Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 community, Base, is altering the expertise that powers it, stepping again from counting on Optimism’s OP Stack, the toolkit it initially launched on.
In a weblog submit titled “The Subsequent Chapter for Base,” the workforce mentioned it plans to take extra management over its personal code and infrastructure. As an alternative of relying on a number of outdoors groups for key upgrades and adjustments, Base will consolidate the whole lot right into a Base-managed codebase.
In easy phrases, Base was constructed utilizing Optimism’s expertise, however now it needs to steer extra of its personal ship. Optimism is a layer-2 blockchain on prime of Ethereum that goals to scale back settlement occasions and transaction prices.
Base launched in 2023 and shortly grew to become one of the vital broadly used Ethereum layer-2 networks, with $3.85 billion locked within the protocol in the present day.
The OP token is down 4% over the previous 24 hours following the announcement.

The workforce mentioned that the change doesn’t imply Base is chopping ties with Optimism fully. The corporate mentioned it can nonetheless work with Optimism for help and can stay appropriate with OP Stack requirements in the course of the transition. For on a regular basis customers and builders, nothing ought to instantly change.
The workforce mentioned the shift is occurring as a result of, if it controls its personal stack, Base can ship upgrades sooner and simplify how the community operates behind the scenes, aiming to double its tempo of main upgrades to about six per 12 months.
For now, the transition is generally technical.
“This unification doesn’t imply Base might be inbuilt isolation. The protocol stays public and specified within the open, and various implementations are welcome and inspired,” the workforce wrote of their weblog submit.
Learn extra: Coinbase Formally Launches Base Blockchain in Milestone for a Public Firm


