Coinbase’s Base, an Ethereum Layer-2 network, is gearing up for a serious efficiency overhaul. In a Could 24, 2025 announcement, Base lead developer Jesse Pollak laid out aggressive targets to vastly outpace present layer-1 rivals.
The plan requires sub-$0.01 transaction charges, 200 ms affirmation instances and finally 1 million transactions per second (TPS) on Base.
Within the close to time period Base will scale to “over 200 TPS,” whereas constructing towards its final aim of 1,000,000 TPS. The roadmap emphasizes pace and value: Pollak stated the upgrades are designed to “cut back transaction affirmation instances to 200 ms and maintain community charges persistently underneath $0.01”.
FlashBlocks and Decentralization Roadmap
A centerpiece of the improve is the brand new FlashBlocks mechanism. FlashBlocks will create “preconfirmation blocks” that permit customers see near-instant leads to underneath 200 ms.
In impact, FlashBlocks cut up every full block into sub-blocks: Base’s full block time stays 2 seconds, however FlashBlocks let some transactions finalize far sooner.
For comparability, Solana’s full block time is 400 ms, and it has an analogous “shreds” characteristic; Base’s FlashBlocks convey its efficient block interval to 200 ms. Pollak says FlashBlocks are already in testnet trials, with a mainnet launch focused by summer season 2025.
The improve additionally pushes Base towards larger decentralization. Base will transfer core logic (comparable to state transition) onto Ethereum’s Layer 1 through sensible contracts.
That change “would permit a number of unbiased builders and validators to form the community’s evolution,” Pollak famous.
In parallel, Base is enhancing {hardware} capability: it can increase fuel throughput from 25 Mgas/s now to 50 Mgas/s by Q2 2025 and to 250 Mgas/s by year-end. This tenfold fuel capability soar is supposed to help the throughput and charge objectives introduced.
In response to the Base workforce’s updates, the sequence will probably be: in Q2 2025 increase fuel to 50 Mgas/s, deploy FlashBlocks on mainnet by summer season, then proceed optimizations by way of the autumn.
Pollak emphasised that every improve — decrease latencies, decrease charges, larger fuel limits — will make Base extra “scalable and user-friendly”.
By end-2025, Base expects a 100× capability enhance over immediately, placing it in direct competitors with quick chains like Solana and Sui.
Efficiency: Solana and Sui Benchmarks
The Coinbase layer 2 project targets are calibrated towards bold friends. Solana, a number one high-throughput L1, can, in concept, hit 65,000 TPS, however in follow, its dwell throughput is way decrease.
Latest information present Solana’s common TPS round 740, with charges measured in fractions of a cent per transaction. Regardless of succesful bandwidth, Solana’s real-world transactions hardly ever strategy its theoretical peak.
Its neighborhood additionally boasts giant developer momentum: an Electrical Capital survey discovered Solana added 7,625 new builders in 2024 – greater than every other chain.
Sui, a more moderen Layer-1 constructed by Mysten Labs, takes a distinct strategy with parallel “transfer” transactions. In dwell operation, Sui’s mainnet hit 5,414 TPS at its 90-day peak in mid-2023, with 100% uptime.
Labs’ exams have proven Sui can theoretically scale into the a whole bunch of hundreds of TPS; a stress take a look at with 100 validators achieved as much as 297,000 TPS in bursts (finality 480 ms).
Crucially, Sui’s horizontal scaling design stored fuel charges flat underneath heavy load. As Sui claims, its charges stay secure even at excessive concurrency, letting functions scale with out charge spikes.
On adoption, Sui’s developer rely is smaller however rising: by mid-2024 Sui had roughly 1,400 month-to-month energetic builders, up 219% year-on-year.
Briefly, Base goals to surpass these numbers. Its sub-$0.01 charge aim is on par with each Solana and Sui’s low-fee fashions, and its 200 ms affirmation aim is half Solana’s full block time and on the order of Sui’s finality goal.
If Base reaches 1 million TPS, it might vastly exceed the present dwell throughput on any chain. For now, Base’s precise throughput is way decrease. Messari studies 60 TPS common not too long ago, however the introduced roadmap compresses that hole.
Coinbase’s Strategic Context
Base is a flagship for Coinbase’s Web3 technique. Coinbase, the NASDAQ-listed crypto exchange, developed Base to drive Ethereum adoption by its person base.
The community presents low-cost transfers and tight integration with Coinbase wallets and providers. Coinbase has staked large on Base’s progress: the undertaking’s personal 2025 targets embrace onboarding 25 million customers, 25,000 builders, and $100 billion in belongings on Base.
In response to Coinbase, Base will concentrate on supporting builders, increasing liquidity, and decentralizing block capability to hit these objectives.
