- Coinbase yesterday announced Base, a layer 2 blockchain based on Ethereum’s Optimism scaling solution
- Coinbase hopes to onboard the next one billion crypto users through the platform
- There will be no new token, as the blockchain will use ETH as gas
Coinbase yesterday announced the launch of Base, a Layer 2 blockchain built on Ethereum’s Optimism scaling solution that the company hopes will help onboard users to multiple blockchains. Coinbase hopes to onboard one billion users into the crypto economy through Base, which will begin in a partially centralized manner and will “progressively decentralize” over time. There will be no new token with Base, which no doubt will upset the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which would have been licking its lips at another potentially illegal sale of securities.
0/ 🔵 Hello world.
Meet Base, an Ethereum L2 that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone, anywhere, to build decentralized apps.
Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users into the cryptoeconomy.https://t.co/Znuu3o3pJw
— Base (@BuildOnBase) February 23, 2023
Coinbase Wants Base to Become Industry Standard
Coinbase hopes that Base will provide a user-friendly and cost-effective means for developers to build decentralized apps onchain, also serving as a hub for its on-chain products and an open ecosystem for developers to create their own projects. The chain will utilize Optimism’s OP Stack to create a modular, rollup-agnostic Superchain that it hopes will become the industry standard, with the ultimate goal being to promote the cryptoeconomy and onboard one billion new users to the space.
Layer 2 solutions are those that use the architecture of an existing blockchain, in this case Ethereum, and increase throughout, taking the pressure off the main chain. Optimism launched two years ago this month, and Coinbase clearly feels that it is the scaling solution that will offer the company the best combination of speed and decentralization, the latter of which will be phased in over time.
No New Token (Sorry SEC)
Coinbase was quick to point out that it will not be issuing a new network token for Base and instead will use ETH as the native gas token. This will no doubt upset the SEC, who would have been hoping for another bumper ‘unregistered securities’ case, but it will be important to bear in mind in case any scammers launch coins predicted on the Base concept.
