Coinbase L2 ‘Base’ Readying for Mainnet Launch, Timeline Unclear

Coinbase said the layer-2 is still building toward its “genesis window,” with mainnet launch on the horizon

May 24, 2023 10:52 am

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Coinbase has set specific objectives that must be met before the company considers launching its layer-2 solution, Base. One crucial requirement is the establishment of a proven track record of stability on its testnet.

For now, the company is incubating Base internally, but the plan is for the platform to eventually become fully decentralized. It is built on Optimism’s OP development stack, meaning that achieving the mainnet stage is highly reliant on the efforts and contributions of OP Labs; a contributor to the Optimism protocol.

Right now, Base is waiting on Optimism’s upgrade of Bedrock, which it says will significantly reduce the complexity and length of its codebase. The team behind Base is also planning to complete an infrastructure review with the OP Labs team, as well as get past internal and external audits with “no critical severity issues,” according to a representative for Coinbase.

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One goal that Base has already met is instituting the Regolith hardfork, which occurred on April 27, 2023. The planned upgrade was meant to “enhance the network’s security and reliability,” according to an April 26 newsletter from Base.

Coinbase stated that it has set these goals because it wants to ensure developers can deploy successfully when the time comes for the official launch.

During what the crypto exchange is calling the “genesis window” — which has yet to begin — the Base core team will be providing support and recognition via Discord to developers who are building dapps with the platform in mind.

Coinbase did not share an official timeline on the mainnet launch, but the company said it would share a more consequential update at a later date.

Updated May 24, 2023 at 11:30 am ET: A previous version of this article stated that Base’s “genesis window” had already begun. The layer-2 is still building toward its genesis window.

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