Coinbases Ethereum Network Base Experiences a Quiet Outage
Coinbase’s Layer-2 (L2) network, known as Base, is a widely used second-layer platform built on top of Ethereum (ETH). On September 21, Base experienced an outage that lasted for 20 minutes, during which no blocks were produced. This outage was similar to the outages faced by Solana.
Interestingly, the cryptocurrency market did not pay much attention to this event, as it was labelled as “degraded performance” in a discreet communication after it was resolved. However, the issue was more significant than initially stated, as Base’s block production was effectively halted, rendering it offline.
Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base and a leading developer at Coinbase, explained that this was the network’s second outage since its inception. The first outage was resolved more quickly, resulting in a 15-minute period without new blocks in early September 2023.
What raised concerns within the crypto community is that this recent outage went unnoticed, with minimal coverage from Base’s official channels and the crypto-native media. There were no official announcements about the outage on Base’s Discord server, which was a cause for concern according to a commentator named Slorg.
Additionally, Coinbase’s network uptime chart did not recognize this recent issue as a block stall or network outage. However, it did acknowledge the first outage mentioned by Pollak, although it reported a one-hour downtime instead.
Slorg drew a parallel between Base’s outage and the outages experienced by the Solana network, noting that Solana outages receive significant coverage from various crypto-related news outlets. This lack of attention to Base’s outage raised questions and highlighted the difference in media coverage.
MartyParty, a cryptocurrency influencer, expressed concerns about the recent outage and how Coinbase handled its communication. Mert Mumtaz, the founder of Helius, explained that Base had more than 500 blocks with zero transactions during the outage, defining it as an outage rather than degraded performance.
Despite the outage, Coinbase’s stock price on NASDAQ is currently trading at $169.02, showing a 4.53% increase in the last five days. Although Base contributes a small share of Coinbase’s revenue, which mitigates the potential negative impact of the outage, related cryptocurrencies may suffer. Base is a popular Ethereum L2 platform and generates a significant portion of fee revenue in the ecosystem, despite its centralized nature around Coinbase.
While the outage may raise uncertainties about the system’s reliability and potentially damage Ethereum decentralized applications, the Base team was praised for its quick response and technical skills in resolving the issue promptly.
