertains to an "offer to the public," whereas this white paper relates to admission to trading.

Not applicable, as this point pertains to an "offer to the public," whereas this white paper relates to admission to trading.

The crypto-asset associated with the Aster project functions primarily as an instrument within the decentralised trading protocol. It is intended to enable access to and interaction with specific services and features provided by the protocol.

In particular, the token may be used for transaction fee payments within the system, for participation in governance procedures where such mechanisms are implemented, and for staking or liquidity-provision activities designed to support the operation of the trading infrastructure.

The crypto-asset does not represent ownership, debt, or profit-participation rights and does not constitute a claim against any identifiable issuer or entity. Its role is limited to technical and operational functions within the Aster ecosystem as defined by the respective smart-contract architecture.

At the current stage, the precise scope of functions and participation mechanisms remains subject to ongoing technical development and governance implementation.

See D.8.

The tokens are crypto-assets other than EMTs and ARTs, which are available on the BNB Smart Chain. The tokens are fungible (up to 18 digits after the decimal point). The tokens are a digital representation of value, and have no inherent rights attached as well as no intrinsic utility.

It is not possible to exclude a possibility that the issuer of the token provides or will provide other services not covered by Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (i.e. MiCAR).

No legally binding real or contractual obligations are linked to the crypto-asset. The technically possible governance participations and functionalities described in F.2 cannot be independently verified and it cannot be guaranteed that these promises have legal binding force that an investor can enforce.

As the token grants no legal binding rights nor obligations, there are no procedures and conditions for the exercise of these rights applicable.

The promise of governance participation is based on technical circumstances and relies on smart contract functionalities and voting platforms. It is not certain whether this infrastructure will be available for use of these governance functions on a permanent basis.

As the token grants no legal binding rights nor obligations, there are no procedures and conditions for the exercise of these rights applicable.

An adjustment of the technical infrastructure necessary to exercise the promised governance rights, declining functionality due to dilution, changing rights within the voting platforms, and all other adverse effects for investors may occur at any time.

Information on the future offers to the public of crypto-assets were not available at the time of writing this white paper (2025-10-21).

The crypto-assets as such do not have any transfer restrictions and are generally freely transferable. Bitstamp will employ the same restrictions to the token as to the other crypto-assets listed on their trading platform and strictly abide by the applicable laws in the European Union.

For the crypto-asset in scope, the supply is limited to 8,000,000,000 tokens according to the crypto-asset project (https://docs.asterdex.com/usdaster/overview, accessed 2025-10-29). Investors should note that changes in the token supply can have a negative impact.

The token is not subject to any predetermined applicable law. Applicable law likely depends on the location of any particular party and/or the location of any particular transaction with the token.

The token is not subject to any predetermined court jurisdiction. Competent court likely depends on the location of any particular party and/or the location of any particular transaction with the token.

See F.13.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is a Layer-1 blockchain that utilizes a Proof-of-Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism. This mechanism combines elements of Proof-of-Authority (PoA) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and is intended to secure the network and validate transactions. In PoSA, validators are selected based on their stake and authority, with the goal of providing fast transaction times and low fees while maintaining network security through staking.

1. BSC-Compatible Wallets

Tokens on BSC are supported by wallets compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), such as MetaMask. These wallets can be configured to connect to the BSC network and are designed to interact with BSC using standard Web3 interfaces.

2. Ledger

BSC maintains its own decentralized ledger for recording token transactions. This ledger is intended to ensure transparency and security, providing a verifiable record of all activities on the network.

3. BEP-20 Token Standard

BSC supports tokens implemented under the BEP-20 standard, which is tailored for the BSC ecosystem. This standard is designed to facilitate the creation and management of tokens on the network.

