Coinbase launches blockchain Base to help developers build dApps on-chain

Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has launched Base, an Ethereum-focused layer-2 (L2) blockchain, Jesse Pollak, lead for Base and head of protocols at Coinbase, told TechCrunch.

In the past, Coinbase has homed in on the trading and exchange side of its business, but from the utility perspective, it’s still too hard for developers to build useful decentralized applications (dApps) and for users to actually use those things on-chain, Pollak said.

In an effort to expand further into the developer space, Coinbase is building Base to make it “dead easy” for developers to build dApps and for users to access those dApps through Coinbase products, Pollak said. “Our goal is to bring about phase 4 of Coinbase’s master plan: to bring a billion users into the crypto economy.”

The L2 is a “secure, low-cost, developer-friendly” chain that aims to help builders create dApps on-chain, the company stated. Base is built on the MIT-licensed OP Stack in collaboration with the layer-2 blockchain Optimism, which is also focused on the Ethereum chain.

A number of crypto businesses, platforms, marketplaces and infrastructure firms have committed to building on Base, a Coinbase spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Those that plan to be involved include Blockdaemon, Chainlink, Etherscan, Quicknode, Aave, Animoca Brands, Dune, Nansen, Magic Eden, Pyth, Rainbow Wallet, Ribbon Finance, The Graph, Wormhole and Gelato, to name a handful.

“We’ve made an effort to go out to everyone and bring them into this open ecosystem,” Pollak said. “What will be required of us to make this successful is to continue to double down on those values of decentralization, open source and having this be for everyone and a bridge that connects our users into the crypto economy and brings them to places they can go that aren’t controlled by Coinbase but can offer them valuable experiences.”