Base’s Azul upgrade is currently live on testnet, with mainnet launch scheduled for mid-May.<\/p>\n
Base, the Ethereum layer 2 network developed by Coinbase, announced<\/a> Tuesday evening its first independently built network upgrade, dubbed Azul, targeting mainnet activation on May 13.<\/p>\n The upgrade marks a \u201cmajor step\u201d in Base’s push toward Stage 2 decentralization \u2014 the highest trust-minimization standard for Ethereum L2s, according to the Base Engineering Blog post announcing the upgrade.<\/p>\n The centerpiece of Azul is a multiproof system that combines two independent proof mechanisms \u2014 a trusted execution environment (TEE) prover and a zero-knowledge (ZK) prover \u2014 into a single security layer. Either can finalize a transaction on its own, but when both agree, withdrawals from Base to Ethereum settle in as little as a day, the post notes. This architecture satisfies a core Stage 2 requirement: the ability to detect and handle proof system failures entirely on-chain.<\/p>\n Base currently ranks as the second-largest L2 by total value secured, with $12.12 billion, per L2Beat<\/a> data. Arbitrum One is ranked first with just over $16 billion.<\/p>\n The announcement comes amid growing pressure on L2s to mature their security models. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has pushed for faster L2 withdrawal times<\/a> to reduce reliance on third-party bridges, while also questioning whether the original L2 vision still holds<\/a> as the space has evolved. Base’s multiproof design is explicitly modeled on Buterin’s L2 finalization roadmap, the Azul announcement notes.<\/p>\n