4. Scalability and Transaction Efficiency

BSC is designed to handle high volumes of transactions with low fees. It leverages its PoSA consensus mechanism to achieve fast transaction times and efficient network performance, making it suitable for applications requiring high throughput.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) uses a hybrid consensus mechanism called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA), which combines elements of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA). This method ensures fast block times and low fees while maintaining a level of decentralization and security. Core Components 1. Validators (so-called “Cabinet Members”): Validators on BSC are responsible for producing new blocks, validating transactions, and maintaining the network’s security. To become a validator, an entity must stake a significant amount of BNB (Binance Coin). Validators are selected through staking and voting by token holders. There are 21 active validators at any given time, rotating to ensure decentralization and security. 2. Delegators: Token holders who do not wish to run validator nodes can delegate their BNB tokens to validators. This delegation helps validators increase their stake and improves their chances of being selected to produce blocks. Delegators earn a share of the rewards that validators receive, incentivizing broad participation in network security. 3. Candidates: Candidates are nodes that have staked the required amount of BNB and are in the pool waiting to become validators. They are essentially potential validators who are not currently active but can be elected to the validator set through community voting. Candidates play a crucial role in ensuring there is always a sufficient pool of nodes ready to take on validation tasks, thus maintaining network resilience and decentralization. Consensus Process 4. Validator Selection: Validators are chosen based on the amount of BNB staked and votes received from delegators. The more BNB staked and votes received, the higher the chance of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. The selection process involves both the current validators and the pool of candidates, ensuring a dynamic and secure rotation of nodes. 5. Block Production: The selected validators take turns producing blocks in a PoA-like manner, ensuring that blocks are generated quickly and efficiently. Validators validate transactions, add them to new blocks, and broadcast these blocks to the network. 6. Transaction Finality: BSC achieves fast block times of around 3 seconds and quick transaction finality. This is achieved through the efficient PoSA mechanism that allows validators to rapidly reach consensus. Security and Economic Incentives 7. Staking: Validators are required to stake a substantial amount of BNB, which acts as collateral to ensure their honest behavior. This staked amount can be slashed if validators act maliciously. Staking incentivizes validators to act in the network's best interest to avoid losing their staked BNB. 8. Delegation and Rewards: Delegators earn rewards proportional to their stake in validators. This incentivizes them to choose reliable validators and participate in the network’s security. Validators and delegators share transaction fees as rewards, which provides continuous economic incentives to maintain network security and performance. 9. Transaction Fees: BSC employs low transaction fees, paid in BNB, making it cost-effective for users. These fees are collected by validators as part of their rewards, further incentivizing them to validate transactions accurately and efficiently.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) uses the Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism to ensure network security and incentivize participation from validators and delegators. Incentive Mechanisms 1. Validators: Staking Rewards: Validators must stake a significant amount of BNB to participate in the consensus process. They earn rewards in the form of transaction fees and block rewards. Selection Process: Validators are selected based on the amount of BNB staked and the votes received from delegators. The more BNB staked and votes received, the higher the chances of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. 2. Delegators: Delegated Staking: Token holders can delegate their BNB to validators. This delegation increases the validator's total stake and improves their chances of being selected to produce blocks. Shared Rewards: Delegators earn a portion of the rewards that validators receive. This incentivizes token holders to participate in the network’s security and decentralization by choosing reliable validators. 3. Candidates: Pool of Potential Validators: Candidates are nodes that have staked the required amount of BNB and are waiting to become active validators. They ensure that there is always a sufficient pool of nodes ready to take on validation tasks, maintaining network resilience. 4. Economic Security: Slashing: Validators can be penalized for malicious behavior or failure to perform their duties. Penalties include slashing a portion of their staked tokens, ensuring that validators act in the best interest of the network. Opportunity Cost: Staking requires validators and delegators to lock up their BNB tokens, providing an economic incentive to act honestly to avoid losing their staked assets. Fees on the Binance Smart Chain 5. Transaction Fees: Low Fees: BSC is known for its low transaction fees compared to other blockchain networks. These fees are paid in BNB and are essential for maintaining network operations and compensating validators. Dynamic Fee Structure: Transaction fees can vary based on network congestion and the complexity of the transactions. However, BSC ensures that fees remain significantly lower than those on the Ethereum mainnet. 6. Block Rewards: Incentivizing Validators: Validators earn block rewards in addition to transaction fees. These rewards are distributed to validators for their role in maintaining the network and processing transactions. 7. Cross-Chain Fees: Interoperability Costs: BSC supports cross-chain compatibility, allowing assets to be transferred between Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. These cross-chain operations incur minimal fees, facilitating seamless asset transfers and improving user experience. 8. Smart Contract Fees: Deployment and Execution Costs: Deploying and interacting with smart contracts on BSC involves paying fees based on the computational resources required. These fees are also paid in BNB and are designed to be cost-effective, encouraging developers to build on the BSC platform.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

1. Regulatory and Jurisdictional Risks: This white paper has been prepared with utmost caution; however, future changes in regulatory frameworks could potentially impact the token's legal status and its tradability.

