Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN)'s Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base, experienced its first significant outage on Tuesday, with the disruption lasting approximately 45 minutes. The issue was identified at 9:36 pm UTC and was listed as a "Base chain stall" on the project status page, causing difficulties for users submitting transactions. A full recovery took an additional 30 minutes, with an all-clear report issued 90 minutes after the incident began.
The outage was attributed to a problem with the network's internal infrastructure that required a refresh. Despite the swift response from developers, this led to a delay in block production and node-to-node exchanges of state information. A lingering issue with remote procedure calls (RPCs) further delayed the issuance of the all-clear report.
The incident has sparked comparisons to other blockchain networks and their relative stability. Matt Willemsen, head of research at crypto analytics firm Collective Shift, highlighted the differences between Ethereum's Layer 2 networks and Ethereum's mainnet in light of the outage. He noted that Layer 2 solutions are not as "battle-tested" as Ethereum's mainnet and involve fewer trust assumptions.
Launched by Coinbase on August 9, 2023, Base is a relatively new development in the crypto world. Despite its youth, it has seen significant growth, logging daily transaction volumes greater than its Ethereum foundation. According to DeFi Llama data, it has generated $6 million in protocol fees, driven partly by its popularity with memecoin enthusiasts.
In its short existence, Base has announced native support for USDC and integrations with Ledger Live and the PancakeSwap decentralized exchange. It has also formed partnerships with Chainlink Aragon and several well-known consumer brands.
This incident marks the first major technical hiccup for Base since its launch. The network is back online as developers continue to monitor it for further issues. Base reassured users that no funds were at risk during the outage.
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