Coinbase Layer-2 Network Mainnet Launch Imminent

Coinbase’s New Layer 2 Protocol, Base, Nears Mainnet Launch

Coinbase’s new Layer 2 application-focused protocol, Base, has only one criterion remaining to be fulfilled prior to its mainnet launch.

The team announced on June 29th that the Optimism-enabled, Ethereum-backed network has undergone six months of thorough security reviews, both internally and externally, the last step before its launch.

Base stated that with the completion of the audits, they had achieved 80% of the requirements for mainnet launch. Furthermore, they expressed confidence after not encountering any major coding glitches.

The other three criteria that were met included a “Regolith” hard fork on testnet, a successful infrastructure review with OP labs (the team behind Optimism), and Optimism’s “Bedrock” upgrade.

Coinbase has officially introduced Base on February 23rd, a network designed to be cost-effective, safe, and developer-friendly for the purpose of constructing decentralized applications.

To assess the robustness of Optimism’s technology stack, Coinbase’s protocol security team conducted an internal audit to detect any potential vulnerabilities at layer 1, layer 2, and the bridges.

In addition to Coinbase’s internal audit, Base invited Code4rena to conduct a public smart contract audit test in order to have the broader community report any bugs they found in the Optimism’s tech stack.

The security researchers investigated audits including Optimism’s node software, Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) equivalence vulnerabilities, bridge vulnerabilities, and various smart contract issues.

The audit of the community took place from May 27th to June 10th, with bounties of up to $100,000 being awarded to successful hunters.

Prior to mainnet launch, Base has previously specified that demonstrating “testnet stability” is the last criterion that must be fulfilled.

Base did not specify exactly how the final requirements would be met, however the team stated that they are still assessing submissions from the 100 researchers that participated in the open smart contract review, as well as reviews from prior audit initiatives, such as “spearbit” and “sherlock”.

Base has developed Pessimism, an open source monitoring tool designed to alert developers of any potential issues in the protocol, such as discrepancies in account balances, contract events, or discrepancies between L1 and L2 states.

Coinbase CEO states that Bitcoin Lightning is a feature that they will be incorporating.

Base Aims to Become Platform for Constructing Decentralized Applications

In late March, Coinbase expressed their desire to witness the creation of a “flatcoin” linked to inflation, as well as an on-chain reputation system and an on-chain limit order book exchange, all built on Base.

When the news of the creation of Base was announced in late February, it was widely viewed as a “huge endorsement of Ethereum”.

Secured by Ethereum and powered by the Optimism layer-2 network, Base strives to eventually become a platform for constructing decentralized applications.

Magazine: “A Guide to Supercharging Ethereum Wallets with Account Abstraction.”