In the increasingly dynamic landscape of blockchain technology, the popular U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase is gearing for the official launch of its new Base blockchain. This ‘layer 2’ platform built atop Ethereum appears poised to emerge as one of the high-ranking projects in the blockchain arena with $133 million already locked into apps and protocols on the base network according to Dune, the crypto analysis firm. Coinbase aims to make blockchain technology more accessible by creating a “trusted interface, curated experiences” for those who are new to it.
Notwithstanding the excitement, Coinbase’s adventure into creating its own blockchain is groundbreaking. As Jesse Pollak, creator of Base, explains, “no publicly traded company has ever launched its own blockchain, so there’s no playbook.” Base is expected to potentially drive crypto to the next wave of utility and innovation, increase the number of use-cases for crypto customers, and provide the platform for millions of novel and existing products to be built. While base is touted as a magnet for innovation, the primary revenue generator for Coinbase is expected to be the apps built on Base itself, and not the sequencer fees.
However, the path to the launch, like all ventures into unchartered terrain, hasn’t been without its own set of regulatory and user-safety challenges for Coinbase. Building a decentralized blockchain out of a public centralized company is novel and the regulatory environment is more nebulous than it should be for such ventures. And while the BALD token incident on Base was an unexpected eventuality that reminds us of the inherent risks, Coinbase plans to handle it by continuing to provide its trusted and curated experiences for users. Base will remain open and permissionless to promote decentralization across the globe, but access for most people will be mediated through Coinbase to ensure a safe interaction.
Base is expected to retain its nature of being a crypto platform. There are no plans for it to have an exclusive token, an option dismissed as more confusing than helpful. The focus, Pollak stated, is on “ensuring and building a developer platform that makes it really easy for developers to build dapps and in building a chain that makes it really easy for users to use them.”
The landscape of blockchain is evolving, and Coinbase’s venture into launching its own marks yet another step into the future. As the crypto market expands its horizon, the implications of this move on other exchanges and their operations remain speculative. But for now, Base steps into the limelight with a lot of promises, as Coinbase continues to emerge as a trusted bridge between users and the crypto world.
Source: Coindesk
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