Base Set for June 25 Mainnet Launch: Beryl Upgrade and New B20 Token Standard
Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 network incubated by Coinbase, has successfully deployed its second major upgrade, Beryl, to the Sepolia testnet. The official mainnet activation is scheduled for June 25, 2026.
The Beryl upgrade introduces a revolutionary native token standard called B20. Additionally, it improves user experience by lowering asset withdrawal delays from Base to Ethereum from seven days down to five days.
What is the New B20 Native Token Standard?
The B20 standard is fully compatible with existing wallets, exchanges, and data indexers because it implements the complete ERC-20 specification. It also features ERC-2612 permits, which let users authorize transactions with a digital signature rather than a separate gas fee.
However, B20 changes how tokens operate under the hood:
- Node-Level Execution: Instead of running as an on-chain smart contract, B20 is a precompiled contract.
- Rust Integration: The token’s logic is written in Rust and executes directly inside Base’s node software.
The standard launches with an Issuer Toolkit audited by Base and Spearbit. This toolkit includes essential features for regulated issuers, such as minting controls, supply caps, and freeze-and-seize mechanisms. A future update will even allow users to pay network gas fees using B20 tokens instead of ETH.
Faster Crypto Withdrawals to Ethereum
Beryl significantly optimizes the bridging process for everyday users. The upgrade cuts the standard asset withdrawal window from seven days to five days for the most common bridging paths.
This change expands on “Multiproofs,” a technology introduced during the Azul network upgrade in May. Because Multiproofs narrow down the verification window to simply checking for faulty provers, Base can safely and continuously shrink the withdrawal timeframe.
Better Under-the-Hood Scaling with Reth V2
The upgrade integrates Reth V2, the latest version of Base’s Rust-based execution client. This backend update provides several key performance boosts:
- It minimizes disk storage usage across full, minimal, and archive nodes.
- It allows Base to raise block gas targets safely.
- It expands available blockspace for developers without overloading the sequencer or RPC nodes.
What’s Next for Base? The Road to Cobalt
The Beryl upgrade arrives only four weeks after the Azul mainnet launch. Base achieved this rapid development pace after migrating away from its shared dependency on Optimism’s OP Stack to its own independent technology stack.
Base is already targeting September 2026 for its next upgrade, named Cobalt. Cobalt will introduce native account abstraction to make smart accounts a protocol-level feature. This will bring built-in transaction batching, automated gas sponsorship, and a unified node binary system to the network.
