- Coinbase launches Ethereum layer-2 network Base to promote decentralized app (dapp) development.
- Base’s Onchain Summer launch event sees over $142 million locked in the ecosystem, a 52% increase pre-launch.
- The launch aligns with Coinbase’s CEO Brian Armstrong’s goal for mass adoption through dApps and includes corporate partnerships, emphasizing integration into real-life applications.
Leading crypto exchange Coinbase has launched the mainnet for Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network, as part of its efforts to encourage the creation of millions of new decentralized apps.
After months of development, Coinbase is finally launching its Base through a month-long launch event, Onchain Summer. Since the announcement of the launch last week, the excitement surrounding Base has been intense, with over $142 million in total value locked in the ecosystem, representing a nearly 52% increase in total value locked from the week preceding the launch, according to Dune Analytics.
Jesse Pollak, senior director of engineering at Coinbase, stated, “I think it’s incredibly exciting that there’s been so much energy and appetite for folks to come and use Base, even before we publicly launched.”
Pollak described Base’s launch as part of a larger plan to bring millions of more users on-chain, which includes demonstrating more of what the technology can do than focusing on just cryptocurrencies.
This effort can be recognized in the more than 100 decentralized apps (dApps) that will be available with the launch of Base, some of which were created by developers who received early access to the blockchain last month.
In contrast to other layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum and Optimism, Pollak insists that Coinbase has no plans to introduce native tokens to Base. He claims Tokens “distort” what is happening on a network, which Coinbase would rather avoid in favor of focusing on incubating developers.
According to Pollak, “We want folks to see Base as kind of an opportunity for growth and expansion. But we also think it’s really important that we incubate and curate a Base native community where folks who are really building Base first, and creating for this new kind of world.”
Coinbase may be avoiding a regulatory minefield by not issuing a token at a time when it is already under intense legal scrutiny. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase on June 6 for allegedly operating as an unlicensed securities exchange. The agency also accused Coinbase of dealing in unregistered securities, citing popular tokens such as Polygon, Solana, and Cardano as examples.
According to Pollak, the SEC’s lawsuit is unlikely to derail work on Base because it is aimed at areas of Coinbase’s business that are unrelated to the ecosystem that it is attempting to foster.
