Coinbase has announced a significant change to the infrastructure of its Base Ethereum Layer-2 network.
The company has announced that Base is moving away from the current OP Stack architecture on which it is built and towards a ‘unified Base stack’ structure managed entirely by Base.
OP price drops after Coinbase announces abandonment of OP Stack architecture
After this development, Optimism (OP) experienced a sharp price drop.
With this transition, node operators will have to follow versions published via Base’s own GitHub repository, base/base, instead of Optimism releases. Coinbase stated that more detailed information will be provided closer to the transition date.
Base initially launched on the OP Stack, developed by Optimism. Over time, features such as Flashblocks were integrated through collaboration with ecosystem representatives such as Flashbots and Paradigm.
However, this model resulted in a complex structure with numerous external dependencies. Coinbase now aims to create a simpler and more manageable infrastructure by moving to a unified Base Stack architecture that brings together all dependencies and future innovations in one place.
The company added that Base’s rapid growth was driven by the world-class technology offered by OP Stack, and that they would now move to a more independent and flexible development process.
Coinbase stated that this transformation has three main objectives:
Thanks to the new structure, instead of three major hard forks per year, smaller, more frequent hard forks (six times per year) are planned. This allows for more controlled and regular updates rather than an accumulation of risks all at once.
The goal is to reduce the protocol specification and code base to a level understandable by a single developer. By focusing solely on Base’s needs, the goal is to minimize cognitive load.
Coinbase takes the approach of “Base wins when Ethereum wins.” In this context, the intention is to implement a number of high-impact updates to Base prior to L1, which will provide data for the Ethereum roadmap.
No urgent action is required from users today. Base will continue to operate in accordance with the OP Stack specification, and existing RPCs will continue to be supported.