In a blog post titled “Path to Mainnet,” Coinbase explains how it plans to launch its own blockchain network step-by-step. In principle, there are no specific dates in the plan yet, which means that Coinbase does not want to put pressure on itself to complete the network by a certain date. There are five criteria that the technology must meet before the network can launch.
Two of those criteria have already been met, while three are still open.
Build On Base
The network itself is called Base and on Twitter the project works with @BuildOnBase. In the publication of a few hours ago, Coinbase writes that it focuses on safety and security of the network. Furthermore, it is clearly stated in the first message that Base has no plans to launch its own token.
That is good news, because a new stock exchange token is the last thing we can use after the debacle of FTX in November 2022. The collapse of FTX seems like a long time ago now, but in principle it was only half a year ago happened.
Coinbase announced the development of the Base network on February 23. Ultimately, it should function as a second layer on Ethereum that uses Optimistic Rollup technology, which makes it possible to reduce transaction costs and increase scalability.
Base’s current test network is only connected to Ethereum’s Goerli test network and not to the main network. Base relies on the OP Stack, a set of computer code that was also used for Optimism.
The five criteria
According to the team, Base is well on its way to launching for the main Ethereum network, but a number of preconditions still need to be met. First, the test network must successfully go through the Regolith hard fork. Furthermore, the infrastructure of the network must be assessed by the OP Labs team.
These two conditions have now been met. The third criterion is a successful upgrade of the network to Bedrock. According to an explanation from the Optimism team, Bedrock ensures that transaction costs are reduced and that the deposit of capital is faster.
Optimism will switch to Bedrock on June 6, but the Base team has not yet shared a specific date for this switch. The fourth and fifth criteria are the successful completion of internal and external audits without revealing major problems.
So it seems that we can expect to see Coinbase’s Base in the relatively short term. It is possible that the network will go live this summer.