Macroeconomic conditions continue to be wobbly. Despite that, developers have been tirelessly working. As a result, network upgrades have been consistently taking place within the ecosystem. On Feb. 23, Coinbase announced the testnet launch of an Ethereum layer 2 network, Base. The solution offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for users to build dApps. Notably, Base is built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack in association with Optimism.
Coinbase intends to make “on-chain” the next “online” and get over a billion users into the ecosystem. To achieve the objective, Base will serve as both a “home” for Coinbase’s on-chain products and an “open ecosystem” for users to build.
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Base to be incubated “inside” Coinbase
Will Robinson, VP of Engineering, revealed that Base will be incubated “inside of Coinbase.” However, the team remains committed to “full decentralization” eventually. Nevertheless, the exchange has “no plans” to issue a new network token.
One of the main reasons why Base is being launched is to provide users with easy access to Ethereum L1, other L2s, and other L1 ecosystems like Solana. Coinbase intends to check a couple of boxes, from making Base interoperable with other chains to fostering new chain support across its products.
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The solution is built on Ethereum and leverages its security. Furthermore, since Base is powered by Coinbase, it’ll likely become easier to build dApps with access to the firm’s products, users, and tools. Elaborating on the same, the blog post noted,
“Seamless Coinbase product integrations, easy fiat onramps, and powerful acquisition tools enable developers to serve the 110M+ verified users and to access $80B assets on platform in the Coinbase ecosystem.“
As far as the fee is concerned, Base offers full EVM equivalence “at a fraction of the cost.” Furthermore, using easy developer APIs for account abstraction, builders can set up “gasless transactions” for dApps. Alongside, they can “securely build” multi-chain apps with easy-to-use bridges.
For now, the team is looking towards a “successful testnet.” It will share its roadmap with the mainnet moving forward. Additionally, it will provide more developer resources for building on Base.
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