There are many controversies surrounding the chain. Recently, there has been FUD against the Base chain. In the end, even Vitalik Buterin came out to help Base.
At present, there seems to be no KOL in the CT Chinese area discussing this matter. This post is to briefly sort out the "Base FUD Gate" incident.
The focus of the FUD is that since Base runs a centralized sorter, it is essentially an unlicensed centralized stock exchange.
Coinbase’s CLO and Base’s general manager both responded forcefully:
The core function of the sorter is transaction sorting rather than transaction matching. Transaction matching is implemented by smart contracts in a decentralized manner, so the Base running the centralized sorter is not a centralized exchange in the traditional sense.
"Base is not a casino, but that doesn't mean Base is decentralized." I'd like to share my thoughts.
Both executives gave a good explanation about Base not being a casino, with the emphasis on "this does not mean Base is decentralized."
The core function of the sorter is transaction sorting. In short, the user's transactions in L2 enter the mem pool (at this time, the transactions in the mem pool are in an unordered state). The sorter sorts the transactions, compresses them into a set of ordered batches, and then sends them to the DA layer of Ethereum.
Base is operated by an official centralized sorter. In a sense, centralization gives the sorter great autonomy in transaction sorting. It can arbitrarily sort transactions to maximize its arbitrage opportunities, seize MEV value, delay user transactions, or even completely censor users.
According to growthpie data, the Base chain has earned $5.11 million in revenue in the past month, and this figure has reached $87 million in the past year. Its money printing ability far exceeds that of Arbitrum, which ranks second.
The sorter officially operated by .Base is like an invisible hand, quietly grabbing huge amounts of wealth.
Decentralized sorters are not a new concept; they're even a relatively mature field. However, decentralization implies the inevitable profit sharing that comes with decentralization. Is the Base Chain willing to sacrifice the interests of superorganizations for the greater decentralization of L2?
At the moment, it is unrealistic.
Just because Base isn’t a casino doesn’t mean it’s decentralized enough. The decentralization of the sorter still has a long way to go.