Jurisdictional Limitations: Investors are required to ensure that their transactions comply with the laws applicable in their jurisdictions, as the regulatory landscape for crypto-assets varies significantly across different regions.

2. Market and Liquidity Risks:

Volatility: The token will most likely be subject to high volatility and market speculation. Price fluctuations could be significant, posing a risk of substantial losses to holders.

Liquidity Risk: Low trading volumes may restrict the buying and selling capabilities of the tokens. Liquidity of the token can vary. This could result in high slippage when trading a token.

3. Operational and Technical Risks:

Blockchain Dependency: As of now, the token is entirely dependent on the blockchains described above. Any issues like downtime, congestion, or security vulnerabilities within the networks could adversely affect the token's functionality.

Smart Contract Risks: Smart contracts governing the token may contain hidden vulnerabilities or bugs that could disrupt the token offering or distribution processes.

Human errors: Due to the irrevocability of blockchain-transactions, approving wrong transactions or using incorrect networks/addresses will most likely result in funds not being accessibly anymore.

4. Lack of Intrinsic Value: The token does not possess inherent utility, functioning solely as a speculative asset. Its valuation is predominantly influenced by community engagement, speculative activities, and overall market sentiment, which presents considerable challenges to sustaining long-term value stability.

5. Delisting Risks: Bitstamp Eurpe S.A. might remove the token from trading in line with Bitstamp Markets Trading Rules.

1. Insolvency

As with every other commercial endeavor, the risk of insolvency of the issuer is given. This could be caused by but is not limited to lack of interest from the public, lack of funding, incapacitation of key developers and project members, force majeure (including pandemics and wars) or lack of commercial success or prospects.

2. Counterparty

In order to operate, the issuer has most likely engaged in different business relationships with one or more third parties on which it strongly depends on. Loss or changes in the leadership or key partners of the issuer and/or the respective counterparties can lead to disruptions, loss of trust, or project failure. This could result in a total loss of economic value for the crypto-asset holders.

3. Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies are subject to evolving regulatory landscapes worldwide. Regulations vary across jurisdictions and may be subject to significant changes. Non-compliance can result in investigations, enforcement actions, penalties, fines, sanctions, or the prohibition of the trading of the crypto-asset impacting its viability and market acceptance. This could also result in the issuer to be subject to private litigation. The beforementioned would most likely also lead to changes with respect to trading of the crypto-asset that may negatively impact the value, legality, or functionality of the crypto-asset.

4. Operational

Failure to develop or maintain effective internal control, or any difficulties encountered in the implementation of such controls, or their improvement could harm the issuer's business, causing disruptions, financial losses, or reputational damage.

5. Industry

The issuer is and will be subject to all of the risks and uncertainties associated with a crypto-project. History has shown that most of this projects resulted in financial losses for the investors and were only set-up to enrich a few insiders with the money from retail investors.

6. Reputational

The issuer faces the risk of negative publicity, whether due to, without limitation, operational failures, security breaches, or association with illicit activities, which can damage the issuer reputation and, by extension, the value and acceptance of the crypto-asset.

7. Competition

There are numerous other crypto-asset projects in the same realm, which could have an effect on the crypto-asset in question.

8. Unanticipated Risk

In addition to the risks included in this section, there might be other risks that cannot be foreseen. Additional risks may also materialize as unanticipated variations or combinations of the risks discussed.

1. Market Volatility Risks: High Volatility: The value of the token is expected to be highly volatile, influenced by speculation and overall market sentiment. Significant price fluctuations could lead to substantial losses for holders.

