Base Forsakes OP Stack, Embarks on Self-Driven Odyssey

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What to know:

  • Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, is abandoning Optimism’s OP Stack, the very tool that once cradled its infantile codebase like a doting mother.
  • Base, born in 2023, now boasts $3.85 billion locked in, a sum that would make even a miserly merchant weep-or perhaps laugh at the folly of modern finance.
  • The OP token, once buoyant as a summer cloud, has plummeted 4% in 24 hours, a reminder that loyalty in crypto is as fleeting as a Russian winter’s sun.

Coinbase’s Base, that proud steed of Ethereum’s layer-2 plains, has decided to swap its borrowed plow for a self-forged one. No longer will it lean on Optimism’s OP Stack, the very scaffolding that once held it aloft like a drunkard clutching a lamppost.

In a blog post titled “The Next Chapter for Base,” the team declared their intent to seize control of their codebase with the fervor of a man divorcing his first wife. No more outsourcing upgrades to strangers; Base shall now govern itself, a lone wolf in the blockchain savannah.

In simpler terms, Base was once Optimism’s proud protégé, but now it yearns to steer its own ship-a vessel that, one suspects, may yet founder on the rocks of hubris.

Launched in 2023, Base ascended to prominence with the grace of a poorly written thesis, securing $3.85 billion in deposits. When it debuted, Optimism and Base shared a pact to earn 118 million OP tokens over six years. Whether this agreement now lies in tatters or merely in hibernation remains as clear as mud.

The OP token, once a golden goose, has shed 4% of its value in 24 hours. One might say the market’s reaction is as subtle as a cannon firing in a teacup.

The team insists this is not a full-scale betrayal but a “strategic pivot.” They’ll continue collaborating with Optimism, like a divorced couple still sharing the same therapist. For users, nothing changes-unless you count existential dread as a feature.

The shift, they claim, will accelerate upgrades to six per year, a pace that would make a caffeinated squirrel blush. If Base controls its own stack, it can “simplify operations,” a phrase as reassuring as a politician promising tax cuts.

For now, the transition is purely technical, a bureaucratic ballet of code. Yet one wonders: when does autonomy become isolation, and when does innovation devolve into navel-gazing?

“This unification does not mean Base will be built in isolation,” the blog declared, as if loneliness were a sin. “The protocol remains public and specified in the open,” they added, a line that drips with the irony of a man selling a bridge.

“We’re grateful for our three-year partnership,” an OP Labs spokesperson said, their words as hollow as a Kremlin speech. “We’ll continue to serve Base as an OP Enterprise customer,” they added, a promise as reliable as a snow leopard in July.

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2026-02-18 21:15