Coinbase expands access to Base L2 mainnet

The full-scale launch of Base mainnet, a second-layer solution from Coinbase, is scheduled for August 9.

The project team also announced an earlier-than-expected start of work on the cross-chain bridge. The official on-chain tool will allow moving tokens between Base and the second-largest cryptocurrency network by market cap.

Base is built on the OP Stack from Optimism. It operates as an Ethereum rollups network and is aimed at reducing transaction fees for participants in the Coinbase ecosystem and the DeFi segment.

On July 13, the project opened access to the mainnet for developers dapps. A range of services became available, including:

• node providers, including Blockdaemon, QuickNode and Blast;
• smart-wallet infrastructure from Safe;
• blockchain explorers Basescan and Blockscout;
• data indexers The Graph, Goldsky and Covalent;
• developer tools from Thirdweb.

As of writing, the TVL of the new ecosystem stands at $13.5 million. Leading position is SushiSwap v3.

On August 9, Base will also introduce functionality for interacting with non-fungible tokens. Users will be able to mint commemorative NFTs, complete tasks and earn rewards, and also reserve cryptoglyphs in Coinbase Wallet.

Earlier this week, the Base blockchain was swept by a wave of meme tokens, using the LeetSwap decentralized exchange. The Bald token’s team soon removed most of the liquidity from DEX, which drove the asset’s price lower.

Later, the LeetSwap team paused trading amid reports of a possible exploit.