base

Base, the Ethereum layer-2 network incubated by Coinbase, has announced a major shift in its core technology architecture. The team confirmed plans to gradually move away from the OP Stack and replace it with a newly unified technology stack designed to accelerate upgrades and significantly reduce operational complexity.
The decision marks a strategic pivot for Base, which has so far relied on Optimism’s open-source framework — also used by networks such as World Network (formerly linked to Worldcoin) and Uniswap’s Unichain.
Why Base Is Moving Beyond OP Stack
According to Base’s product leadership, the network is now developing its own technical specifications, codebase, and infrastructure components to increase autonomy. By consolidating scattered modules and repositories into a unified architecture, Base aims to deploy protocol upgrades more frequently while streamlining coordination across teams.
Currently, critical components such as the sequencer are managed by multiple groups and distributed across various repositories. This fragmented structure increases maintenance complexity and slows iteration speed. The new unified solution — built on open-source components including Reth — is expected to reduce module redundancy and allow Base to optimize directly for its own scaling roadmap.
Target: 1 Gigagas per Second
A central milestone in Base’s roadmap is reaching 1 gigagas per second in throughput — described internally as the project’s “north star.” This target, first outlined last February, would represent roughly a 40x scaling improvement compared to performance at that time.
To support this goal, Base intends to increase its hard fork frequency to six per year — double its current pace. More frequent upgrades would enable faster feature deployment and performance improvements, positioning Base for higher transaction volumes in 2026.
What Node Operators and Developers Need to Know
In the short term, node operators and developers are not required to take immediate action. However, within the coming months, participants will need to migrate to a new Base client to maintain compatibility with the evolving network.
Long term, the transition is expected to enhance decentralization, improve efficiency, and strengthen Base’s scalability profile.
Coinbase’s Broader Strategy and Token Speculation
The roadmap update follows Coinbase’s recent Q4 earnings report, where the company emphasized plans to increase trading activity on Base throughout 2026.
Earlier statements from company representatives also confirmed that Base is evaluating the possibility of launching a native token. Market estimates have speculated that such a token, if issued, could imply a valuation range between $12 billion and $34 billion — though no official issuance has been confirmed.
Market Position and Competitive Landscape
According to data from DefiLlama, Base currently ranks as the leading layer-2 network by total bridged value (TVL), representing approximately 32% of the comparable metric relative to Solana.
Meanwhile, Coinbase stock (COIN) declined roughly 1% in the latest session, trading near $164 and down nearly 49% over the past six months.
Base’s strategic shift away from OP Stack signals a broader trend among layer-2 networks seeking greater technical independence and optimized scaling pathways. Whether this move strengthens Base’s competitive edge in the Ethereum ecosystem will depend on execution speed, adoption growth, and overall market conditions.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and reflects personal observations. It is not financial or investment advice. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
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