Coinbase layer-2 network Base has announced it has open-sourced its code repositories and smart contracts to increase transparency and accountability while simultaneously allowing public contributions to the project.
In an Oct. 19 blog post, Base announced that as of today, developers would be granted full access to the network’s codebase.
One of Base’s core values is building in the open
We believe this is foundational to building an onchain ecosystem, creating accountability, and enabling collaboration
In this spirit, we’ve open sourced our smart contract and GitHub reposhttps://t.co/UOgGpNXyFL
— Base ️ (@BuildOnBase) October 19, 2023
“By sharing our work openly, we enable the community to track our progress and ensure that we’re living up to our commitments.”
“Open source is a win-win for our onchain future. Builders get access to a trove of knowledge, improve on what’s already been done, and in turn inspire others in the space,” Base added.
A core part of the decision to open-source its code is the goal of providing developers with increased transparency into the project’s development. Base said all of its smart contracts and scripts are now publicly available on GitHub.
This means that developers are now able to assess and experiment with the code responsible for deposits and withdrawals on Base, allowing access to increased tools for developers looking to spin up similar functions.
Open-source development is an integral part of the crypto ethos. By making code public, anyone in the community is able to audit the code, which hypothetically, allows for vulnerabilities and potential exploits to be noticed and patched more quickly than if it were kept in-house.
It’s also worth noting that open-source code also means that nefarious actors could spot vulnerabilities and exploit them before another more noble developer has the opportunity to flag the issue.
In light of this concern, Coinbase has encouraged “security-minded” developers to sieve through the layer-2’s code and keep a close eye out for any vulnerabilities, offering a bounty of up to $1 million for the discovery of bugs.
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As well as open-sourcing its repositories and smart contracts, Base also open-sourced its web properties, including base.org, docs.base.org, and bridge.base.org.
Base has been one of the most active layer-2 networks in the crypto ecosystem, with a large wave of activity being driven by the rise of Friend.tech, a decentralized social finance application built on top of the network.
On Sept. 21, Coinbase legal counsel Paul Grewal raised eyebrows when he told Decrypt that Coinbase had not “ruled out entirely” the idea of issuing a native token for the layer-2 network.
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