Base APP: Building an on-chain super application ecosystem

The Web3 space has long lacked a true super entry point, resulting in fragmented user experiences and dispersed traffic. However, a strong competitor has emerged, attempting to change this situation.

Recently, Base held the "A New Day One" launch event, announcing a major upgrade to its ecosystem. The core of this launch event is the official renaming of Coinbase Wallet to Base App, marking a strategic shift for Base from purely underlying infrastructure to a "super app" that integrates users, applications, and social features.

Strategic upgrade from on-chain to super applications

Base has always emphasized that it is part of the Superchain vision, committed to being a reusable, scalable, and composable general-purpose Ethereum L2. However, as the L2 space becomes increasingly homogenized, pure performance is no longer the only winning strategy. The key to differentiated competition is who can effectively capture and convert traffic to build a complete user path.

To achieve this strategic transformation, Base has officially upgraded its brand from a single chain to an open stack, including:

1. Base Chain: A secure, fast, and low-cost Ethereum L2.
2. Base Build: Provides developers with the tools and support needed to create on-chain experiences.
3. Base App: An ecological entry point and frontend built on open protocols.

The launch of the Base App is a key decision for Base and Coinbase at their current stage of development. It is no longer satisfied with just being a platform for deploying applications, but rather hopes to become the preferred interface for users to enter the Web3 world. By simultaneously controlling the underlying public chain and the top-level entry point, Base is building a solid moat for future industry competition.

multifunctional integrated platform

The Base App is positioned as a "universal application" designed to integrate core functions such as social networking, content creation, asset trading, instant messaging, and daily payments.

Open Social Network

The core of the application is an open social network built on the Farcaster protocol, with the following features:

• Content is Assets: Users' posts can be minted as on-chain assets, and creators can directly benefit from their creations.
• Social Trading: Users can view their friends' trading activities in real-time in the information stream and copy trades with one click.
• Participation Rewards: Active creators can earn cash rewards, and all earnings can be managed directly within the app.

One-stop user experience

Base App is committed to becoming a comprehensive platform for users' on-chain activities:

• Mini App Ecosystem: Hundreds of mini apps are embedded in the information stream, covering various categories such as games, yield mining, and prediction markets.
• Asset Trading: Supports buying, selling, and exchanging millions of on-chain tokens.
• Fast Transfer: Free and instant transfer of USDC through NFC technology.
• Personalized Space: Users can freely customize social profiles and themes.
• Holding rewards: Users can earn up to 4.1% APY by holding USDC.

The integration of social and finance

The chat functionality of the application is supported by the XMTP protocol, enabling encrypted communication and deeply integrating financial activities with social scenarios:

• Community Management: Users can create group chats, manage conversations, and share social content.
• AI Agent Interaction: Users can interact with the AI agent using natural language to execute trades, send funds, and perform other operations.
• Instant transfer in chat: Send or receive USDC based on Base chain for free during conversations.

technological innovation and ecological construction

The smooth experience of the Base App stems from significant innovations in the underlying architecture and a developer-friendly ecosystem.

Flashblocks Speed Up

The Base mainnet has launched the Flashblocks module, reducing effective block time from 2 seconds to 200 milliseconds, achieving a 10-fold speed increase, making it the fastest EVM-compatible chain currently. This lays the foundation for complex interactions and instant feedback for on-chain applications.

Base Account SDK

The upgraded SDK provides developers with powerful tools:

• Base Account: Provides users with a unified, self-custodial on-chain identity.
• Sign in with Base: Simplifying the user login process for applications.
• Base Pay: Provides fast checkout services and supports one-click USDC payment.
• Sub-accounts: Allow applications to create independent sub-accounts for users, enabling seamless in-app transactions.

Global on-chain economy layout

Base's goal is to build an open, efficient, and borderless global on-chain economy. Recent important collaborations showcase this vision:

• JPMorgan is piloting a US dollar deposit token (JPMD) on Base, providing institutional clients with near-instant, low-cost on-chain payment channels.
• Partnering with Shopify to enable millions of merchants to accept USDC payments, bringing on-chain payments into mainstream commercial scenarios.
• Collaborate with multiple companies such as Erewhon, Perplexity AI, etc. in marketing promotion, AI, and data.
• Absorb the Opyn team to enhance on-chain derivatives capabilities.

Base is creating an open and innovative global economic ecosystem by integrating social, identity, application, payment, and other functions, supported by Base Chain. Users can now register with their email to join the waiting list and gain early access to the Base App.