Fault Proofs to Go Live on Base on Oct. 30

Coinbase’s Ethereum-based L2 network Base is looking to introduce fault proofs this month.

Background

• Base was developed with the help of Optimism’s OP Stack
• The introduction of fault proofs on Base follows a similar update executed on Optimism recently
• On the Ethereum L2 network, users can now initiate withdrawals of ETH and ERC-20 tokens from the mainnet sans the involvement of any trusted third parties
• Retrospectively, invalid withdrawals by sequencers can be challenged and removed by any user who submits a fault-proof depicting that the withdrawal is invalid
• The end goal of fault proofs is to verify the correctness of a transaction — like the validity of withdrawals

Why should you pay attention?

• Permissionless fault proofs on Base will be implemented on Oct. 30
• Via this move, the team is looking to decentralize the network and eliminate control by a single entity
• Withdrawals on Base that are pending when the upgrade occurs will need to be re-proven
• Fault-proof contract upgrades will be completed atomically
• This means all affected L1 contracts will be upgraded via a single transaction
• In retrospect, node operators will not have to take any action

Who said what?

• The Base team said,

“Fault proofs are coming to Base mainnet, marking a key milestone on the path to decentralization”

• They added,

“This means anyone can monitor and permissionlessly challenge invalid withdrawals, removing the need for a trusted third party. The Base team has been collaborating closely with Optimism to bring fault proofs to Base and ensure a safe upgrade”

Zooming out

• Base recently surpassed Arbitrum to become the largest rollup in terms of TVL [$2.44 billion vs. 2.37 billion]
• The platform is also becoming the go-to hub for project developers