Base activates its Beryl hardfork on June 25, 2026 at 18:00 UTC. The centerpiece is B20, a token standard compiled into Base's node software as Rust precompiles rather than deployed as EVM contracts, cutting issuance costs and reducing per-token state overhead.
B20 token standard
B20 ships in two variants. ASSET supports configurable decimals, rebasing, and event announcements. STABLECOIN targets six-decimal precision with an issuer-selected currency code. Both carry full ERC-20 selector parity, so existing wallets, exchanges, and applications need no integration changes. Issuers create B20 tokens through a single call to a B20Factory precompile at 0xB20f...; resulting addresses begin with 0xB200....
Built-in compliance controls
The compliance layer is the clearest break from standard ERC-20. Mint, burn, pause, and operator roles are discrete and independently assignable through a role-based access system. Issuers can set optional supply caps, enforce per-address allowlists and blocklists through a policy registry, and invoke a burnBlocked function for freeze-and-seize in regulatory contexts. These controls sit at the protocol layer; issuers write no custom enforcement code.
Reth V2 and faster withdrawals
Beryl also bundles Reth V2 and shortens the Base-to-Ethereum withdrawal window from seven days to five. Thirdweb reported Reth V2 delivers 1.7 gigagas-per-second throughput, a 33% increase, and cuts node disk usage by roughly 50%. Operators on op-geth or Nethermind must migrate to base-reth-node v1.1.1 or later before activation. Existing Reth data directories carry over without a re-sync.
B20 has been live on Base Sepolia since June 18, 2026.
