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What is Base?
Base is a Layer 2 (L2) solution network developed on the OP Stack architecture from Optimism.
Backed by cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, the platform "offers a secure, low-cost and developer-friendly way to build decentralised applications." It operates as an Ethereum-based rollup network.
Base interfaces with the US company's core products, including Coinbase Wallet.
Getting Started with Base
The cryptocurrency exchange partnered with Optimism as the primary developer of OP Stack. A portion of transaction fees on Base's network goes to Optimism Collective's treasury.
The Base test network began operations on 23 February 2023. On 13 July, the project opened access to the mainnet to developers of dapps. App creators now have the opportunity to take advantage of a number of services, including:
- Node providers including Blockdaemon, QuickNode and Blast;
- "smart wallet" infrastructure from Safe;
- blockchain explorers Basescan and Blockscout;
- The Graph, Goldsky and Covalent data indexers;
- developer tools from Thirdweb.
With the opening of the main blockchain network, the blockchain came a wave of meme tokens, some of which have seen hundredfold growth;
The full-scale launch of Base happened on 9 August. At the same time, functionality for interacting with non-replaceable tokens was introduced. Users were able to issue commemorative NFTs, perform tasks and receive rewards, and reserve cryptologins in Coinbase Wallet.
On the eve of the full-scale launch, the project team launched an official crosschain bridge.
Base contributors
Base's main goal is to attract one billion users to the crypto economy. To achieve it, it doesn't serve not only as a home for Coinbase's onchain products, but also as an open ecosystem for new projects. Given the huge user base of 110 million accounts and an impressive $80 billion in crypto exchange assets, the offer looks very attractive to developers.
Base had so far signed more than 50 partnerships with various companies - including Chainlink, QuikNode, Axelar, LayerZero, Gelato and Ribbon Finance. In addition, the exchange had launched a formal fund. It invests in early-stage projects built on Base.
Why did Coinbase need an L2 solution?
Coinbase is the largest publicly traded crypto exchange in the US. The platform's user base exceeds 100 million people.
CoinGecko analysts are convinced that Base represents a "starting point for introducing" exchange customers to DeFi. For developers of already launched dapps, there are incentives to integrate with the new protocol and the possibility of attracting a large user base.
Coinbase's head of protocols Jess Pollack expressed confidence that the US company will be able to generate additional revenue thanks to the launch of its own blockchain.
"At the current stage, Base will be monetised through sequencer commissions, which are accrued on any transaction on the platform," CoinGecko experts noted.
However, as Pollack emphasised, the developers are "focused on expanding the use of [the protocol]" and intend to reinvest the revenue into innovation.
Does (will) Base have its own token?
Even at the stage of launching the Base testnet, the developers emphasised that the L2 solution does not involve issuing a token - ETH is used to pay transaction fees.
2/ Important: Base is *not* a tokenWe do not plan to issue a new network token for Base and will use ETH as the native gas token.
What are the distinctive features of Base?
Base is part of the L2 ecosystem of Superchain. The latter is a unified blockchain network built using OP Stack, which implies significant scalability and interoperability, as well as easy deployment of new systems.
As an L2 solution, Base builds on the security layer of the Ethereum network.
The new platform is also EVM-equivalent. This means that developers have the ability to run applications on Base without making significant changes to the code. Popular tools like Foundry, Hard Hat and Truffle are available to dapps creators.
According to CoinGecko, fees on the Base network are 10 times lower than on the Ethereum mainnet.
Among the disadvantages of the new system are:
- Centralization. At the current stage, Coinbase functions as a single Base sequencer node, which implies significant control over transactions, processing and ordering. However, according to the roadmap, in 2024, the developers intend to achieve "decentralisation and security comparable to Ethereum".
- Long withdrawal of funds period, which takes about 7 days. This is due to the way fraud-proofs by Optimism work.
How is the Base ecosystem evolving?
Base has added support for a number of well-known DEX and other DeFi protocols, including:
- Symbiosis Finance;
- Uniswap;
- Compound;
- 1inch;
- PancakeSwap.
Forks based on a new L2 solution have appeared:
- Aave v3 lending protocol (Seamless Protocol);
- Velodrome Finance (Aerodrome), the largest decentralised exchange in the OP Mainnet ecosystem.
