TLDR
- Base delays Beryl upgrade by one day to finish B20 registry setup before launch
- Beryl adds native B20 tokens for stablecoins and RWA assets on Base
- Base says the B20 registry must activate before native token deployment begins
- Upgrade cuts Base-to-Ethereum withdrawal delays from seven days to five days
- Beryl also adds Reth V2, lowering node storage needs by up to 50%
Base has delayed its Beryl mainnet upgrade by one day to complete the B20 Activation Registry setup. The Ethereum layer 2 network will activate Beryl on June 26 at 18:00 UTC. The change gives the registry enough time to become operational before the hard fork begins.
B20 Registry Timing Drives One-Day Delay
Base originally planned to launch Beryl on June 25, but developers identified a timing dependency during the activation process. The B20 Activation Registry must finish initialization before developers can deploy native B20 tokens. The registry may require up to one hour to become operational after activation.
The registry controls whether B20 feature flags become available across the network after the hard fork. Therefore, the team moved the mainnet launch to avoid activating Beryl before those functions were ready. The delay changes the schedule but does not alter the upgrade’s technical scope.
Beryl introduces B20, a protocol-level token standard for stablecoins and real-world asset tokens. Unlike standard ERC-20 contracts, B20 tokens operate through Rust precompiles inside Base node software. However, the standard remains compatible with ERC-20 tools and supports ERC-2612 permit functions.
Beryl Adds Token Controls and Faster Withdrawals
The B20 Issuer Toolkit includes role permissions, minting controls, burning controls, transfer limits, and optional supply caps. It also supports freeze and seizure functions for issuers operating under regulatory requirements. These features place core token controls within the protocol instead of separate smart contracts.
Beryl also reduces the standard withdrawal period from Base to Ethereum from seven days to five days. Most bridging providers use this single-proof withdrawal route for transfers between both networks. The network linked the shorter period to Multiproofs improvements introduced through the earlier Azul upgrade.
The upgrade also integrates Reth V2 into the network’s node infrastructure. Base said the software can reduce node storage requirements by up to 50 percent. It also supports higher block gas targets, which can expand network capacity over time.
Outage Remains Separate From Upgrade Schedule
Base experienced a nearly two-hour block production outage on June 25 before Beryl’s revised activation time. Engineers traced the disruption to a consensus failure involving an invalid block in the sequencing pipeline. The team later restored block production and separated the incident from the Beryl delay.
The network said user funds remained safe during the outage, although block creation stopped temporarily. Base creator Jesse Pollak said network halts remain unacceptable for infrastructure supporting global financial activity. The incident added operational pressure, but it did not change Beryl’s planned features.
Beryl follows Azul, which reached mainnet in May as the network’s first independent upgrade. Base has scheduled its next network upgrade, Cobalt, for September. Cobalt should add account abstraction, smart accounts, gas sponsorship, transaction batching, and further B20 functions.
