Base has established itself as the premier layer 2 solution in the Ethereum ecosystem. It has demonstrated remarkable growth in decentralized finance and consumer applications. Recent data reveals that Base now leads all layer 2 networks in daily active users while processing transactions at speeds that outpace most competitors.
Current Layer 2 Landscape
Ethereum’s scalability limitations have necessitated the development of layer 2 solutions that process transactions off the main chain. These solutions use various technologies to improve transaction throughput and reduce costs for users interacting with decentralized applications.
Polygon, one of the earliest scaling solutions, currently supports approximately 561,000 daily active users and can process up to 65,000 transactions per second with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $659.53 million.
Arbitrum, which uses optimistic roll-up technology, serves around 340,569 daily active users and maintains a TVL of $2.418 billion, making it one of the leading players in the ecosystem.
Optimism, another optimistic rollup solution, has roughly 63,000 daily active users and processes about 2,000 transactions per second. Its TVL is valued at approximately $900 million.
Base has exhibited extraordinary growth metrics that set it apart from other layer 2 solutions. According to data shared by Nansen on X, Base currently boasts the highest number of daily active users among layer 2 networks. It processes 85 transactions and maintains 2-second block times, enabling responsive user experiences.
The integration of Base with the Phantom Wallet in Q4 2024 played a crucial role in onboarding new users to the platform, making it more accessible to mainstream crypto participants.
Consumer Applications and Future Outlook of Base
Base currently supports $2.27 billion in cbBTC (Coinbase’s Bitcoin token), substantially boosting liquidity for DeFi activities across the platform. Overall, Base has locked in $2.532 billion in total value, with Aerodrome accounting for a significant portion of these inflows.
While Base initially gained traction through NFT collections and meme-based experiments, it has evolved into a platform for more practical consumer-facing applications. According to Nansen, Base is becoming “the go-to L2 for consumer apps” spanning from “restaurant loyalty programs to onchain social media.”
Farcaster, a decentralized social media protocol, has found its home on Base. It was founded in 2021 by former Coinbase employees Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan. The protocol uses Ethereum-based technology designed to be flexible and extensible.
It allows developers to build new features and applications on top of it. Warpcast, the primary interface built on Farcaster, delivers a Twitter-like experience coupled with native web3 functionality.
Blackbird represents another category of consumer applications leveraging Base’s infrastructure to deliver innovative experiences.
As the ecosystem matures, Base’s balanced approach to growth and sustainability will likely serve it well in the competitive layer 2 landscape.
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