Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has provided uncommon public reward for Coinbase’s Base community, describing it as a benchmark for a way Layer 2 options ought to perform.
In a Sept. 23 post on X, he argued that Base combines sensible usability with the safety ensures of Ethereum’s core chain, making a mannequin that balances comfort and decentralization.
Buterin identified that Base employs sure centralized mechanisms to enhance pace and person expertise.
But, in contrast to exchanges or custodial companies, it doesn’t management person funds. As an alternative, withdrawals and asset security stay tied to Ethereum’s underlying infrastructure.
Base Stage 1
He defined that this strategy matches throughout the Stage 1 standards outlined by analytics platform L2Beat, the place even a community outage can’t compromise customers’ proper to reclaim their belongings.
He said:
“Stage 1 implies that a safety council with a 75% vote can override the onchain code. Nonetheless, stage 1 additionally requires {that a} quorum-blocking (>=26%) portion of the council sits outdoors the org that’s managing the L1. Therefore, the org can’t unilaterally censor or steal through a safety council vote, so they don’t seem to be a custodian.”
Notably, L2Beat identifies Base as one in all solely eight tasks that qualify for Stage 1 standing, underlining Buterin’s declare that the chain features as an extension of Ethereum’s belief mannequin moderately than a indifferent service.
In response to Buterin, calling Layer 2s “non-custodial” is greater than a branding train. Their safety derives from Ethereum’s good contract logic, which ensures Layer 1 in the end controls the motion of funds.
This safeguard makes it unimaginable for operators to misappropriate belongings or selectively block withdrawals. He harassed that these protections will not be summary theories however concrete technical pathways already written into Ethereum’s base layer.
Base dominance
Buterin’s endorsement comes as Base cements itself as some of the energetic L2 networks.
Data from L2Beat reveals the chain now handles round 160 transactions per second, amounting to just about 360 million transactions prior to now month.
When it comes to complete worth locked (TVL), Base has additionally climbed to just about $15 billion, second solely to Arbitrum’s roughly $20 billion.
A lot of this development stems from Coinbase’s backing of the layer-2 answer. The $85 billion agency gives technical help and has prolonged its model credibility as the most important US-based crypto alternate to Base.
This involvement has helped amplify Base’s adoption, making it a dominant participant within the Layer 2 panorama.

