Base activates Denim upgrade, cutting block times tenfold to speed up trading and payments

Denim upgrade promises enhanced finality, streamlined B20 compliance, and millisecond precision timing for smart contracts. Base, the Coinbase -incubated Ethereum layer 2 network, has activated Denim, its fourth major upgrade, on the mainnet after testing the release on Sepolia last month. Denim reduces block times tenfold to 200 milliseconds from two seconds, bringing the blockchain closer to transaction speeds expected in trading and payment applications, the team said Thursday. The upgrade replaces Flashblocks with five complete canonical blocks per second, meaning transactions included in a block are confirmed on the chain rather than appearing first in a provisional state that…