Base Shifts from Optimism Stack
Coinbase's Base Layer 2 is shifting away from Optimism's OP Stack to develop its own unified technology stack for greater control. This move signals Base's ambition to differentiate itself in the crowded L2 space, where Ethereum currently anchors 74% of Layer 2 solutions including Optimism and Arbitrum. The transition could impact Base's interoperability with other Optimism-based chains.
- The move is a significant departure from the original close collaboration between Base and Optimism, which began with Base's launch in August 2023 on the OP Stack. This partnership was solidified with a revenue and governance sharing agreement where Base would contribute a percentage of its sequencer revenue to the Optimism Collective and in return receive up to 118 million OP tokens over six years. - Base's new infrastructure will be a unified, self-operated technology stack called "base/base". The goal of this in-house approach is to accelerate the rollout of updates, simplify the codebase, and gain more direct control over the network's security and scalability. - This transition will alter the financial arrangement between the two entities, allowing Base to retain a larger portion of the revenue generated from its sequencer, which was previously shared with the Optimism Collective. Following the announcement, the price of Optimism's OP token dropped by approximately 5-7%. - Node operators will now need to follow releases from Base's new "base/base" repository instead of Optimism's releases to remain compatible with upcoming hard forks. - Despite the separation, Base has stated it will maintain compatibility with the OP Stack specification for the time being to ensure a stable transition for users and developers. The company will continue to collaborate with Optimism as an "OP Enterprise client" during the transition period. - The first major upgrade on the new stack, the Base V1 hardfork, is planned to introduce Fusaka support and replace Optimistic proofs with Base-specific TEE and zero-knowledge proofs. - This strategic shift also involves a restructuring of Base's Security Council, replacing members associated with Optimism with independent signers to reduce the influence of any single external organization.
