The U.S. crypto exchange has launched a testnet of a new Ethereum Layer 2 solution intended to give DApp developers access to 110 million Coinbase users and the on-chain ecosystem.
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Coinbase has announced plans for a new Ethereum Layer 2 network it hopes will be a bridge attracting one billion new users into the crypto economy.
Designed to be a simple, scalable and secure platform for decentralized app (DApp) developers, Base is intended to be low cost and developer friendly.
Nor is it intended to be a profit center for Coinbase — at least not directly, as the largest U.S. crypto exchange repeatedly pointed out in its Feb. 23 blog post that it "has no plans to issue a new network token."
Which isn't to say it's entirely selfless. While Base will eventually be decentralized, permissionless, and open to anyone, it is currently being developed inside Coinbase and will provide developers:
"Seamless Coinbase product integrations, easy fiat onramps, and powerful acquisition tools [that will] enable developers to serve the 110 million-plus verified users and to access $80 billion [in] assets on platform in the Coinbase ecosystem."
Better, Faster, Cheaper?
While it's still a testnet, as a Layer 2 built on top of Ethereum, Base aims to provide fast, one-cent Ethereum transactions as well as access to other blockchains like Solana and Avalanche, and other L2s like Polygon.
"Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online," the company said in a Feb. 23 blog post. "Base will serve as both a home for Coinbase's onchain products and an open ecosystem where anyone can build."
Benefits for developers, Coinbase promised, will include full Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalence for a far lower cost, the ability to set up gasless transactions, and the capability to support multichain DApps with easy-to-use cross-chain bridges.
Built with Optimism's MIT-licensed OP Stack, partners currently working on Base include Aave, Animoca Brands, Chainlink, Dune, Etherscan and SushiSwap.
It is, however, entering an increasingly crowded field, with L2s like Bitcoin's Lightning Network attracting plenty of uses. And just two days ago, Layer 2 Arbitrum racked up more daily transactions than Ethereum for the first time.
