Base Set To Launch B20 Token Standard For Stablecoins And Tokenized Assets

Coinbase backed layer 2 network Base is preparing to activate its new B20 token standard on mainnet Wednesday at 6 pm UTC, giving developers a native framework for building stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets and other fungible tokens.

New Standard Simplifies Token Creation

According to Base’s documentation, B20 will let developers create tokens without needing to build and audit custom ERC-20 contracts from scratch. The standard includes two variants: an asset type with adjustable decimals between six and 18, and a stablecoin type with fixed six decimal formatting that requires issuers to specify a backing fiat currency, such as the dollar or euro. B20 tokens remain compatible with standard ERC-20 tokens but add built-in issuer controls, including supply limits, transfer restrictions, minting, burning, pausing and transaction notes.

Part Of Broader Beryl Upgrade

B20 was introduced as part of Base’s Beryl upgrade, which went live June 26 and also reduced withdrawal waiting periods from seven days to five while improving overall network performance.

Launch Follows Recent Outages

The activation comes after Base experienced back to back sequencer-related outages in late June. A consensus issue on June 25 halted block production for nearly two hours, followed by a shorter 20-minute outage the next day caused by a race condition during system recovery. Base later confirmed both incidents stemmed from a sequencer bug, and the Beryl upgrade itself was delayed by one day due to a separate registry timing issue tied to B20’s activation.