Inwardly proclaiming its allegiance to the principles of decentralization, Coinbase, the US’s largest cryptocurrency platform, brings to the table Base, its lauded open-source, permissionless Ethereum layer-2 protocol. This protocol that emerged amid considerably heightened eagerness a couple of weeks prior is already securing a flourishing position within the Ethereum ecosystem. With its foundations resting on the open-source OP Stack, and developed along with the Optimism Collective, Base is moving towards decentralization, steering by the Law of Chains.
Interestingly, this framework is designed exclusively to facilitate interoperability among varied chains, resonating with the mutual vision of Base and Optimism Collective for a “superchain”. To safeguard the decentralization, Base has crafted its unique “Base Neutrality Principles”. A bid to protect the Base protocol from the possibility of Coinbase wielding excessive influence and thus, eroding the merits of decentralization.
These principles encompass five key standards, an assurance towards not controlling the crypto bridged to and from the chain, a pact of not demonstrating favouritism in the sequencing of transactions, and a refusal to employ private transaction data for marketing endears.
The ripple effect of these developments also influences the Optimism Collective’s indigenous layer-2 blockchain, erected using the OP Stack. In order to preset interoperability, upgrades for both Base and Optimism (the OP Mainnet) will be enacted contemporaneously.
The revenues of Base aren’t set to rest purely within its own coffers. By enabling a smart contract, a fragment of Base’s transaction fees will be dispersed to the Optimism Collective. In another plus, Base users are likely to benefit from the issuance of the native OP token by Optimism.
The proclamation by Optimism shores our hope on Base users profiting from as many as 118 million OP tokens, equating to over $180 million, based on the existing token value, over the coming six years. The end goal for Base, as indicated by Jesse Pollak, the protocol’s lead at Coinbase, is to establish a cycle of virtue that guarantees the sustainable financing of the OP Stack and other associated public benefits.
Fears of Coinbase attempting to centralize power in the blockchain realm, a scene ultimately desired to de decentralized by crypto purists, should be substantially allayed by Base’s pledge to work for the shared benefit of the Optimism Collective chains and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. However, a sense of trepidation might still linger regarding how Coinbase, a publicly-run enterprise with an obligation to maximize its investors’ profits, will encash its influence over Base.
Source: Cryptonews
