Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 Network To Launch Mainnet In 2023
Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has launched Base, an Ethereum-focused layer 2 blockchain, earlier this year in February. In a recent interview with Jacquelyn, Jesse Pollak, the lead for Base and head of protocols at Coinbase, shared exclusive details about the upcoming plans for the platform on the Chain Reaction podcast.
Coinbase Layer 2 network Base plans to launch its mainnet in 2023. Jesse Pollak, Head of Base and Head of Protocol at Coinbase, said that the near-term plan is for Base to enter the mainnet and be decentralized. Techcruch reported. https://t.co/ArMqGl2tvy
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) April 21, 2023
Mainnet Launch
According to Pollak, Base has been live in the test phase of the blockchain network since late February. Although the platform is not sharing any official timelines, Pollak revealed that Base is planning to launch its mainnet in 2023. Mainnet is the fully live version of a blockchain on the main network. He added that the team is working hard to ensure that they get there as quickly as possible. Decentralization goals are also one of the top priorities for the team at Base.
Base aims to bring a million builders and a billion users on-chain by offering easy-to-use products on its platform. Coinbase has been building in the crypto economy for over a decade, and Base hopes to leverage that value for itself while planning to help products and activities expand on-chain over the next ten years. Pollak stressed that he is not focused on Base passing Coinbase; rather, he wants to see how Base and Coinbase will work together over the next decade to bring millions of developers and billions of users on-chain.
Decentralization Goals
Several crypto businesses, platforms, marketplaces, and infrastructure firms have committed to building on Base, including Chainlink, Aave, Animoca Brands, and The Graph. Pollak said that the near-term plan for Base is to get to mainnet and decentralize it. He shared that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong told him, “We can’t not decentralize this. We have to live up to that value and to that ethos.” Base hopes to become decentralized from Coinbase in months or years, rather than a decade.
Pollak added that the process of becoming decentralized is not a never-ending timeline. Instead, it is a question of how they can make progress on it today. He explained that every morning, when he wakes up, he thinks about how they can decentralize Base. The team is working hard to get Base to mainnet and then focus on its decentralization.
