Coinbase introduces Base, a developer-friendly Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. expanded its blockchain developer tools today with Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network that offers a secure, affordable and developer-friendly way for builders to construct and deploy decentralized apps.
A Layer 2 blockchain is a separate chain that operates alongside another, in the case of Base it works with Ethereum, to process transactions faster, lower fees and add features. Layer 2 blockchains are often used to increase the scalability of other blockchains that can slow down or become overwhelmed with a large number of transactions caused by a growing number of decentralized apps, or dapps.
“Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard one billion users in the crypto economy,” Jesse Pollak, head of Base and Protocols at Coinbase, said in a blog post. “In pursuit of this goal, Base will serve as both a home for Coinbase’s onchain products and an open ecosystem for anyone to build.”
Base is launched as a testnet to give developers a chance to try it out before it’s fully launched.
The new blockchain is fully compatible with Ethereum’s virtual machine standards, runs at 10% of the cost, and gives developers access to application programming interfaces for rapid app development. With the tools and features available on Coinbase, builders will be able to quickly connect to Base and build multi-chain applications with easy-to-use bridges.
As Base is incubated within Coinbase, developers will have direct access to all of the company’s products directly and can engage with pre-existing tools. For example, developers can connect to other blockchains through the Coinbase Cloud and host blockchain infrastructure using Node.
Coinbase itself intends to use Base as a foundation for its own onchain products, as well as an open ecosystem to integrate more developers to its products and bring them into the blockchain industry itself. The Coinbase ecosystem of products serves over 110 million verified users and provides access to over $80 billion in assets on the platform.
Base itself focuses on decentralization, a central tenet of all crypto, and is distributed using the open source OP Stack in collaboration with OP Labs and Optimism Collective. This allows Base to become part of what is known as a “superchain”, a network of Layer 2 blockchains that can work together by sharing security, communication and a common development layer.
Developers using Base will be able to use dapps on more than just Base and Ethereum. It will be able to interoperate with a number of other L2 and L1 ecosystems such as Bitcoin, Solana and Cosmos. Coinbase wants developers to see Base as “a bridge, not an island.”
“Decentralization is essential for the crypto-economy to remain open, global and accessible to all,” Pollak said. “While we have begun to incubate Base inside Coinbase, we are deeply committed to moving toward full decentralization in the coming years.”
Alongside the launch of Base, Coinbase also announced the Base Ecosystem Fund which will invest in early stage projects that build on Base. All developers who want to build on the new blockchain can apply on the website.
