Base Launches Its First Standalone Network Upgrade, Azul, Scheduled for Mainnet Activation on May 13

Base has announced that its first independent network upgrade, Base Azul, is now live on the testnet, with a target mainnet activation date of May 13, 2026. This upgrade marks Base’s first network-level upgrade conducted independently of the OP Stack. Officially, Azul will deliver improvements across three dimensions: security, performance, and developer experience. Specifically, Base will implement a multi-proof mechanism via Azul; base-reth-node will become its sole execution client; and Base will adopt the latest execution-layer specification (Osaka) to maintain full alignment with Ethereum. Users do not need to take any action for this upgrade.