Coinspeaker
Coinbase’s Base Network Goes Live Pushing Web3 Development
Coinbase, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the US, launched its Base network officially after staying in the “open for builders only” phase for a while. As per the announcement on Wednesday, August 9, the Base network is ready to onboard new users.
Interestingly, several Web3 development apps have already announced that they have started building apps for the Base network. Additionally, the Base network team has also released a schedule of upcoming events in order to celebrate its launch.
Base is open and Onchain Summer is here ?
Become a part of Base history by minting “Base Day One” to join the story of bringing the world onchain
Our story.https://t.co/qaDj7CBCMd pic.twitter.com/9PZCLQQV7p
— Base ?️ (@BuildOnBase) August 9, 2023
Coinbase initially introduced its beta version of Base on February 23. Following the announcement, many individuals in the cryptocurrency community speculated about its potential to attract more users to Web3 protocols, leveraging the extensive user base of Coinbase.
The network launched its mainnet version geared towards developers on July 13, with a caution that it was not yet suitable for regular users. On August 9, Coinbase made the network accessible to all users.
This new strategic move by Coinbase could ultimately enable the firm to generate fees from operating its own blockchain. According to company executives, there is also the possibility of a more substantial revenue stream from applications built on top of it.
Coinbase Base – Pushing the Growth for dApps
In a “secret master plan” in 2016, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that the fourth phase of the company’s development plan would come from “decentralized apps”. Jesse Pollak, who is overseeing Base as Coinbase’s head of protocols, said that nearly 100 dApps are already ready for deployment on the Base network. He added:
“Historically, the aperture of what people can do with crypto has been relatively limited, mostly speculation. In order for Coinbase and crypto and this work that we’re doing to have the impact that we all want, we need to move from the place where this is speculation to a place where this is integrated into every part of someone’s day-to-day existence.”
The recently introduced Base network is essentially a “layer 2” blockchain constructed on the Ethereum blockchain’s foundation. It utilizes the OP Stack software, derived from the well-known Optimism layer 2 network.
What Can Users Do on the Base Network
Users have the option to transfer Ether (ETH) from the mainnet to Base by utilizing the official Base bridge, which introduced a user interface on August 3. Furthermore, on August 9, the cross-chain bridging protocol Wormhole declared its availability on the Base network.
Two decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges (DEXs) have announced their transition to Base, with a potential relaunch of a third DEX. Uniswap, one of Ethereum’s pioneering DEXs, revealed its Base version activation on August 7.
Maverick Protocol introduced its Base version on August 8, boasting enhanced capital efficiency and customization compared to rivals. These DEXs also offer users diverse choices for token swapping and liquidity provision.
Furthermore, Beam, a Web-based application on Base will allow users to make payments either in USDC or the platform’s native coin, Eco.
