Key facts
- Base's B20 token standard will activate on mainnet on Wednesday at 6 pm UTC.
- The B20 standard provides a native framework for creating stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and other fungible tokens.
The Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network Base is set to activate its B20 token standard on mainnet, introducing a native framework for stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other fungible tokens. The activation will allow developers to create tokens without custom ERC-20 contracts.
The activation of the B20 standard on Base is a significant step towards simplifying token creation and fostering the development of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets on the network, potentially increasing its utility and adoption.
The Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer-2 network Base is scheduled to activate its B20 token standard on Wednesday at 6 pm UTC. This new standard aims to simplify the creation of native tokens on the network, including stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), and other fungible tokens. Developers will no longer need to build and audit custom ERC-20 contracts, as B20 offers a native framework with built-in issuer controls such as supply limits, transfer rules, minting, burning, and pausing capabilities.
The B20 standard supports two variants: an asset variant with configurable decimals between six and 18, and a stablecoin variant with fixed six-decimal formatting that requires issuers to specify a fiat currency denomination. The introduction of B20 is part of the network’s Beryl upgrade, which also reduced withdrawal waiting periods from seven to five days and implemented technical improvements for network performance.
The activation follows a period of instability for Base, which experienced back-to-back outages on June 25 and June 26 due to issues with its sequencer infrastructure. These outages, caused by a consensus problem and a race condition, led to a nearly two-hour halt and a subsequent 20-minute disruption. The initial outage occurred shortly before the planned Beryl upgrade, which was subsequently delayed by one day due to a timing issue related to the B20 activation registry.