The Base network will activate the Beryl upgrade on June 25: B20 standard and withdrawal acceleration.
The team behind the L2 network Base has officially announced the Beryl upgrade plan. The key activation on the mainnet is scheduled for June 25. The testnet is already running, and we can assess the scale of the changes.
B20 Standard: A New Era for Tokens
The main innovation is the B20 standard. Unlike classic smart contracts, its logic is embedded directly into the node software code. This dramatically speeds up and reduces the cost of creating tokens. B20 is fully compatible with the ERC-20 format, so new assets will be seamlessly supported by existing wallets and exchanges. At launch, developers will be offered two templates: one for stablecoins and one for regular assets.
In the future, the standard will allow paying fees directly in the tokens themselves, without using ETH, and will double the network's throughput. This is a powerful step toward lowering barriers for mass DeFi adoption.
Faster Withdrawals and Technical Improvements
The Beryl upgrade will significantly reduce the time for withdrawing assets from Base to Ethereum. Instead of seven days, the process will take just five. This became possible thanks to the transition to the Multiproofs proof system.
The technical part of the upgrade includes the implementation of Reth V2. The new version will reduce the load on node disk space and speed up block processing, which is critical for scaling.
Future Plans
The next major upgrade, called Cobalt, is scheduled for September. It is expected to introduce native account abstraction, simplifying the user experience. Recall that in May, Base already integrated ZK-proofs from Succinct Labs to enhance security and speed up transaction finalization.
My analysis: Beryl is not just another upgrade. The B20 standard and faster withdrawals make Base a more competitive platform for asset issuance. Given the integration of ZK-proofs and plans for native account abstraction, Base is clearly aiming to become one of the leading L2 solutions for both institutional and retail users. Watch the market reaction after activation.