Base Chain to Shift from Optimism Stack to Proprietary Architecture
Base Chain is moving away from the Optimism software stack to a new, proprietary unified architecture. The transition is intended to increase throughput, reduce latency, and allow for more granular protocol customization. This positions Base to better compete for DeFi builders and institutional partners seeking scalable, trust-minimized infrastructure.
- The primary motivation for this architectural shift is to increase the speed of network upgrades and reduce reliance on external service providers. Base aims to double its major upgrade cadence from approximately three to six hard forks per year. - This move represents a significant departure from the "Superchain" vision, where Base was the largest network in the OP Stack ecosystem. The transition involves replacing external dependencies from not only Optimism but also Flashbots and Paradigm, consolidating them into a single, Base-operated repository. - Financially, this move alters the revenue-sharing agreement established in August 2023, where Base contributed either 2.5% of its total sequencer revenue or 15% of its net revenue to the Optimism Collective. By moving to an "OP Enterprise" support model, Base will retain a larger portion of its revenue, which exceeded $75 million in 2025. - Node operators will be required to migrate to a new Base client to remain compatible with future hard forks and network upgrades. The transition is planned in four stages, and while existing RPCs will be supported initially, the migration will become mandatory. - As part of the governance changes, Optimism will be replaced on the Base Security Council with an additional independent signer. However, Base will continue to work with Optimism as a client of "OP Enterprise" for mission-critical support. - The upcoming Base V1 hard fork will include support for Fusaka and will swap Optimistic proofs for Base-specific TEE/ZK proofs, signaling a divergence in the chain's technical roadmap. - This decision comes amid a broader debate on Layer-2 scaling strategy, influenced by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's recent comments suggesting that L2s need to evolve beyond being just cheaper execution layers as Ethereum's L1 scalability improves. - Launched in August 2023, Base grew rapidly on the OP Stack to a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $3.85 billion, making its departure a significant event for the Layer-2 landscape. The OP token experienced a drop of around 4-5% following the announcement.
