Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network. The company stated that the newly launched network would offer a low cost, secure, and user friendly environment for decentralized applications development (DApps). Blockchain.
Base, according to Coinbase was created with the purpose of providing a portal for people to the cryptocurrency economy. Base allows users to access other L1 ecosystems such as Solana and ensures that it is compatible for other chains. It will also provide access to Coinbase’s products and users. The corporation indicated that it is not planning to create a new network token.
Base will be built on the foundation of Optimism’s “OP Stack”. It will be characterized by a high degree of centralization at the beginning, but Coinbase has provided a detailed blueprint that outlines how the network will become more decentralized over time.
Coinbase said in a statement that Base will be “completely free and open source” and that it is easily accessible. In order to “ensure it is a public service that is accessible to all”, the business announced it would join the core development team at OP Stack.
According to the release, Coinbase will still be able to exchange with other networks and that Base will act as a “bridge, not an island”. Coinbase wants Base be easy to use for its users so they can become comfortable using cryptocurrency. However, Coinbase will advise users to “start at Base, but travel anywhere else.”
Coinbase announced in its decentralization strategy that it will collaborate with Op Labs, the Optimism Collective and other organizations to decentralize the Optimism eco-system. This will be done by creating a “Superchain”, a collection of interconnected networks based upon the OP Stack. Coinbase has a plan to create this “Superchain.” The business cites Vitalik Buterin’s paper on decentralizing rollups and has concluded that the current version of Optimism can be called a “Stage 0” rollup. Coinbase stated that it plans to bring Base to “Stage 1 by the end 2023.
