Base creator Jesse Pollak argues that much cheaper Layer 2 transactions, as well as other developments, will enable the creation of multitudes of specialized Layer 3s that are deeply connected to the onchain economy.
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Ethereum’s long-awaited Dencun upgrade finally went live this week, and many L2s immediately saw their transaction fees fall dramatically, as was the intention. Among them was the Coinbase-incubated Base, which was created by Jesse Pollak. Pollak joined Unchained to discuss the impact Dencun was having on Base; how he thinks Layer 1s and Layer 2s will start to differ from one another and eventually spawn a multitude of specialized Layer 3s; his response to criticisms of the increasing use of Layer 2s, what he’s focusing on now, and why he supports using the word “onchain” over “crypto” or “web3.”
Show highlights:
- The problem that Dencun is trying to solve
- The benefits of blobs and blobspace
- How Dencun has already reduced Base’s fees, but also increased its transactions
- How Jesse thinks Layer 1s and Layer 2s will start to become differentiated from each other
- The rise of Layer 3s
- How Jesse addresses criticisms of fragmentation and centralization arising from the increasing use of Layer 2s
- Why Jesse is particularly excited about two features of the Dencun upgrade—transient storage and increased composability between L1s and L2s
- What Jesse and the Base team are focusing on now
- Why Jesse thinks that “onchain” is a better word to describe the industry than “crypto” or “blockchain” or “web3”
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Guest |
Jesse Pollak, creator of Base at Coinbase
Previous appearances: The Chopping Block: All About That Base With Jesse Pollak
Links |
Recent coverage on Unchained of the Dencun Upgrade and Base:
Dencun Day One: Ethereum Layer 2 Networks See Drastic Drop in Transaction Fees
Ethereum Completes Milestone Dencun Upgrade, Which Should Substantially Reduce Fees
How Much Will the Dencun Upgrade Really Reduce Ethereum Layer 2 Fees By?
Why Base’s Creator Thinks Social Apps Will Be a ‘Huge Part’ of the Layer 2 Blockchain’s Success
CoinDesk: Debating Dencun: Will Ethereum's Big Update Help or Harm the Network?
Jesse’s tweets on Dencun
October 2022 | January 2024 | March 13, 2024
Blobs / Proto-danksharding
EIP-4844 proposal
Blobs unleashed: Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade activates on mainnet
Base says it will support EIP-4844 from 'day 1' following Dencun upgrade
Ethereum stans are putting the Bee Movie on blobs for as little as $5
Superchain
Decentralizing Base with the OP Stack and Optimism
Base’s Commitment to Decentralization with the Superchain
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Unchained Podcast is Produced by Laura Shin Media, LLC. Distributed by CoinDesk. Senior Producer is Michele Musso and Executive Producer is Jared Schwartz.
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