Coinbase Vows Not to Control Crypto On Base Blockchain, Unveils Decentralization Plans

Coinbase, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced a promising initiative to improve decentralization of the Base blockchain. The company has released decentralization plans for its newly launched Base Blockchain, promising not to control the crypto assets that users bring into the ecosystem.

Coinbase Introduces Base Neutrality Principles

Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has unveiled a strategy aimed at achieving decentralization and impartiality for its recently launched “Base” blockchain. This new move is known as the “Base Neutrality Principles.”

As detailed in a Coinbase blog post, these principles are designed to be in sync with Optimism’s “Law of Chains,” a set of guidelines intended to harmonize different chains constructed in line with the project’s vision for a “Superchain.” Notably, Base is developed using technology from Optimism’s OP Stack.

The core team behind Base plans to decentralize the network by incorporating fault-proof mechanisms and utilizing a variety of client software to ensure resistance to censorship. This marks a departure from the current stage, where Coinbase alone operates the sequencer for the Base network.

Coinbase protocols lead Jesse Pollak, said, “We’re excited to see OP Labs and other contributors to the OP Stack making fast progress on key decentralization goals, most notably fault proofs. We’re working closely with these teams to ensure that Base adopts these improvements as soon as they are ready.”

Coinbase has committed to five key standards under the Base Neutrality Principles, aiming for an open and neutral blockspace for all OP Stack blockchains. The exchange will neither control user-owned crypto nor prioritize transaction orders on Base.

It also vows not to use private transaction data for marketing and will allow unrestricted exits and withdrawals. Optimism’s team confirmed that Base and OP Mainnet will undergo synchronized upgrades to maintain compatibility, and transaction fees will be partially directed to the Optimism Collective via a smart contract.

Regulatory Hurdles Not Stopping Coinbase

Launched just two weeks ago on the Ethereum mainnet, Coinbase’s Base has quickly attracted decentralized apps eager to deploy on it. The network’s initial success, boasting over $150 million in total value bridged (TVB) on launch day, has now soared to over $261 million, outperforming recently launched layer-2s like Mantle and Linea. Over 100 dapps integrated with Base at its launch to capitalize on the early hype despite SEC’s lawsuit.

In June, the SEC sued Coinbase for allegedly operating as an unlicensed broker and offering unregistered securities via its staking program. Coinbase has countered, arguing that it doesn’t deal in securities and thus the SEC’s case is outside its jurisdiction. The company has filed a motion seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming the SEC’s arguments are invalid.