Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
Coinbase is aiming to bring one billion users on-chain!
Michael de Hoog, a key engineer at Coinbase working alongside Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak on Base, dives into the groundbreaking work being done to scale Base, Coinbase's Layer 2 solution, and onboard the next wave of crypto users.
Learn about the technical challenges of scaling to a "gigas per second," the innovative smart wallet and passkey approach for user-friendly onboarding, and Coinbase's vision for a future of self-custody.
Attend AusCryptoCon this year & hear from more crypto Innovators! Get your tickets for AusCryptoCon 2025 : auscryptocon.com
Timestamped Chapters:
[0:00] Introduction to Michael Duo from Coinbase at AusCryptoCon - Introduction to Michael Duo, early Coinbase engineer and key figure on Base, at the Australian Crypto Convention.
[0:48] Michael Duo's Journey at Coinbase: From 2017 to Base - Michael shares his background, joining Coinbase in 2017 during the ICO boom, and his focus on scaling infrastructure.
[2:36] Base Layer 2 Growth & Origin Story: Coinbase's On-Chain Vision - Discussion of Base's rapid growth as the fastest-growing Ethereum Layer 2, its origin story, and Coinbase's strategic move on-chain.
[3:54] Coinbase's Motivation for Base: Beyond Exchange Revenue Models - Explaining Coinbase's need to move beyond traditional exchange and brokerage models and embrace on-chain technologies.
[4:51] Ethereum L2 Selection & Optimism OP Stack: Building Base - The decision to build on Ethereum and the selection of Optimism's OP Stack for Base's development.
[5:59] Scaling Base to a "Gigas Per Second": Technical Challenges & Roadmap - In-depth discussion of the ambitious goal to scale Base to a "gigas per second" transaction throughput and the technical hurdles involved.
[6:58] Addressing L1 Blob Space Limits & L2 Execution Speed for Scaling - Challenges with L1 blob space, L2 execution speed, and potential solutions like state memoization and rollup boost.
[7:46] State Growth & Archive Nodes: Managing Data for Scalability - Addressing state growth challenges, deprecating archive nodes, and moving towards full nodes and state expiration strategies.
[8:24] Horizontal Scaling with OP Stack Interrupt Features: Future Scaling Directions - Exploring horizontal scaling possibilities with OP Stack interrupt features for running multiple Base chains.
[8:50] Smart Wallets & Passkeys for User Onboarding: Melbourne Marathon Example - Discussion of smart wallets and passkeys as crucial for onboarding billions of users, referencing the Melbourne Marathon example.
[9:31] The Logic Behind Smart Wallets: Seed Phrases, Gas Fees & User Experience - Explaining the rationale for smart wallets to overcome onboarding friction associated with seed phrases and gas fees.
[10:09] Coinbase Wallet & Account Abstraction (ERC-4337): Simplifying User Access - Evolution of Coinbase Wallet and integration of ERC-4337 for gasless transactions and improved user experience.
[10:44] Key Space: A Minimal Key Store ZK Rollup for Cross-Chain Wallet State - Introduction to Key Space, a ZK rollup project for managing wallet state across multiple chains and its evolution.
[12:29] L3s on Base & Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs): Reducing Withdrawal Times - Exploration of L3s built on Base using trusted execution environments to significantly reduce withdrawal times to 10 seconds.
[13:06] Composable L3s & Extended L2 Block Space: Vision for App Chains - Vision for composable L3s and how they can extend L2 block space, enabling faster cross-chain interactions.
[14:24] Getting Started Building on Base: Resources & Developer Tools - Guidance on resources for developers to start building on Base, including base.org, documentation, Discord, and GitHub.
[15:14] Exciting Projects in the Base Ecosystem: ZK Proofs & Hardware Acceleration - Michael highlights exciting projects in the ZK space, including Risk Zero, Cinc, and Beest, and their contributions to the ecosystem.
[16:53] Q&A: DeFi Risks & Platform Security - Audience Q&A - Question about risks involved in DeFi, and security considerations.
[17:29] Q&A: Passkeys & User Onboarding: Ubiquitous Technology for Mass Adoption - Audience Q&A - Question about passkeys as a brand new technology to help with mass onboarding and future adoption.
[19:49] Q&A: Self-Custody & Security with Mass Onboarding Strategies - Audience Q&A - Question about the balance between mass onboarding strategies and maintaining self-custody and security.