2. Speculative Nature: The token lacks intrinsic utility or underlying value, functioning solely as a speculative asset. Its valuation is wholly dependent on market demand and community interest.

3. Liquidity Risks: Some crypto-assets suffer from limited liquidity, which can present difficulties when executing large trades without significantly impacting market prices. This lack of liquidity can lead to substantial financial losses.

4. Blockchain Risks: Network Dependency: The token operates on the blockchains described above as of now. Issues such as network downtime, congestion, or security vulnerabilities could impair the token’s transferability, trading, or overall functionality. Although the networks is known for low transaction fees, network congestion or technical issues could lead to increased costs or delays.

5. Security Risks - Smart Contract Vulnerabilities: The smart contract for the token may contain vulnerabilities or exploits that jeopardize token security or distribution.

6. Security Risks - Private Key Management: It is critical for holders to secure their wallet private keys and recovery phrases. Losing wallet credentials can result in the irreversible loss of tokens.

7. Scams: The irrevocability of transactions executed using blockchain infrastructure, as well as the pseudonymous nature of blockchain ecosystems, attracts scammers. Therefore, investors in crypto-assets must proceed with a high degree of caution when investing in if they invest in crypto-assets. Typical scams include – but are not limited to – the creation of fake crypto-assets with the same name, phishing on social networks or by email, fake giveaways/airdrops, identity theft, among others.

8. Dependence on Community Interest: The success and market value of the token heavily rely on community support.

9. Evolving Legal Frameworks: Future changes in regulations or their interpretations could affect the classification, trading availability, or usability of the tokens. Jurisdictional Restrictions: Users in certain areas may encounter legal restrictions or obligations concerning the possession or trading of crypto-assets like the token in question.

10. Technological Obsolescence: The rapid evolution of the crypto-asset landscape means new technologies or platforms could make the networks or the tokens design less competitive, potentially affecting adoption and value. Participants are advised to recognize the speculative and volatile nature of the token and be prepared for these risks.

11. Reputational concerns: Crypto-assets are often subject to reputational risks stemming from associations with illegal activities, high-profile security breaches, and technological failures. Such incidents can undermine trust in the broader ecosystem, negatively affecting investor confidence and market value, thereby hindering widespread adoption and acceptance.

12. Taxation: The taxation regime that applies to the trading of the crypto-asset by individual holders or legal entities will depend on the holder’s jurisdiction. It is the holder’s sole responsibility to comply with all applicable tax laws, including, but not limited to, the reporting and payment of income tax, wealth tax, or similar taxes arising in connection with the appreciation and depreciation of the crypto-asset.

13. Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorism Financing: It cannot be ruled out that crypto-asset wallet addresses interacting with the crypto-asset have been, or will be used for money laundering or terrorist financing purposes, or are identified with a person known to have committed such offenses.

14. Market Abuse: It is noteworthy that crypto-assets are potentially prone to increased market abuse risks, as the underlying infrastructure could be used to exploit arbitrage opportunities through schemes such as front-running, spoofing, pump-and-dump, and fraud across different systems, platforms, or geographic locations. This is especially true for crypto-assets with a low market capitalization and few trading venues, and potential investors should be aware that this could lead to a total loss of the funds invested in the crypto-asset.

As this white paper relates to the "Admission to trading" of the crypto-asset, the implementation risk is referring to the risks on the Crypto Asset Service Providers side. These can be, but are not limited to, typical project management risks, such as key-personal-risks, timeline-risks, and technical implementation-risks.

1. Blockchain Dependency Risks

Network Downtime: Potential outages or congestion on the blockchains could interrupt on-chain token transfers, trading, and other functions.

Scalability Challenges: Despite the blockchains comparatively high throughput design, unexpected demand or technical issues might compromise its performance.

2. Smart Contract Risks

Vulnerabilities: The smart contract governing the token could contain bugs or vulnerabilities that may be exploited, affecting token distribution or vesting schedules.

3. Wallet and Storage Risks

Private Key Management: Token holders must securely manage their private keys and recovery phrases to prevent permanent loss of access to their tokens, which includes Trading-Venues, who are a prominent target for dedicated hacks.

