Base reports temporary transaction delays but no disruption to block production

The Base blockchain, a major Ethereum Layer-2 network developed by Coinbase, has confirmed it experienced temporary delays in processing transactions, even as the network continued to produce blocks without interruption.

According to official updates from Base engineers, the network experienced intermittent delays in transaction packaging, which in some cases caused users to wait longer than usual for confirmations or to see their transactions dropped during periods of heightened network congestion.

The Ethereum L2 blockchain shared an X post stressing that, “Sometimes, busy times on the network can cause transactions to be delayed or even lost. We are working on long-term solutions to fix this issue and will keep you updated as we make progress.”

Base encounters a major problem with its operation 

Earlier, Base released a statement notifying its clients that the mainnet was experiencing temporary delays in its operations, particularly affecting transaction processing. This delay frustrated users, as it led to network congestion that increased their wait times.

At this time, the Ethereum L2 blockchain executives explained that block creation will continue as usual and transactions will be processed; however, some may experience delays or even be dropped during peak traffic hours.

While individuals await an official statement from Base on the precise cause of the incident, reports indicate this is not the first time the network has experienced operational delays. Late last year, Base experienced a 19-minute disruption in block creation. 

The Ethereum L2 blockchain reported this incident at 6:15 UTC, igniting tension among its clients. In attempts to calm their fears, the Base shared on its official status page that the problem was resolved by 6:44 UTC. Notably, this incident represented the network’s initial major outage.

During the interruption, Coinbase’s network faced delays with withdrawals, block production, deposits, and Flashblocks functionality. The problem was fixed within 30 minutes while the team stayed on the lookout for other issues.

Nonetheless, they did not disclose the reason for the delays. Some sources alleged that this outage may have occurred as the Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain experienced a substantial increase in token creation. To support this claim, they pointed out that a scenario in which the network launched more than 54,000 new tokens in a day.

Meanwhile, seeing the recurring delays, with the recent one being the second incident, and that Base has not yet provided the root cause of the two incidents, users have expressed worries about financial risks and loss of trust in blockchain networks. 

Sui faces a disruption in its network 

Just like Base, Sui, a high-performance layer-1 blockchain, reported an outage on January 14 that significantly impacted its mainnet activity. This disruption temporarily halted transaction processing and checkpoint certification on the blockchain, sparking tension in the crypto industry.

The team shared an X post dated January 16 that elaborated on the main cause of this issue. In the post, they said a disagreement among validators over internal consensus led to the outage. According to their investigation, high network traffic, external attacks, or security issues were not the cause of the interruption. Afterwards, the team reassured users that their assets remained secure throughout the incident.

In the meantime, reporters reached out to the layer-1 blockchain to ask how they identified the outage. Responding to this question, Sui highlighted that they identified a rare bug in how consensus commits were handled, which led validators to reach divergent conclusions when managing specific conflicting transactions.

Because of this impact, Validators began to develop different checkpoint candidates, hindering the required agreement to certify a new stake-weighted checkpoint, they added. At this point, when validators realized stakeholders were signing conflicting checkpoint data, the network experienced a temporary deliberate stoppage. 

This halt ensured that no inconsistent states were finalized, even though this brought block production and transaction execution to a standstill.

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