Base is preparing the Beryl upgrade: B20 standard, accelerated withdrawals, and Reth V2
On June 25, the mainnet of the L2 solution Base will receive a major update called Beryl. The project team has already activated the testnet and published technical details of the upgrade, which promises to significantly change the economics of interacting with the platform.
B20 Standard — A New Approach to Tokens
The key innovation is the B20 standard. Unlike traditional smart contracts, its logic is embedded directly into the node software code. This radically reduces the costs of creating and using tokens while simultaneously increasing transaction speed. B20 is fully compatible with ERC-20, so all new assets will be seamlessly supported by existing wallets and exchanges. At launch, developers will be offered two ready-made templates: one for stablecoins and one for regular tokens.
In the future, the standard will allow paying fees directly in the tokens themselves, bypassing ETH, and will also double the network's throughput. This is an important step toward reducing dependence on the underlying Ethereum asset.
Withdrawals in 5 Days and New Architecture
Beryl also reduces the withdrawal time for assets from Base to Ethereum from seven to five days. This acceleration is made possible by the implementation of the Multiproofs proof system, which optimizes the transaction verification process between chains.
The technical part of the upgrade includes a transition to Reth V2. The new client version significantly reduces the load on node disk space and speeds up block processing, which is critical for network growth.
What's Next: Cobalt and ZK-Proofs
The next major update, Cobalt, is scheduled for September. It is expected to introduce native account abstraction, which will simplify the user experience and expand possibilities for developers.
Recall that in May, Base already announced the integration of ZK-proofs from Succinct Labs to enhance security and accelerate transaction finalization. Beryl is another step in the platform's strategy to create the most efficient and cost-effective L2 infrastructure.
My analysis: Beryl is not just another upgrade but a fundamental shift in Base's architecture. The B20 standard could become a "killer" of traditional ERC-20 tokens on L2, especially for stablecoins and high-frequency operations. Faster withdrawals and lower fees make the network even more attractive for DeFi protocols, while the adoption of Reth V2 addresses the growing data storage requirements — a bottleneck for many L2s. If Cobalt implements account abstraction, Base could become one of the most user-friendly platforms for the mass market.