Coinbase will expand its Layer 2 Ethereum blockchain, Base, to the general public on Aug. 9 through a three-week-long campaign with over 50 brands and Web3 ecosystem builders.
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Coinbase is expanding its Base blockchain network to the general public. The company announced on Thursday that it will do so through a three-week-long celebratory campaign called Onchain Summer, starting Aug. 9.
Onchain Summer is a collaborative effort between Coinbase and over 50 brands, platforms, marketplaces, artists, and creators aiming to make crypto and blockchain tech more accessible to the masses. Over the next week, Coinbase will role out support for its Layer 2 Ethereum blockchain, Base, on Coinbase Wallet, the Coinbase app, and Coinbase NFT. When OnChain Summer starts on Aug. 9, anyone will be able to explore and engage with decentralized apps on Base at near-zero blockchain gas fees.
Before laying out what Coinbase Onchain Summer has coming, here’s everything you need to know about Base.
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What is Base?
Base is an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) blockchain network that’s incubated by Coinbase. L2 blockchains are extensions to L1 blockchain networks, like Ethereum, that allow developers and users to build and interact more easily. Jesse Pollak, Coinbase’s head of protocols and creator of Base, is the mastermind behind the new blockchain network that first launched in a testing phase around February. Pollak told Boardroom at VeeCon 2023 that Coinbase is on a mission to bring a million creators and a billion users onchain through user-friendly blockchain tech and apps such as Base, Coinbase Wallet, and the Coinbase app.
Base leverages the Ethereum network’s security, is low-cost compared to building on L1 blockchains, and is more developer-friendly than your typical blockchain network. Coinbase built Base’s open-source development stack in collaboration with Optimism, a L2 blockchain developer. The crypto exchange built Base to create an environment for developers to build decentralized apps onchain with ease. Builders can access Coinbase’s suite of products and tools when they develop on Base.
While Base is incubated by Coinbase, the crypto leader plans to fully decentralize the blockchain in the future. After nearly six months of a successful testnet period, Coinbase will launch Base mainnet and open the blockchain network up for general availability on Aug. 9. Coinbase and Coinbase Wallet will support Base’s big launch through an onchain festival packed with various events and opportunities.
The Coinbase Onchain Summer
Coinbase’s Onchain Summer campaign will kick off with a multi-week celebration of blockchain-enabled art, music, gaming, and more, all built on Base. Coca-Cola, Atari, and OpenSea are among the businesses and Web3 ecosystem builders who will run onchain events alongside Coinbase.
“We’re committed to uplifting builders and creators — the tinkerers, the curious, the ones who live in and see the future — in real life, online, and onchain. We believe in the transformative power of that builder community: when you combine new ideas, technologies, and people, you have an unwavering force for change,” Pollak said in a blog post.
Coinbase will share the full lineup of partners, a schedule of NFT mint events, and more on the Onchain Summer website on Aug. 9. More details about Base’s mainnet launch and access to decentralized apps on the network will also come next week. Coinbase is already getting Onchain Summer started with an open mint for a commemorative NFT called Bridge to Base, available on the campaign’s website.
As part of the campaign, Coinbase is partnering with PropHouse to award more than 100 ETH in grants to developers building on Base. Per Base’s blog, here are the different grant opportunities:
- Onchain Summer – August 9 – 18: Make art, a website, or whatever you’re inspired to for Onchain Summer on Base.
- Build on Base – August 12 – 23: Deploy a protocol, build infrastructure, or a new application on Base.
- Stand with Crypto – August 14 – 24: Make a one-minute video sharing a story about an onchain use case or advocating for sensible legislation.
- Based Accounts – August 16 – September 13: Build something that unlocks new or improved user experiences on Base using account abstraction.
Coinbase is also working with Superhack to host a virtual hackathon from Aug. 4 to 18, featuring $175,000 in prizes.
If you aren’t looking to build on Base, that’s okay. There is still something you can learn and interact with on the network. Get your Coinbase Wallet (or any crypto wallet you use) ready for OnChain Summer and the new offerings Coinbase is launching to bring more consumers to the blockchain. You’ll need a little bit of ETH, but here are six ways to learn about Base, per Base’s blog:
- Mint the commemorative Bridge to Base NFT at onchainsummer.xyz.
- Bridge ETH to Base by visiting bridge.base.org and mint a commemorative NFT.
- Learn about Base, bridge ETH, mint a commemorative NFT, and earn enough ETH for about ten transaction fees on Base while supplies last. Complete the quest either in your Coinbase app or in your Coinbase Wallet app.
- Learn about and bridge to Base with Galxe. You’ll be able to mint an NFT and earn a chance to win a small ETH reward after completing the quiz and bridging to Base. Start collecting loyalty points to climb up the leaderboard.
- Complete a Bridge to Base quest on Layer3. Learn about Base, complete the quiz, bridge ETH, mint your commemorative NFT and get an ETH reward in your wallet.
- Mint.fun: Anyone can mint to bridge with mint.fun and get your mint fee of 0.001 ETH back on Base. If you’re a mint.fun pass holder, you can mint for free and get your NFT and a small amount of Base ETH for free.
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