Coinbase’s Layer-2 Network Base Completes Security Audits

Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain Base is one step closer to its mainnet launch with the completion of a series of internal and external security audits, the project said in a blog post on 29 June.

According to the announcement, the layer 2 protocol has just completed its second-last criteria required for its mainnet launch, be subject to six months of rigorous security checks and audits. The team noted that it did not discover any critical severity bugs on Base — which is built on the OP stack in collaboration with Optimism — during its six months of testing, which gave it the confidence to proceed towards Base’s mainnet launch.

In order to “battle-test” the tech stack, Coinbase commissioned its protocol security team to conduct audits on all of Optimism’s pre-deployment and smart contracts on layer 1, layer 2, and on the bridges to idetify any vulnerabilities. The company also invited the broader community, and engaged more than 100 external security researchers, in an effort to find major security bugs and vulnerabilities.

The extensive security audits were the fourth out of five criteria Base has to complete before its mainnet launch, with the other three passed being a “Regolith” hard fork in testnet, infrastructure review with OP Labs, and Optimism’s “Bedrock” upgrade”. The final criteria is to demonstrate “testnet stability”, and while Base did not reveal how it will be completed, it said it is still reviewing submissions from the public smart contract audit.