Base completes Cobalt upgrade, adds new tools for tokenized assets
Base activated its Cobalt upgrade, introducing conditional transactions and expanded issuer controls for tokenized assets on the Ethereum layer-2. The update extends the B20 token standard with multi-check compliance, scheduled corporate actions, and administrator-powered forced transfers, plus a new Validity Transactions feature for condition-triggered submissions.
Why It Matters
These features give asset issuers on Base new onchain compliance and administrative tools needed to support regulated or traditional financial products, while conditional transactions let traders set executable criteria tied to onchain state. Together they aim to accelerate tokenized finance use cases like stablecoins and tokenized stocks on a Layer-2 network.
Key Facts
- Upgrade name: Cobalt
- Network: Base (Ethereum layer-2)
- Token standard expanded: B20
- New features: Multiple compliance checks per asset, scheduled corporate actions (e.g., stock splits), authorized forced transfers with public notes, Validity Transactions (conditional transactions)
- Issuer controls: Able to require identity/KYC, accredited investor status, and sanctions-list screening; can enable admin rights to move tokens without holder approval
Base has rolled out its third major network upgrade, Cobalt, adding both issuer-focused controls for tokenized assets and a new mechanism for conditional transactions. The upgrade broadens the B20 token standard so issuers can apply multiple compliance checks to a single asset — for instance, requiring recipients to pass identity verification, hold accredited-investor status, and not appear on sanctions lists. Issuers can also schedule corporate actions such as stock splits that change how balances are displayed in wallets and apps without minting or burning tokens or changing onchain balances.
Cobalt introduces an administrative capability that lets authorized administrators transfer tokens from a holder’s wallet without the holder’s approval; such transfers can include a public note attached. Base said issuers decide whether to enable that functionality and who receives the authority, and that Base itself cannot initiate these forced transfers. The network framed these additions as tools to meet compliance and operational needs for bringing traditional financial products onchain.
On the trading side, Cobalt adds Validity Transactions, allowing users to submit transactions that only become eligible for inclusion when specified onchain conditions are met. Base described a use case where a trader could submit a swap that becomes eligible only if an asset reaches a target price before a set block deadline. The network evaluates submitted conditions as each block is built and said transactions can remain private until they are included in a block.
The upgrade builds on Base’s recent push toward tokenized finance. Earlier in July the network activated B20 as a native standard for stablecoins and other fungible tokenized assets; Coinbase later launched tokenized U.S. stocks on Base as B20 tokens. Base also signaled broader protocol ambitions, including plans to shorten block times substantially, add protocol-level sponsored fee support and bundled transactions, and incorporate some changes aligned with Ethereum’s Glamsterdam work.
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