Coinbase has reached an agreement with Iron Fish to integrate the PoW blockchain team into Base’s development group, focusing on privacy-centric L2 primitives.
This involves leveraging the expertise of specialists, rather than acquiring a zk-SNARK-based blockchain or its token.
Coinbase outlined the objectives of the deal:
- For the industry — Coinbase is setting a new standard by integrating robust privacy guarantees into the supported L2. This initiative advances an on-chain future that is secure, transparent, and user-friendly;
- For developers — Base’s scalability and privacy stack will aid in creating the next generation of private, secure, and regulatory-compliant dapps;
- For everyone — Privacy tools will become simpler, granting users greater control while keeping transactions fast and affordable. Everyone will be able to trade, transact, and engage in on-chain activities while safeguarding private information.
Iron Fish will remain independent and not affiliated with Coinbase or Base. The startup’s co-founder, Elena Nadolinski, will continue to serve on the foundation’s board. The project’s governance structure will remain unchanged.
Back in 2023, developers launched the Iron Fish blockchain mainnet.
In February 2025, the Base team announced plans to accelerate the main network tenfold through collaboration with Flashblocks.