Base: Coinbase’s Layer-2 Network Goes Open Source Will They Launch a Token?

Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain network Base has open sourced its code repositories and smart contracts in a move aimed at increasing transparency and enabling public collaboration.

Keypoints

Coinbase‘s layer-2 blockchain network Base has open-sourced its code repositories and smart contracts.
This allows public visibility into Base’s development and enables developers to contribute improvements.
Coinbase is offering up to $1 million bounties for discovery of bugs and security flaws in Base’s code.
Base has also open-sourced web properties including its main site, docs site, and bridge site.
In just 3 months, Base has become the 3rd largest layer-2 by total value locked at $549 million.
But its market share is only 5% as Arbitrum and Optimism dominate the layer-2 ecosystem.
Coinbase hasn’t ruled out issuing a native token for Base in the future.
Base recently moved its testnet from Goerli to Sepolia chain to unify layer-2 ecosystem.

By making its smart contracts and core code publicly visible on GitHub, Base is providing full insight into its ongoing development and functionality. This allows any developer to review, audit, and potentially contribute improvements to the open-source project.

According to Base, open sourcing serves as a catalyst for community participation while holding the network accountable for delivering on its technical roadmap. It also lets developers learn from and expand upon Base’s work so far.

One of Base’s core values is building in the open

We believe this is foundational to building an onchain ecosystem, creating accountability, and enabling collaboration

In this spirit, we’ve open sourced our smart contract and GitHub reposhttps://t.co/UOgGpNXyFL

— Base ????️ (@BuildOnBase) October 19, 2023

As part of its commitment to transparency, Base revealed details on its multi-signature setup and key management processes. It aims to demonstrate a thoughtful approach to security, which is critical for a network managing user funds.

In addition to its core protocol code, Base also open sourced its main web properties including its homepage, documentation portal, and bridge site.

While open source boosts transparency, Base acknowledges there are risks like malicious actors exploiting vulnerabilities. To incentivize responsible disclosure, it is offering bounties up to $1 million for reporting previously unknown bugs.

In just three months, Base has rapidly grown into the 3rd biggest layer-2 platform by total value locked at $549 million. However, rivals Arbitrum and Optimism still dominate the ecosystem with a combined 80% market share.

By embracing open-source collaboration, Base hopes to accelerate development and adoption of its Ethereum-based scaling solution. And with Coinbase still weighing a potential native token for Base, its future looks promising if the community can help strengthen its technical foundations.