Base activated its Cobalt upgrade Wednesday, introducing conditional transactions and expanded issuer controls for tokenized assets as the Ethereum layer-2 network advances its focus on onchain finance.
Cobalt expands Base's B20 token standard by enabling issuers to apply multiple compliance checks to the same asset. Issuers can require recipients to pass identity verification, qualify as accredited investors, and pass sanctions screening before receiving tokens.
Administrative and Compliance Features
The upgrade allows issuers to schedule adjustments for corporate actions such as stock splits, modifying the number of shares displayed in wallets and applications without minting, burning, or altering underlying token balances.
Issuers can also authorize administrators to move tokens from a holder's wallet without approval and attach public notes to transfers. Base emphasized that issuers control whether to enable this feature and who can use it, and that Base itself cannot initiate such transfers.
Validity Transactions
Cobalt introduces Validity Transactions, allowing users to submit transactions that become eligible for inclusion only when specified onchain conditions are met. A trader could submit a swap that activates only if an asset reaches a specified price before a set block deadline. Base holds the transaction and evaluates conditions against the chain's state as each block is built. Transactions submitted through this system can remain private until included in a block.
Part of Broader Strategy Shift
The upgrade builds on Base's recent pivot toward tokenized finance. On July 8, Base activated B20 as a native token standard for stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other fungible tokens. On August 25, Coinbase launched tokenized US stocks on Base, issuing B20 tokens representing shares in Apple, Nvidia, Meta, and Alphabet.
Base plans to reduce block times from two seconds to 200 milliseconds over the coming months and introduce protocol-level support for sponsored transaction fees and bundled transactions.