Compatibility Issues: The tokens require network-compatible wallets for storage and transfer. Any incompatibility or technical issues with these wallets could impact token accessibility.

4. Network Security Risks

Attack Risks: The blockchains may face threats such as denial-of-service (DoS) attacks or exploits targeting its consensus mechanism, which could compromise network integrity.

Centralization Concerns: Although claiming to be decentralized, the networks relatively smaller number of validators/concentration of stakes within the network compared to other blockchains and the influence of the Foundations might pose centralization risks, potentially affecting network resilience.

5. Evolving Technology Risks: Technological Obsolescence: The fast pace of innovation in blockchain technology may make the networks and token standards appear less competitive or become outdated, potentially impacting the usability or adoption of the token.

6. Bridges: The crypto assets are transferred between the ecosystems using the so-called Bridge. Bridges have, in the past, been very sensitive to malfunctions and hacks. Their usage is connected to additional technical risk. The bridge poses an additional source for adverse effects on the investor as it retains the right to release, burn and mint portions of the token supply.

None.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) uses a hybrid consensus mechanism called Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA), which combines elements of Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS) and Proof of Authority (PoA). This method ensures fast block times and low fees while maintaining a level of decentralization and security. Core Components 1. Validators (so-called “Cabinet Members”): Validators on BSC are responsible for producing new blocks, validating transactions, and maintaining the network’s security. To become a validator, an entity must stake a significant amount of BNB (Binance Coin). Validators are selected through staking and voting by token holders. There are 21 active validators at any given time, rotating to ensure decentralization and security. 2. Delegators: Token holders who do not wish to run validator nodes can delegate their BNB tokens to validators. This delegation helps validators increase their stake and improves their chances of being selected to produce blocks. Delegators earn a share of the rewards that validators receive, incentivizing broad participation in network security. 3. Candidates: Candidates are nodes that have staked the required amount of BNB and are in the pool waiting to become validators. They are essentially potential validators who are not currently active but can be elected to the validator set through community voting. Candidates play a crucial role in ensuring there is always a sufficient pool of nodes ready to take on validation tasks, thus maintaining network resilience and decentralization. Consensus Process 4. Validator Selection: Validators are chosen based on the amount of BNB staked and votes received from delegators. The more BNB staked and votes received, the higher the chance of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. The selection process involves both the current validators and the pool of candidates, ensuring a dynamic and secure rotation of nodes. 5. Block Production: The selected validators take turns producing blocks in a PoA-like manner, ensuring that blocks are generated quickly and efficiently. Validators validate transactions, add them to new blocks, and broadcast these blocks to the network. 6. Transaction Finality: BSC achieves fast block times of around 3 seconds and quick transaction finality. This is achieved through the efficient PoSA mechanism that allows validators to rapidly reach consensus. Security and Economic Incentives 7. Staking: Validators are required to stake a substantial amount of BNB, which acts as collateral to ensure their honest behavior. This staked amount can be slashed if validators act maliciously. Staking incentivizes validators to act in the network's best interest to avoid losing their staked BNB. 8. Delegation and Rewards: Delegators earn rewards proportional to their stake in validators. This incentivizes them to choose reliable validators and participate in the network’s security. Validators and delegators share transaction fees as rewards, which provides continuous economic incentives to maintain network security and performance. 9. Transaction Fees: BSC employs low transaction fees, paid in BNB, making it cost-effective for users. These fees are collected by validators as part of their rewards, further incentivizing them to validate transactions accurately and efficiently.

