Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, Base, faced a 33-minute outage on August 5 after the system switched to a backup sequencer that wasn’t properly set up. The issue began at 6:07 am UTC when the active sequencer started lagging behind in block production. As a result, Conductor the system responsible for managing sequencer availability automatically switched to a backup sequencer.
However, the new sequencer was still in the process of being configured and wasn’t capable of producing blocks, leading to the network outage. Base’s team quickly responded, and the network was fully recovered by 6:40 am UTC. Additional time was taken to ensure no chain reorganization was required.
Last night, Base Chain experienced a 33 minute network disruption that halted block production.
This was due to an automatic handoff to an unhealthy mainnet sequencer in the high-availability cluster. We quickly switched to a healthy mainnet sequencer and Base Chain resumed…— Base Build (@buildonbase) August 5, 2025
Base’s centralized sequencer dependency exposed
The incident exposed a potential risk in Base’s infrastructure its reliance on centralized sequencers to handle transactions. While multiple sequencers are available, the system relies on Conductor to manage their operation. This creates a single point of failure, which can halt the entire network if not handled properly.
Base’s creators acknowledged the issue, stating that they would update the system to ensure that all sequencers in the cluster can process blocks if needed. This fix will reduce the chances of a similar incident in the future.
Reaction from the crypto community: Base’s outage seen as bullish
Despite the outage, some crypto experts viewed the situation as a positive sign for Base’s growth. Former Coinbase engineer and Save Finance founder, 0xrooter, took to X, suggesting that downtime is only a concern for blockchains with actual users, calling it “bullish downtime.”
Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz compared Base’s incident to network outages experienced by Solana, a blockchain with a history of downtime. Despite these issues, both Solana and Base are considered among the most used blockchains, with millions of active addresses. In terms of total value locked (TVL), Solana is the second-largest chain in DeFi, while Base holds the sixth spot.
Base’s quick response and plans for improvements show a commitment to securing its infrastructure and ensuring smooth network operations going forward.