Coinbase is aiming to bring one billion users on-chain!
Michael de Hoog, a key engineer at Coinbase working alongside Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak on Base, dives into the groundbreaking work being done to scale Base, Coinbase's Layer 2 solution, and onboard the next wave of crypto users.
Learn about the technical challenges of scaling to a "gigas per second," the innovative smart wallet and passkey approach for user-friendly onboarding, and Coinbase's vision for a future of self-custody.
Attend AusCryptoCon this year & hear from more crypto Innovators! Get your tickets for AusCryptoCon 2025 : auscryptocon.com
Timestamped Chapters:
[0:00] Introduction to Michael Duo from Coinbase at AusCryptoCon - Introduction to Michael Duo, early Coinbase engineer and key figure on Base, at the Australian Crypto Convention.
[0:48] Michael Duo's Journey at Coinbase: From 2017 to Base - Michael shares his background, joining Coinbase in 2017 during the ICO boom, and his focus on scaling infrastructure.
[2:36] Base Layer 2 Growth & Origin Story: Coinbase's On-Chain Vision - Discussion of Base's rapid growth as the fastest-growing Ethereum Layer 2, its origin story, and Coinbase's strategic move on-chain.
[3:54] Coinbase's Motivation for Base: Beyond Exchange Revenue Models - Explaining Coinbase's need to move beyond traditional exchange and brokerage models and embrace on-chain technologies.
[4:51] Ethereum L2 Selection & Optimism OP Stack: Building Base - The decision to build on Ethereum and the selection of Optimism's OP Stack for Base's development.
[5:59] Scaling Base to a "Gigas Per Second": Technical Challenges & Roadmap - In-depth discussion of the ambitious goal to scale Base to a "gigas per second" transaction throughput and the technical hurdles involved.
[6:58] Addressing L1 Blob Space Limits & L2 Execution Speed for Scaling - Challenges with L1 blob space, L2 execution speed, and potential solutions like state memoization and rollup boost.
[7:46] State Growth & Archive Nodes: Managing Data for Scalability - Addressing state growth challenges, deprecating archive nodes, and moving towards full nodes and state expiration strategies.
[8:24] Horizontal Scaling with OP Stack Interrupt Features: Future Scaling Directions - Exploring horizontal scaling possibilities with OP Stack interrupt features for running multiple Base chains.
[8:50] Smart Wallets & Passkeys for User Onboarding: Melbourne Marathon Example - Discussion of smart wallets and passkeys as crucial for onboarding billions of users, referencing the Melbourne Marathon example.
[9:31] The Logic Behind Smart Wallets: Seed Phrases, Gas Fees & User Experience - Explaining the rationale for smart wallets to overcome onboarding friction associated with seed phrases and gas fees.
[10:09] Coinbase Wallet & Account Abstraction (ERC-4337): Simplifying User Access - Evolution of Coinbase Wallet and integration of ERC-4337 for gasless transactions and improved user experience.
[10:44] Key Space: A Minimal Key Store ZK Rollup for Cross-Chain Wallet State - Introduction to Key Space, a ZK rollup project for managing wallet state across multiple chains and its evolution.
[12:29] L3s on Base & Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs): Reducing Withdrawal Times - Exploration of L3s built on Base using trusted execution environments to significantly reduce withdrawal times to 10 seconds.
[13:06] Composable L3s & Extended L2 Block Space: Vision for App Chains - Vision for composable L3s and how they can extend L2 block space, enabling faster cross-chain interactions.
[14:24] Getting Started Building on Base: Resources & Developer Tools - Guidance on resources for developers to start building on Base, including base.org, documentation, Discord, and GitHub.
[15:14] Exciting Projects in the Base Ecosystem: ZK Proofs & Hardware Acceleration - Michael highlights exciting projects in the ZK space, including Risk Zero, Cinc, and Beest, and their contributions to the ecosystem.
[16:53] Q&A: DeFi Risks & Platform Security - Audience Q&A - Question about risks involved in DeFi, and security considerations.
[17:29] Q&A: Passkeys & User Onboarding: Ubiquitous Technology for Mass Adoption - Audience Q&A - Question about passkeys as a brand new technology to help with mass onboarding and future adoption.
[19:49] Q&A: Self-Custody & Security with Mass Onboarding Strategies - Audience Q&A - Question about the balance between mass onboarding strategies and maintaining self-custody and security.
