Coinbase Launches Layer 2 Blockchain Base to Offer Fast, Affordable and Secure Transactions – Here’s What You Need to Know
Major US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has announced the launch of its own layer 2 blockchain for Ethereum (ETH) called Base.
Billing itself as a “secure, affordable, developer-friendly” way to build decentralized applications (dapps), Base will serve as a home both for Coinbase’s own on-chain products and as an open ecosystem for developers.
Børsen announced the launch in a blog post on Thursday, where it was also stated that Base is already open to developers on a test network.
“Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users in the crypto economy,” the announcement said. It also explained that Base will be interoperable with other popular Layer 1 blockchains such as Solana (SOL), as well as with Ethereum’s base layer and other Ethereum second-layer networks.
Progressive decentralization and no token
The announcement added that while Coinbase is “incubating” the new network, the plan is to “progressively decentralize the chain over time.”
It further made it clear that there are no plans to issue a native token for the chain, thus challenging a widespread belief that new tokens are somehow necessary to ensure a decentralized protocol or network security.
The immediate next step now will be to secure a successful Base testnet, and then share a more detailed roadmap as well as more developer resources “in the coming weeks,” the announcement said.
COIN is rising
Shares in Nasdaq-listed Coinbase rose 1.93% for the day yesterday to $62.36 as news of the new Layer 2 network was announced. However, the stock was down 1.36% in pre-market trading on Friday to $61.51 at press time.
Coinbase has seen a rise in its share price this year along with rising crypto prices. As of early 2023, the stock is up a respectable 85.6% due to improved sentiment in the crypto sector.
Coinbase Has ‘Unparalleled Reach’
Commenting on the launch of Base, Adam Cochran, partner at Cinneamhain Ventures and contributor to several DeFi projects, said he believes people will be surprised by Base’s features. This will be the case even if the network turns out to be no better than existing layer 2 networks such as Optimism, he said.
“Technology is important, reach is better,” Cochran wrote on Twitter, while pointing out that Coinbase has “unmatched reach both on the user side (110 million users) and on the partnership side.”
