Base Abandons Optimism Infrastructure, Moves Towards Independent Tech Stack
Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 network backed by Coinbase, has announced that it will be transitioning away from Optimism's OP Stack infrastructure and towards a self-maintained tech stack. This move aims to reduce Base's dependency on external dependencies, which currently power the blockchain since its August 2023 launch.
As part of this transition, node operators will need to migrate their software from Optimism releases to Base's client software to remain compatible with future network upgrades. The change is expected to increase Base's hard fork schedule from three to six per year.
The new unified stack, designated 'base/base,' consolidates previously distributed codebase elements into a single repository built on open-source components including Reth. This move will allow Base to maintain Stage 1 decentralization status under Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's rollup classification system.
Optimism's OP token price declined by 4% in the 24 hours following the announcement, while Base currently holds $3.85 billion in total value locked. The blockchain's roadmap includes transitioning from optimistic to TEE/ZK proofs in an upcoming hard fork, with subsequent releases planned to implement Ethereum's Fusaka and Glamsterdam upgrades.