Decentralized stablecoin protocol Reserve has launched on Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base. This marks Reserve’s first deployment on a network outside of Ethereum, Reserve said in a statement.
“Across both Ethereum and Base, countless collateral options exist for deployers, including major stablecoins, ETH and wBTC; both on their own, and in yield-bearing forms from protocols such as Compound, MakerDAO, Aave, Convex, Curve, Morpho, Stargate and Flux Finance,” the statement said.
The move to Base is driven by a desire to expand decentralized finance (DeFi) beyond a limited user base. The lower fees on Base are expected to enable a broader audience to use yield-bearing stablecoins without being hindered by high gas costs, creating a more inclusive DeFi ecosystem.
Reserve’s RTokens, introduced on Ethereum with the Electronic Dollar (eUSD) in February, exhibit a decentralized “self-healing” mechanism. This feature was stress-tested during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank run when Circle’s USDC stablecoin reserves at the bank dropped from $1 to 88 cents. The eUSD autonomously recapitalized, returning to the $1 peg without relying on regulators or bank guarantees.
The first deployers of RTokens on Base are anticipated to launch in the coming weeks. Reserve joins other protocols like Uniswap, SushiSwap, Compound, and Chainlink in deploying on Base since its public launch in August. Notably, real-world asset project Backed recently issued a tokenized security product on Base, tracking a short-term iShares U.S. treasury bond ETF.