Coinbase’s ‚Base‘ Stirs Suspicions of Ethereum’s Network Neutrality

  • Coinbase’s ‚Base‘ Product – Coinbase recently announced the launch of their Base product which is an Ethereum layer 2 enabling „anyone, anywhere“ to build dApps cost-effectively.
  • Suspicions Over Network Neutrality – Chris Blec argued that Coinbase’s newly announced product Base is a WEF play for CBDCs and a cashless society, rekindling the discussion about Ethereum being co-opted by entities who seek to censor and centralize the chain.
  • Why Coinbase Base is Different – Coinbase stated that Base would not incorporate a token. Instead, Ethereum will be used as the native gas token. Coinbase already has a captive userbase and it makes it easy for developers to build applications with access to existing users.

Coinbase’s ‚Base‘ Product

Coinbase recently announced the launch of their Base product which is an Ethereum layer 2 enabling „anyone, anywhere“ to build dApps cost-effectively. This new product from Coinbase allows developers to create distributed applications (dApps) on the blockchain with ease. The company described the product as an Ethereum layer 2 enabling „anyone, anywhere“ to build dApps cost-effectively. Their goal with this project is to make onchain tech available for 1 billion users in order to bring them into the cryptoeconomy.

Suspicions Over Network Neutrality

Chris Blec argued that Coinbase’s newly announced product „Base“ may be part of WEF plans for Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). His comments rekindled the discussion about Ethereum being co-opted by entities who seek to censor and centralize the chain. On August 8th 2022, US Treasury had issued a statement sanctioning Tornado Cash mixer because they believed it had been used by North Korean hackers to launder approximately $7 billion dollars in illegal funds through its protocol. This highlighted issues over network neutrality and how Ethereum could be potentially controlled or censored by certain authorities.

Why Coinbase Base is Different

Unlike other ETH layer 2s, Coinbase already has a captive user base meaning developers have access to large existing groups of users from day one. Additionally, unlike other ETH layer 2s there won’t be any token incorporated into this system as Ethereum will remain as its native gas token instead. According Jesse Pollack – Head of Protocol at Coinbase – both their self custodial wallet and DApp wallet will be integrated into this system thus making it easier for developers to get access these existing users when building their applications on this platform.

The Cornerstone Of WEF Plans?

Chris Blec believes differently; he thinks while users are able Build on ‘Base’ freely there seems no explicit narrative stating if using ‘Base’ would also be permissionless or not . He warned that ‘Base’ might turn out becoming another KYC chain meaning only those who verify themselves can gain access onto this system . This further strengthens his point about ‘Base’ being WEF’s cornerstone plan towards achieving CBDC tech and eventually move towards cashless societies .

Conclusion

Coinbase’s ‚Base‘ product certainly looks like it could become an important part of World Economic Forum plans towards bringing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) tech into fruition along with achieving cashless societies. However , more research needs done in order understand how exactly ‚Base‘ will function once its launched