Base Reaches Stage 1 Decentralization Milestone

The Base network has reached Stage 1 decentralization after launching permissionless fault proofs and a decentralized Security Council. This milestone marks a significant step forward for the platform, which previously operated under full training wheels in Stage 0.

Fault proofs allow anyone to propose claims about the state of Base and challenge invalid withdrawals without needing permission from a central party. The Security Council consists of 10 independent entities from various jurisdictions, ensuring that no single entity controls the upgrade process. To implement an upgrade, the Security Council, Optimism, and Base must reach a 75% approval threshold.

The platform can now change its rules more gradually, with less risk of sudden changes affecting builders. The new architecture also provides faster shipping cadences, allowing for six hard forks per year instead of three. This shift reduces cognitive overhead for developers and enables them to deploy high-impact Ethereum Improvement Proposals like BAL ahead of the L1.

The network has seen significant growth since its migration to a unified base/base architecture, reaching $4.53 billion in DeFi TVL in April 2026. However, builders and users must navigate specific vulnerabilities in the current setup, including the centralized sequencer, which creates a single point of failure.