Coinbase-Backed Layer 2 Project Base Faces First Major Outage

Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base, encountered its first significant disruption since its public launch on August 9, raising questions about the stability and resilience of Ethereum Layer-2 solutions. 

The interruption lasted approximately half an hour and began when no new blocks were produced on the Base chain for about 45 minutes on September 5.

Base developers promptly identified the block production delay at 9:36 pm UTC, addressing it as a “Base chain stall.”

They assured the user community that no funds were at risk during the outage. Within 14 minutes, a fix was developed, and by 6:09 p.m., Base initiated a recovery in block production and the exchange of node-to-node state information, referred to as “gossip.”

Despite this swift response and recovery, a lingering issue with remote procedure calls (RPCs) delayed issuing an all-clear report until 6:06 p.m., approximately 90 minutes after the investigation commenced.

Layer-2 Solutions: A New Frontier

This incident highlights potential concerns associated with Ethereum Layer-2 networks, which aim to enhance the scalability and reduce transaction costs of the Ethereum blockchain. 

These Layer-2 solutions, including Base, are less battle-tested than Ethereum‘s mainnet, making them susceptible to unforeseen issues, as noted by Matt Willemsen, head of research at crypto education platform Collective Shift.

Base, supported by cryptocurrency exchange giant Coinbase, is a relatively recent addition to the Ethereum ecosystem, having launched less than a month ago. 

Despite its brief existence, Base has experienced rapid growth, surpassing Ethereum’s daily transaction volumes.

It has reportedly generated $6 million in protocol fees, partly driven by its appeal to the meme coin community.

Coinbase and Base have assured users that they are closely monitoring the chain for further issues.

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