Coinbase's Layer 2 network, Base, has revealed plans to technically decouple from the Optimism (OP) Stack while remaining a commercial customer. According to an announcement from Base's engineering team, the network will integrate core components into its own unified codebase over the coming months. This shift means node operators will follow Base-specific release versions instead of Optimism's, and upgrade frequency is set to increase from three to six times per year. Base, which currently holds the title of the highest-revenue Layer 2 on the OP Stack, will maintain its Stage 1 Rollup status and plans to add independent signers to its Security Council. The roadmap also includes a future transition from Optimistic Proofs to TEE and ZK Proofs in hard forks. While achieving technical independence, Base confirmed it will continue to operate as an OP Enterprise customer, preserving commercial ties with Optimism. Sequencer revenue-sharing terms are expected to change following the decoupling.
Simultaneously, the DeFi lending protocol Moonwell on Base suffered a $1.78 million exploit linked to a critical error in AI-generated smart contract code. Smart contract auditor pashov reported that the vulnerable Solidity code was authored by the AI model Claude Opus 4.6. The exploit targeted Moonwell's cbETH Core Market, where a flaw in a price feed formula incorrectly set the price of cbETH at approximately $1.12 instead of its true value of around $2,200. This pricing error allowed an attacker to manipulate the market, leading to the significant loss. The incident has drawn sharp criticism, with SlowMist founder Yu Xian noting it involved a low-level oracle formula mistake.
In response, Moonwell has posted a recovery plan on its governance forum. The proposal includes partial repayment from the Moonwell Apollo Treasury, ongoing repayment through future protocol revenue, and a compensation plan where MFAM holders and stakers may receive stkWELL tokens at a 1:1.5 ratio. This event has intensified scrutiny over the use of AI-assisted coding in high-stakes DeFi development and raised questions about governance and security standards within the Layer 2 ecosystem.
The news coincides with other significant shifts in the DeFi and Layer 2 landscape. Liquid staking protocol ether.fi announced the migration of its Cash debit card product, covering over 70,000 active cards and 300,000 accounts with over $160 million in total value locked (TVL), to the Optimism OP Mainnet. Separately, Uniswap has launched a proposal to expand protocol fees to all remaining v3 pools on Ethereum mainnet and activate fees on v2 and v3 across eight new chains. These developments underscore a period of rapid evolution and heightened focus on code control, security, and strategic alignment within the sector.
