Morning Minute: Base Breaks Up With Optimism
Coinbase’s Base, the largest chain in the OP Stack Superchain, is leaving Optimism’s tech stack to adopt a fully independent, in-house codebase called base/base. This transition consolidates Base’s sequencer, proofs, and core infrastructure into a unified repository, replacing dependencies on Optimism and others. The update swaps out Optimism’s optimistic proofs for Base-specific TEE/ZK proofs and removes Optimism from Base’s Security Council. Additional hard forks are planned, with Base V3 aligning with Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade. End users will not experience disruptions, but node operators must transition to the new releases. Base’s move is seen as a major loss for Optimism since Base historically contributed over 90% of the Superchain’s total revenue, revenue that previously benefited the Optimism Collective rather than Coinbase or Base itself. This shift allows Base to maximize revenues and is thought to be a precursor to launching its own token. Base remains the dominant Layer-2 by activity and TVL ($3.85B), now positioned to control its economic future independently.
