Coinbase, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, recently unveiled plans underway to introduce an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain platform called ‘Base.’
The chain is currently in its testnet phase and doesn’t have a specific launch date for mainnet, but Coinbase expects this to happen in Q2 2023.
We recently launched the @BuildonBase testnet, a new L2 blockchain incubated by Coinbase that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way to build decentralized apps, or ‘dapps’. So, how are things going so far? 🧵 pic.twitter.com/G878AkMCwP
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) March 16, 2023
According to Jesse Pollak, Lead for Base and Head of Protocols at Coinbase, Base is seen as a means of expanding into the developer space and making it easier for developers to build dApps. Additionally, the platform aims to provide easy access for users to these dApps through Coinbase products with the ultimate goal of bringing a billion users into the cryptocurrency economy as part of Coinbase’s fourth phase of its master plan.
The L2 is said to be a secure and cost-effective chain that aims to provide a developer-friendly environment for creating dApps on the blockchain, as per the company’s statement. Base is developed on the OP Stack, licensed by MIT, and in collaboration with Optimism, a layer-2 blockchain also focused on the Ethereum protocol.
A number of crypto businesses, platforms, marketplaces and infrastructure firms have reportedly already committed to build on Base. These include:
- BlockDaemon
- Chainlink
- EtherScan
- Quicknode
- Aave
- Animoca Brands
- Dune
- Nansen
- Magic Eden
- Pyth
- Rainbow Wallet
- Ribbon Finance
- The Graph
- WormHole
- Gelato
“We’ve made an effort to go out to everyone and bring them into this open ecosystem,” Pollak said.
“What will be required of us to make this successful is to continue to double down on those values of decentralization, open source and having this be for everyone and a bridge that connects our users into the crypto economy and brings them to places they can go that aren’t controlled by Coinbase but can offer them valuable experiences.”
Coinbase also plans to integrate the L2 chain across its exchange, wallet, NFT marketplace, and developer products, with the intention of making it interoperable with other blockchains in the ecosystem beyond Ethereum, according to Pollak. In this regard, Base has already held discussions with teams working on Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, and other blockchains.
Coinbase’s goal with Base is to also provide the foundation for developers and users to enable folks coming in, Pollak said.
“That’s going to require us making Base as cheap as possible, as secure as possible and as decentralized as possible because that decentralization is a key aspect to enable the openness of the ecosystem.”
Base is also said to be launching an ecosystem fund in partnership with Coinbase Ventures to make mainly pre-seed investments in builders developing on Base across the crypto ecosystem.
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