Coinbase to Launch Game-Shifting ‘Base’ Layer 2 Blockchain Next Week

Coinbase, the largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange in North America, has made a major announcement to transition onto the blockchain. The company recently revealed the introduction of “Base,” a new Ethereum layer-two (L2) chain built on Optimism technology. This move represents a major shift in Coinbase’s business approach, transforming it from a traditional centralized exchange to a gateway for the decentralized web3 ecosystem.

Coinbase has announced that Base will be open to the public from August 9. Read on for more details. 

Coinbase Unveils Date for Layer-2 Blockchain and ETH Bridging

Coinbase has officially set the date for the public launch of its layer-2 blockchain, Base, which will be on August 9th. The platform has been accessible to developers since July, allowing them to test various applications on the new network. In a blog post, Coinbase explained that users will be able to bridge their ether (ETH) to Base starting from Thursday.

This announcement coincides with Coinbase’s upcoming second-quarter earnings report and marks the beginning of “Onchain Summer,” a series of events that invite creators and developers to participate in building applications and creating art on the Base platform. Several participants are expected, and some notable ones include Coca-Cola, Atari, and OpenSea, a leading non-fungible token platform.

$60 Million in ETH Bridged to Coinbase Layer 2 Base

The recent frenzy in meme coin trading resulted in a significant influx of funds sent to Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base. However, due to the current limitations, these funds cannot be bridged back to the ETH mainnet. This influx caused the Total Value Locked in Base to surge to $60.58 million within just 24 hours, marking an increase of over 6000%.

Despite the absence of an easy UI functionality to withdraw funds, 34,094 ETH was still bridged to the Base network. As reported by L2 Beat, the number of transactions on Base has surpassed 2.21 million, with much of the activity being linked to the popularity of a new meme coin called BALD. This particular coin witnessed a staggering 100-fold increase in value shortly after its deployment on the Base network.