Base activates B20 token standard for stablecoins and tokenized assets

Base has activated its B20 token standard on the mainnet, allowing developers to issue native stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, and other fungible tokens without deploying custom ERC-20 smart contracts.

Summary

• Base has activated the B20 token standard on mainnet, allowing developers to issue native stablecoins, tokenized real world assets, and other fungible tokens.
• The protocol includes built in issuer controls while remaining compatible with ERC 20 wallets, exchanges, and other supporting infrastructure.
• The B20 launch comes after recent Base sequencer outages and the one day delay of the Beryl network upgrade.

According to Base documentation, the B20 standard went live on the network at 6:00 pm UTC, enabling developers to begin creating tokens under the protocol-level framework introduced through the Beryl upgrade.

The launch allows issuers to create stablecoins, tokenized equities, RWAs, and other fungible assets directly through Base’s native infrastructure instead of writing and auditing separate ERC-20 contracts

Base has said the standard remains compatible with the ERC-20 specification and supports ERC-2612 permit functionality, allowing existing wallets, exchanges, and indexers to continue working without modification.

B20 introduces native issuer controls

Under the new framework, B20 supports two token formats. The asset version allows issuers to choose between six and 18 decimal places, while the stablecoin version uses a fixed six-decimal format and requires the issuer to specify a fiat currency denomination such as the US dollar or euro.

Base said the standard also includes built-in issuer controls covering minting, burning, pausing, transfer restrictions, supply limits, and transaction notes. Earlier documentation also showed that the protocol includes an Issuer Toolkit with role-based permissions and optional compliance features, including freeze and seizure controls for regulated issuers.

B20 was introduced through the Beryl network upgrade, which reached mainnet on June 26 after Base postponed the activation by one day because the B20 Activation Registry required additional time to complete its initialization before developers could deploy native B20 tokens

The same upgrade also reduced the standard withdrawal period from Base to Ethereum from seven days to five days and integrated Reth V2, which Base said cuts node storage requirements while supporting higher block gas targets.

Launch follows recent sequencer outages

The token standard has gone live less than two weeks after Base experienced consecutive outages linked to its sequencer infrastructure.

Earlier findings published by Base showed the first incident on June 25 lasted about 116 minutes after an invalid block entered the sequencing pipeline and prevented new blocks from being produced. A second outage on June 26 lasted about 20 minutes when a race condition stopped sequencers from catching up following a system reset.

The first disruption occurred hours before the originally planned Beryl upgrade, which Base later postponed by one day because of a separate timing dependency involving the B20 Activation Registry

At the time, Base said the network outage was unrelated to the upgrade, while Base creator Jesse Pollak stated that user funds remained safe despite acknowledging that interruptions of this kind were unacceptable for infrastructure intended to support global financial activity.