Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, experienced its first major outage since its public launch on Aug. 9. For around 45 minutes on Sept. 5, block production on the Base chain stalled. The Base status website first reported the issue at 9:36 pm UTC, and block production has since resumed. Coinbase reported that “a delay in block production was due to part of their internal infrastructure requiring a refresh. A fix has been implemented and recovery is widespread.”
Base is continuing to monitor the chain for further issues. Matt Willemsen, head of research at crypto education platform Collective Shift, pointed out the differences in using Ethereum’s layer 2 networks and noted that they are not as “battle tested” as Ethereum’s mainnet. He tweeted:
“Coinbase’s Base chain just had its first major outage, lasting for 43 minutes. Blocks have just started to be produced again. Another reminder that using Ethereum L2s (e.g. Arbitrum One, OP Mainnet, zkSync Era, Base) is NOT the same as using Ethereum mainnet, which is more…”
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of being aware of the differences when using Ethereum’s layer 2 networks.
