Base has launched Cobalt, its third major network upgrade, adding new transaction controls for traders and expanding tools for companies issuing tokens on the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 network.
Coinbase-Backed Base Gives Users More Control With Cobalt Upgrade
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Key Takeaways
- Base’s Cobalt upgrade adds “Validity Transactions,” allowing users to set conditions and expiration times for when transactions can be executed.
- The upgrade expands Base’s B20 token standard with compliance controls, scheduled token adjustments, and administrative transfer tools.
- Base said Cobalt is part of a broader roadmap that includes faster block times, smart accounts, and additional EVM improvements.
Base Debuts Transaction Controls
The upgrade is now live on Base mainnet and centers on two areas: a new feature called “Validity Transactions” and enhancements to Base’s B20 token standard, according to a blog post published by Base.
Validity Transactions are designed to let users submit transactions that only become eligible for inclusion when preset conditions are met. A trader, for example, could sign and submit a swap that remains dormant until an asset reaches a particular price, while also setting a deadline after which the transaction expires.
Base said the feature could reduce the need for traders to continuously monitor markets and resubmit transactions. Submissions can also remain private until they are included onchain, potentially offering additional flexibility for sophisticated trading strategies. Base emphasized that users themselves set the conditions and sign the transactions.
Cobalt also introduces several updates to B20, Base’s native token standard aimed at asset issuers. One addition, called Composite Policies, lets issuers combine requirements such as know-your-customer allowlists, accreditation rules, and sanctions blocklists using logical conditions. That could allow tokenized financial products to rely on multiple compliance providers without maintaining duplicate lists.
Another feature enables issuers to schedule changes to a token’s display multiplier, which Base said could support corporate actions such as stock splits without changing underlying balances. Cobalt also introduces “seizeWithMemo,” a function that allows authorized administrators of supported tokens to reassign balances while attaching an onchain explanation of the transfer.
The changes reflect Base’s broader push to position its network as infrastructure not only for crypto trading and payments, but also for issuing and managing tokenized assets.
Base said additional upgrades are planned in the coming months, including reducing block times from two seconds to 200 milliseconds, introducing protocol-level smart account functionality, and implementing further Ethereum Virtual Machine improvements. Developers cautioned that those plans remain subject to change.
Prominent crypto exchange Coinbase debuted the Base network in 2023, building upon the Optimism tech stack used by some other Ethereum Layer 2 scaling networks. In February 2026, however, the company said that it would transition the network to its own, bespoke technology, with the Cobalt upgrade adding further refinement to the current incarnation of Base. Coinbase said last year that it is considering launching a native token for Base.
