Base moves beyond OP Stack as it rebuilds its core stack

Base, Coinbase’s layer 2 network, announced today that it will transition away from the Optimism Stack to develop a proprietary infrastructure framework.

The Ethereum layer-2 network plans to build what it calls a unified Base stack, a move designed to streamline development and reduce reliance on external codebases. The shift would allow the team to deploy upgrades more frequently, targeting as many as six hard forks annually compared with roughly three under the previous architecture.

Base launched in August 2023 using Optimism’s modular rollup framework to accelerate its initial deployment. The network has since grown into one of the largest Ethereum scaling solutions, reaching 300,000 daily active addresses and $3.8 billion in total value locked, according to DefiLlama data.

In the near term, no action is required for users. Node operators will need to migrate to the Base client ahead of future hard forks, though existing RPCs will remain supported to avoid breaking integrations.

The roadmap outlines multiple upcoming upgrades, including a transition from optimistic proofs to TEE and ZK proofs, alignment with Ethereum layer 1 upgrades, new transaction types, and fee model refinements.