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) uses the Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) consensus mechanism to ensure network security and incentivize participation from validators and delegators. Incentive Mechanisms 1. Validators: Staking Rewards: Validators must stake a significant amount of BNB to participate in the consensus process. They earn rewards in the form of transaction fees and block rewards. Selection Process: Validators are selected based on the amount of BNB staked and the votes received from delegators. The more BNB staked and votes received, the higher the chances of being selected to validate transactions and produce new blocks. 2. Delegators: Delegated Staking: Token holders can delegate their BNB to validators. This delegation increases the validator's total stake and improves their chances of being selected to produce blocks. Shared Rewards: Delegators earn a portion of the rewards that validators receive. This incentivizes token holders to participate in the network’s security and decentralization by choosing reliable validators. 3. Candidates: Pool of Potential Validators: Candidates are nodes that have staked the required amount of BNB and are waiting to become active validators. They ensure that there is always a sufficient pool of nodes ready to take on validation tasks, maintaining network resilience. 4. Economic Security: Slashing: Validators can be penalized for malicious behavior or failure to perform their duties. Penalties include slashing a portion of their staked tokens, ensuring that validators act in the best interest of the network. Opportunity Cost: Staking requires validators and delegators to lock up their BNB tokens, providing an economic incentive to act honestly to avoid losing their staked assets. Fees on the Binance Smart Chain 5. Transaction Fees: Low Fees: BSC is known for its low transaction fees compared to other blockchain networks. These fees are paid in BNB and are essential for maintaining network operations and compensating validators. Dynamic Fee Structure: Transaction fees can vary based on network congestion and the complexity of the transactions. However, BSC ensures that fees remain significantly lower than those on the Ethereum mainnet. 6. Block Rewards: Incentivizing Validators: Validators earn block rewards in addition to transaction fees. These rewards are distributed to validators for their role in maintaining the network and processing transactions. 7. Cross-Chain Fees: Interoperability Costs: BSC supports cross-chain compatibility, allowing assets to be transferred between Binance Chain and Binance Smart Chain. These cross-chain operations incur minimal fees, facilitating seamless asset transfers and improving user experience. 8. Smart Contract Fees: Deployment and Execution Costs: Deploying and interacting with smart contracts on BSC involves paying fees based on the computational resources required. These fees are also paid in BNB and are designed to be cost-effective, encouraging developers to build on the BSC platform.

The energy consumption of this asset is aggregated across multiple components: To determine the energy consumption of a token, the energy consumption of the network BNB Smart Chain is calculated first. For the energy consumption of the token, a fraction of the energy consumption of the network is attributed to the token, which is determined based on the activity of the crypto-asset within the network. When calculating the energy consumption, the Functionally Fungible Group Digital Token Identifier (FFG DTI) is used - if available - to determine all implementations of the asset in scope. The mappings are updated regularly, based on data of the Digital Token Identifier Foundation. The information regarding the hardware used and the number of participants in the network is based on assumptions that are verified with best effort using empirical data. In general, participants are assumed to be largely economically rational. As a precautionary principle, we make assumptions on the conservative side when in doubt, i.e. making higher estimates for the adverse impacts.

To determine the proportion of renewable energy usage, the locations of the nodes are to be determined using public information sites, open-source crawlers and crawlers developed in-house. If no information is available on the geographic distribution of the nodes, reference networks are used which are comparable in terms of their incentivization structure and consensus mechanism. This geo-information is merged with public information from Our World in Data, see citation. The intensity is calculated as the marginal energy cost wrt. one more transaction. Ember (2025); Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2024) - with major processing by Our World in Data. “Share of electricity generated by renewables - Ember and Energy Institute” [dataset]. Ember, “Yearly Electricity Data Europe”; Ember, “Yearly Electricity Data”; Energy Institute, “Statistical Review of World Energy” [original data]. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-electricity-renewables.

To determine the GHG Emissions, the locations of the nodes are to be determined using public information sites, open-source crawlers and crawlers developed in-house. If no information is available on the geographic distribution of the nodes, reference networks are used which are comparable in terms of their incentivization structure and consensus mechanism. This geo-information is merged with public information from Our World in Data, see citation. The intensity is calculated as the marginal emission wrt. one more transaction. Ember (2025); Energy Institute - Statistical Review of World Energy (2024) - with major processing by Our World in Data. “Carbon intensity of electricity generation - Ember and Energy Institute” [dataset]. Ember, “Yearly Electricity Data Europe”; Ember, “Yearly Electricity Data”; Energy Institute, “Statistical Review of World Energy” [original data]. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/carbon-intensity-electricity Licenced under CC BY 4.0.