Base launches Azul, moving Coinbase's L2 closer to full…

Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base, has launched Azul on mainnet — a significant protocol upgrade that advances the chain's roadmap toward full decentralization. The release marks a meaningful step away from the current sequencer-centralized architecture that most L2s still rely on today.

Azul is part of Base's staged decentralization plan, progressively reducing Coinbase's unilateral control over transaction ordering and chain governance. For the broader Ethereum ecosystem, a fully decentralized Base would represent one of the largest and most actively used L2s operating without a central point of failure or censorship.

The upgrade matters beyond Base itself: as one of the highest-throughput L2s by daily active users and transaction volume, Base's decentralization trajectory sets a benchmark that other Coinbase-adjacent and OP Stack chains will likely follow.