Base wants to be where the next stablecoin gets issued

Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 network, @base, is making a direct play for stablecoin and real-world asset issuers with its upcoming Beryl upgrade, which moves token creation out of smart contracts and into the chain itself.

What the Beryl Upgrade Introduces

Beryl is live on testnet now and scheduled to activate on mainnet on June 25. At its core is B20, a new native token standard designed specifically for Base. Unlike conventional ERC-20 tokens, B20 is implemented as a native precompile rather than a smart contract, meaning it runs inside the node software itself. It maintains full ERC-20 compatibility, so existing wallets, explorers, and indexers will treat B20 tokens like any other ERC-20 asset. Crucially, there is no token contract to write, deploy, or audit. Issuers simply call the B20 factory precompile to configure and create a token in a single transaction.

Beyond B20, Beryl also reduces the withdrawal finalization period from seven days to five, and ships Reth V2, which cuts disk usage by roughly 50% and increases throughput by around 33%, according to Base's official announcement.

Built for Compliance, by Design

The B20 standard ships with a compliance toolkit aimed squarely at regulated issuers. Features include role-based access control, supply caps, transfer restrictions, memos, and freeze-and-seize functionality on blocked wallets. The PolicyRegistry module supports allowlists and blocklists, and transfers can be rejected automatically if a sender does not meet the required criteria. This design makes B20 well-suited for stablecoins, security tokens, and real-world asset products that carry permissioned access requirements.

The timing is deliberate. Stablecoin regulation has tightened considerably in 2026, with major economies including the US, EU, UK, and Singapore now treating stablecoins as regulated payment instruments requiring full reserve backing, licensed issuers, and AML compliance. The US GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, added a federal framework on top of that. For issuers navigating those requirements, having compliance controls baked into the protocol layer rather than bolted on through third-party contracts is a meaningful operational advantage.

The Beryl upgrade is Base's second major protocol upgrade following Azul, and the chain's roadmap already points to a third, Cobalt, targeted for September. That release is expected to include native account abstraction and further B20 enhancements, including gas payments denominated in B20 tokens.

For decentralisation advocates, wiring issuer control deeper into the network than any contract could reach is precisely the concern. For regulated issuers, it is the point.

Sources:
Base: Introducing Base Beryl (official announcement)
Chainstack: Base B20 Token Standard documentation
Crypto Briefing: Base to launch Beryl upgrade with B20 token standard on June 25