Base

Base runs on the OP Stack, the open-source framework behind Optimism, and belongs to the Superchain, a group of layer-2 networks that share the same underlying technology. Base batches transactions and settles them back to Ethereum, the same optimistic-rollup approach used by other Ethereum layer 2s. Base is exploring a network token without definitive plans for timing, design or governance, while ETH still covers gas fees on it the way it does on Ethereum itself; a bank evaluating Base does not need to hold or manage a Base-specific asset the way it would AVAX on Avalanche or ARB on Arbitrum.

EURC, the euro-backed stablecoin issued by Circle, is redeemable one to one for euros and issued under an electronic money institution license held by Circle Mint Europe SAS, authorized by France's Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution. Circle became the first major stablecoin issuer to meet the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, and both USDC and EURC now carry that authorization, which covers all 27 member states through the license's EU passport. Circle brought EURC natively to Base, adding a euro-denominated token to one of the most active Ethereum layer-2 networks. EURC and competing euro stablecoins operate under the licensing regime in MiCAR.

Coinbase named Chainlink as the official oracle for the tokenized US stocks it launched, so a lending or trading application on Base reads a continuous, verified price instead of relying on a single exchange feed. Chainlink also supplies its CCIP cross-chain protocol as bridge infrastructure for Base-connected transfers. Oracle networks supply the external data connection banks and brokers need before treating onchain prices as reliable enough to lend or trade against.

A European institution looking at Base today mostly meets it through stablecoins used for payments and tokenized securities, since Base has no native network token of its own to custody. Custody requirements depend on the asset and the service. For crypto-assets within MiCA, providers need authorization for the relevant service or, where eligible, the Article 60 notification procedure; this includes credit institutions. Tokenized financial instruments are excluded from MiCA, and services involving them may need authorization under the Banking Act or the Investment Firm Act, depending on the activity. BaFin supervises the relevant German authorization procedures. The crypto market in Germany includes banks such as DZ Bank and institutions such as DekaBank. A German-issued tokenized security, if one were issued directly on Base under the Electronic Securities Act (eWpG), would fall under the same crypto securities register rules that apply on any other chain: a BaFin license to keep the register and, where the issuer is not the register keeper itself, a specialist registrar such as Cashlink to run it on the issuer's behalf.

Finance Loop is the meeting place for people who work on stablecoins and tokenized assets at banks, payment firms and fintechs, connecting the finance, IT and AI communities with events in Frankfurt and also in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg. Finance Loop has been a partner of the Crypto Assets Conference of Frankfurt School and Deutsche Börse, where stablecoin and market infrastructure topics make up part of the program, and lists the Frankfurt Forum on Digital Assets & Applications by d-fine. Both sit in the Payments & Digital Money and Investment & Digital Assets tracks of Finance Loop.

Base, developed by Coinbase, is exploring a network token without definitive plans for timing, design or governance. Transaction fees on Base are paid in ETH, the same asset used on Ethereum itself.

EURC is issued under an electronic money institution license by Circle Mint Europe SAS, authorized under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation, and that authorization covers EURC on Base the same way it covers EURC on other chains supported by Circle.

Coinbase selected Chainlink as the oracle infrastructure for the tokenized stocks it launched on Base, and it uses the CCIP protocol of Chainlink as the bridge for transfers connected to the network.

Both are Ethereum layer-2 networks that settle back to Ethereum, but Base was built by Coinbase on the OP Stack behind Optimism, while Arbitrum uses its own rollup technology and has its own governance token, ARB. Base has no equivalent token; ETH covers its fees.

Base also hosts the tokenized US stocks from Coinbase, decentralized exchanges and lending applications that price assets through feeds from Chainlink, and a growing set of consumer payment apps that move USDC or EURC directly between wallets. For a European institution, the stablecoin and tokenized-securities use cases are the ones most likely to require a license under German or EU law; a decentralized exchange built on Base falls under separate rules for DeFi in Germany.