PANews reported on April 22 that Base announced its first independent network upgrade, "Base Azul," will launch on the mainnet on May 13, 2026. Azul is already live on the testnet and aims to improve security, performance, and the developer experience. Key updates include: activating a multi-proof system (combining TEE and ZK proofs) to advance Stage 2 decentralization and achieve withdrawals within one day; integrating into a single high-performance client stack, base-reth-node and base-consensus, reducing the number of empty blocks from approximately 200 per day to approximately 2, and maintaining burst throughput of 5000 TPS on multiple occasions; and aligning with the Ethereum Osaka execution layer specification. Base is also launching an Immunefi audit competition with a prize pool of up to $250,000. Future upgrade plans include a performance upgrade at the end of June and a user experience upgrade at the end of August. Base will also launch its public development network, Vibenet, in mid-May.