Coinbase’s Base Nears Mainnet Launch

In a blog post titled “Path to Mainnet,” Coinbase’s Base detailed the launch strategy for the mainnet. The outline does not include dates, but it does list five criteria that must be met before the network can launch.

Two of the requirements have been met, while three remain.

On February 23, Coinbase announced the launch of the Base network testnet.

Eventually, it will be a second layer of Ethereum that uses Optimistic Rollup technology to reduce transaction fees and improve scalability.

The current testnet of Base is only connected to the Goerli testnet version of Ethereum and not the mainnet version, where most users store their assets.

The OP Stack is a collection of code utilized by both the Base and Optimism networks.

The Base team announced that they are progressing toward the mainnet launch. But before that can occur, five conditions must be met.

First, the testnet must successfully execute the Regolith hard fork, which modifies how deposits are made for security purposes.

Second, the infrastructure must be reviewed by the OP Labs team. The first two criteria have already been met, according to the announcement.

The third criterion is the successful Bedrock upgrade of the network. According to an explanation posted by the Optimism team, Bedrock will implement lower fees, shorter deposit times, and several other modifications.

The upgrade of Optimism to Bedrock is scheduled for June 6. The Base team did not announce a specific release date for their promotion.

The fourth and fifth requirements are “successful completion of internal and external audits with no critical severity issues” and “demonstrated testnet stability.”

The team has not established a deadline for these last two criteria.

Although this roadmap does not contain specific dates, a Base representative stated that “Base will publish the milestones it will achieve as it nears its mainnet launch” and that the precise timeline will be revealed “soon.”

Since the launch of Base’s testnet, widespread speculation has surrounded the types of applications that will be built on it.

The Base team requested on March 27 that developers create a “flat coin,” or inflation-pegged stablecoin, for use in Base’s decentralized finance applications, in addition to an on-chain reputation system.

In April, in response to the reputation system request, Masa Finance ported its soulbound token protocol to the testnet.

Not everyone is pleased with Coinbase’s decision to build its network. Chris Blec, a proponent of decentralization, argued in March that Base will need to verify the identities of its users because it employs a centralized “sequencer.”

According to him, this will violate the privacy of users. The Base team has indicated that its sequencer will gradually become decentralized.