Base Signals Strategic Split From Optimism Stack

Hi! In today’s edition:

• 🧱 Base shifts to a unified stack, dialing back reliance on Optimism

• 🤖 OpenAI and Paradigm launch EVMbench for smart contract AI testing

• 🏛️ Hyperliquid commits $29 million to a Washington policy push

• 🎙️ Stani Kulechov explains why Aave Labs is putting funding under DAO control

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Base Moves to Independent Stack, Scaling Back Reliance on Optimism

Coinbase’s Layer 2 network Base is stepping away from deep reliance on Optimism’s OP Stack, announcing it will migrate to a “unified, Base-operated stack” that consolidates its core infrastructure under one codebase.

Base, which launched in 2023 and now has roughly $3.85 billion in total value locked, said the shift is meant to reduce coordination overhead and speed up upgrades. Node operators will eventually need to migrate to Base’s new client ahead of upcoming hard forks, including Base V1.

The move rattled markets, with the OP token sliding after the news. Base is by far the largest chain in Optimism’s Superchain ecosystem, so Optimism could lose a significant share of activity and revenue.

But Jing Wang, CEO of OP Labs and co-founder of Optimism, pushed back on the narrative. She noted that the “Unified Base Stack” still shares 99% of its code with the OP Stack and related infrastructure like Reth and Flashbots. 

“If you want the most scalable, highest reliability, and most production-hardened stack, that’s the OP Stack,” she wrote.

Wang framed the fork not as a breakup, but as validation. Coinbase is “doubling down on their blockchain,” she said, arguing that more businesses will ultimately deploy their own chains, many still built on OP Stack foundations.

OpenAI and Paradigm Launch EVMbench to Stress Test AI on Smart Contract Security

OpenAI and crypto investor Paradigm have introduced EVMbench, a new benchmark designed to measure how well AI agents can find, fix, and even exploit vulnerabilities in smart contracts. The timing is notable. 

Recent attacks on projects such as Moonwell and CrossCurve have underscored how fragile DeFi code can be, especially as AI tools become more involved in writing it.

EVMbench draws from 120 high severity vulnerabilities across 40 audits, including material from open audit competitions and security work tied to the Tempo blockchain. The benchmark evaluates agents across three modes. 

In detect mode, models must identify known flaws. In patch mode, they must fix vulnerabilities without breaking functionality. In exploit mode, they attempt to drain funds in a controlled sandbox environment.

In early testing, OpenAI said its GPT-5.3-Codex model significantly outperformed earlier systems in the exploit setting, though detection and patching remain incomplete.

OpenAI framed the effort as both measurement and warning. As AI grows more capable, it could empower attackers and defenders alike. The goal, the company says, is to strengthen defenses before the balance tips the wrong way.

Hyperliquid Launches $29 Million Policy Push in Washington

Decentralized exchange Hyperliquid is taking its fight to Capitol Hill.

The company has launched the Hyperliquid Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit focused on shaping U.S. rules around decentralized finance and perpetual derivatives. Leading the effort is crypto lawyer Jake Chervinsky, formerly of the Blockchain Association, who will serve as founder and CEO.

To fund the initiative, the Hyper Foundation committed 1 million HYPE tokens, worth roughly $29 million. The goal is to advocate for regulatory frameworks tailored to onchain exchanges and blockchain-based market infrastructure.

Hyperliquid has quickly become one of the largest venues for crypto derivatives, processing more than $250 billion in perpetual futures volume last month, along with $6.6 billion in spot trading. Its model allows traders to execute perpetual contracts directly onchain without a centralized intermediary.

The launch comes as Congress debates how to regulate digital asset markets, including the still murky status of decentralized derivatives. 

Hyperliquid now joins a growing roster of crypto policy groups seeking influence in Washington as lawmakers weigh legislation that could define the future of DeFi in the United States.

Stani Kulechov on Why Aave Labs Is Putting Itself at the Mercy of the DAO

Stani Kulechov unpacks Aave Labs’ “Aave Will Win” proposal, explaining why the company wants the DAO to have power over its finances.

Aave Labs has proposed a “Aave Will Win” framework that will direct all revenue to the DAO to bring the protocol under “a token-centric model.”

In this episode, Aave founder Stani Kulechov explains why Aave Labs is putting its funding at the mercy of the DAO and how the framework could drive DeFi innovation.

Plus wen Aave v4? And is Aave Labs’ requested budget too much?

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Fountain, Podcast Addict,Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

• 💳 Ether.fi migrated its non-custodial crypto payment card from Scroll to Optimism’s OP Mainnet, moving roughly 70,000 active cards and 300,000 accounts to tap deeper liquidity and broader DeFi access, as the Visa-compatible card already accounts for nearly half of crypto-native card transactions.

• 📉📈 Brevan Howard slashed its direct stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust by 86% and shifted into options contracts instead, replacing billions in spot ETF exposure with call and put positions as falling arbitrage spreads made holding physical shares less capital-efficient.

• 💬 Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong blamed banking trade associations—not individual banks—for stalling U.S. crypto market-structure legislation, arguing that many banks now see digital assets and stablecoins as an opportunity while negotiations continue over whether stablecoin rewards should be restricted.

• 🏭 Riot Platforms’ stock jumped nearly 9% after activist investor Starboard Value urged the Bitcoin miner to pivot faster into AI data-center hosting, arguing its 1.7 gigawatts of Texas power capacity could generate over $1.6 billion in annual earnings if redirected toward high-demand artificial intelligence computing clients.

• 🤝📊 Kraken acquired Magna, a token-vesting and distribution platform that once managed up to $60 billion in locked assets, marking its sixth deal in a year as the exchange expands beyond trading into infrastructure that helps crypto projects manage token unlocks, staking, custody and investor allocations ahead of its planned IPO.

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