Base Activates Azul Upgrade on Ethereum L2 Mainnet

Base activated its Azul upgrade on mainnet, introducing multiproof security and new decentralization features.

Base, the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum layer-2 network, has activated its Azul upgrade on mainnet, introducing a multiproof system and a new client stack as the network advances toward Stage 2 decentralization. Azul marks the first standalone network upgrade Base has executed independently since departing Optimism's Superchain.

The upgrade's multiproof system pairs trusted execution environment (TEE) proofs with zero-knowledge (ZK) proofs to reduce reliance on any single proof type. Either proof type can finalize a proposal independently, but when both agree, withdrawal finality can be as little as one day. Permissionless ZK proofs can also override permissioned TEE proofs in the event of a conflict, a design Base says moves the chain closer to censorship resistance and full decentralization.

Azul also consolidates Base onto a single execution client, base-reth-node, and introduces base-consensus, a new consensus client built on OP Kona. The new client stack has already driven a roughly 99% reduction in empty blocks, from approximately 200 per day to around two per day, and has sustained multiple bursts of 5,000 transactions per second, according to the Base team.