Coinbase Will Store More Corporate and Customer USDC Accounts on Layer-2 Base
Max Branzburg, the Vice President of Coinbase, has announced plans for Coinbase to migrate a greater number of customer and corporate accounts holding the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin to its Ethereum layer-2 blockchain called Base. The decision aims to enhance fund management and security while reducing fees and settlement times.
Branzburg emphasized that the move would enable the exchange to handle and safeguard customer funds more efficiently. However, it's important to note that this transition only affects Coinbase.com accounts, as users of Coinbase Wallet are responsible for managing their own private keys. Presently, tokens held by Coinbase.com users are stored in a wallet secured by multiparty computation, with Coinbase ensuring a 1:1 asset-to-funds ratio and refraining from lending out customers' funds without explicit instruction.
Despite the positive outlook, some users have expressed concerns regarding the current level of centralization within Base. Data from L2BEAT reveals that Coinbase is currently the sole sequencer of Base, giving the exchange complete control over the chain. However, Coinbase has expressed its commitment to gradually decentralize Base over time.
Launched on August 9, 2023, Base operates as an optimistic rollup based on Optimism’s OP Stack. Base ranks as the fourth-largest Ethereum layer-2 solution by total value locked, with $2.63 billion in assets, behind Arbitrum, Optimism, and Blast, according to L2BEAT.
