Base has launched its Azul upgrade on mainnet, and the team says it is the network’s first fully independent upgrade. According to Base, Azul introduces a multiproof security system that combines trusted execution environments with zero knowledge proofs, and either proof type can finalize proposals on its own. Therefore, the network now has several independent paths to confirm transactions and secure withdrawals across chains.
With Azul, Base says withdrawal times can drop to about one day when both proof systems agree, compared with the usual multi-day wait on optimistic rollups. In addition, the upgrade makes base reth node the sole execution client and adds a new base consensus client while phasing out older software. As a result, node operators must migrate to the new stack to stay in sync with the chain.
Step Toward Stage 2 Decentralization
Base has framed Azul as a key step toward what it calls Stage 2 decentralization, after earlier work on permissionless fault proofs. Back in its launch materials, Coinbase said Base would “progressively decentralize” and move from a Stage 0 rollup toward higher levels of autonomy over time. Now, Azul marks “the first network update on a stack we fully control,” according to the Base team.
In a public statement, developers said, “This marks the beginning of a sustainable rhythm of independent upgrades on the path to a global, free on-chain economy for the next billion users.” Because Azul aligns Base with Ethereum’s latest Osaka execution layer specification, the L2 also stays current with the mainnet roadmap while it gains more control over its own code. Consequently, the upgrade reduces direct reliance on the shared OP Stack release cycle, even as Base remains part of Optimism’s broader Superchain vision.
When Coinbase first unveiled Base in 2023, it described the L2 as a “secure, low-cost, developer-friendly” way to build decentralized apps and said it had “no plans” to issue a network token. The exchange also promised that Base would be “fully open source and freely available” and that it would help “onboard 1B+ users into the crypto economy.” Therefore, the push toward independent upgrades like Azul now looks like a concrete move to match those early decentralization goals with real technical changes.
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