Coinbase Launches Base, a Low-Cost Ethereum Layer 2 Network for Decentralized App Development

Coinbase, has announced the launch of its Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network, Base. With Base, Coinbase aims to provide a secure, low-cost, and developer-friendly way for anyone to build decentralized apps (dapps) on-chain and onboard users into the crypto-economy. According to the company, Base is incubated inside Coinbase and will serve as a home for Coinbase’s on-chain products and an open ecosystem where anyone can build.

Here's Base

Base is secured by Ethereum and leverages the underlying security of the platform to enable developers to confidently onboard to Base from Coinbase, Ethereum L1, and other interoperable chains. Base also makes it easy to build decentralized apps with access to Coinbase’s products, users, and tools. Seamless Coinbase product integrations, easy fiat onramps, and powerful acquisition tools enable developers to serve the 110 million+ verified users and access the $80 billion assets on the Coinbase platform.

Base offers full EVM equivalence at a fraction of the cost and is committed to pushing forward the developer platform. Developers can set up gasless transactions for their dapps with easy developer APIs for account abstraction and securely build multichain applications with easy-to-use bridges. Base aims to be decentralized, permissionless, and open to anyone with the vision of creating a standard, modular, rollup agnostic Superchain powered by Optimism.

The Optimism Connection

Base is built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack, together with Optimism, and aims to provide accessible, secure access to Ethereum L1, other L2s, and other L1 ecosystems like Solana. In addition, base is an easy-to-use default on-chain experience with access to products on other chains. Along with making Base interoperable with other chains, Coinbase will continue supporting as many chains as possible across its products.

According to Coinbase, Base is a bridge, not an island. It is designed to be a default on-chain experience with access to products on other chains. Coinbase intends to make Base interoperable with other chains and will continue supporting as many chains as possible across its products. The company is committed to making foundational software for the global crypto economy fully open source and freely available and sees Base as an open platform that anyone can contribute to, fork, and extend to help the crypto-economy scale.

Future Outlook

The company is also committed to progressing toward complete decentralization over the years ahead. With the increased resourcing that Coinbase brings to the OP Stack, it is confident that Base will go from a Stage 0 to Stage 1 rollup in 2023 and a Stage 2 rollup in 2024. Base also has the vision to be an open ecosystem, seeded with Coinbase products, users, and assets, and will work with the broader community to bring the chain to life.

In Conclusion

Developers can get started building on Base today at base.org. Base has already announced its Ecosystem Fund, which invests in and supports early-stage projects building on Base that meet its investment criteria.

Coinbase is incubating Base inside the company and plans to decentralize the chain over time progressively.