What is BEP20?

What the BEP20 Token Standard Is

The BEP20 token standard is the interface every fungible token on BNB Smart Chain is expected to follow: a fixed list of functions for names, balances, transfers and approvals. BNB Chain's own BEP20 specification says it was derived from Ethereum's ERC20 protocol, and that the standard is already implemented.

BNB Smart Chain is EVM compatible, meaning it runs the same kind of smart contracts as Ethereum. That is why BEP20 tokens live at the same style of address Ethereum uses, and why the BNB Chain page lists the chain next to Ethereum's other look-alikes.

BEP20 vs ERC20

BEP20 and ERC20 share the same core functions, so a developer who knows one can write the other. The ERC20 standard on Ethereum defines balanceOf, transfer, transferFrom, approve and allowance, and BEP20 keeps all of them with the same names and the same behavior.

The differences are small and written into the BEP20 spec itself:

• symbol() and decimals() are optional in ERC20 but required in BEP20.
• BEP20 adds getOwner(), which returned the token owner so a BEP20 token could be bound to a BEP2 token on the old BNB Beacon Chain.

Separately from the spec, fees on BEP20 transfers are paid in BNB and fees on ERC20 transfers are paid in ETH. The bigger difference for users is the network, not the code. A BEP20 token and an ERC20 token with the same name are two separate tokens on two separate chains, even when the address looks the same.

Who Issues USDT BEP20

USDT BEP20 is a Binance-Peg token, not one of the contracts Tether issues on its own list, and this is the fact about it that readers hear least. Tether's supported protocols page, read November 8, 2026, lists USDT on Ethereum, Avalanche, Kava, Celo, Kaia, Tron, Liquid, Solana, Polkadot AssetHub, Tezos, Near, TON and Aptos. Its BNB Smart Chain entry lists only XAUT, Tether's gold token.²

The USDT that wallets and exchanges use on BNB Smart Chain sits at contract 0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955. CoinGecko lists that contract as Binance Bridged USDT (BNB Smart Chain) with the symbol BSC-USD, and BscScan labels it Binance-Peg BSC-USD.³ Read straight from the chain, the contract still names itself Tether USD with the ticker USDT and 18 decimals, which is why most apps simply show it as USDT.⁴

Binance calls these pegged copies B-Tokens. It says the value of a wrapped token is normally secured by locking the original asset as collateral and that its pegged assets are backed 1:1, with the collateral addresses shown on its Proof of Collateral page.⁶ In the same post, dated January 18, 2023, Binance said some collateral had sat in wallets that were not public, or had moved too slowly, so some pegged tokens looked under-collateralized onchain at times.

In practice this means a holder of USDT BEP20 relies on Binance's collateral as well as on Tether's reserves. The USDT page covers what Tether says about its own backing.

USDT BEP20 Contract Address

The USDT BEP20 contract address is 0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955, as CoinGecko lists it and as BscScan shows it. Tether publishes no USDT address for BNB Smart Chain, so this address comes from those two sources and from the contract's own data, not from Tether.

Any other token on BNB Smart Chain that calls itself USDT is a different token. Copycats use the same name and logo at other addresses, so compare every character before adding a token to a wallet.

BEP20 Fees and Speed Today

BEP20 fees are paid in BNB and are tiny, and speed comes from a block time of about 0.45 seconds, according to BNB Chain's overview docs. The same docs put typical BSC transaction fees at around $0.005 or less, with a standard gas price of 0.05 gwei across the network.⁸

We checked real USDT BEP20 transfers on November 8, 2026. Three transfers in one block used between 34,527 and 51,615 gas, and the network's gas price was 0.05 gwei. At that day's BNB price, the largest of the three cost about $0.0018. BNB trades at $680.54 at this check, so the dollar cost moves with it.

The fee is always paid in BNB, never in USDT. A wallet holding USDT BEP20 and no BNB usually cannot send it unless the wallet offers a gas-free option.

Sending USDT on the BEP20 Network

Sending USDT on the BEP20 network works only when the receiver also accepts USDT on BNB Smart Chain. Exchanges often show the same coin on several networks, and the label BEP20 or BSC is how they name this one. Before sending:

• Pick BEP20 or BSC on both sides of the transfer.
• Check the address: BEP20 addresses are 42 characters, 0x plus 40 hexadecimal characters, exactly like Ethereum ones.⁹
• Keep a little BNB in the sending wallet for the fee.
• Send a small test first to a new address.

Because BEP20 and ERC20 addresses look identical, a wallet will accept either one without complaint. The USDT networks comparison shows each network's fee and format, and the wrong network guide covers what can be recovered.

Questions People Ask About What is BEP20

These are the questions people ask next about what is bep20.

Sources

Every number on this page comes from these sources, checked November 9, 2026.

1. github.com/bnb-chain/BEPs/blob/master/BEPs/BEP20.md
2. tether.to/en/supported-protocols
3. coingecko.com/en/coins/binance-bridged-usdt-bnb-smart-chain
4. bscscan.com/token/0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955
5. binance.com/en/collateral-btokens
6. binance.com/en/blog/community/increasing-the-transparency-of-11-backing-for-btokens-3211397767770218173
7. docs.bnbchain.org/bnb-smart-chain/overview
8. docs.bnbchain.org/bnb-opbnb/core-concepts/gas-and-fees
9. ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/accounts
10. defillama.com/stablecoin/tether