According to numbers shared by CryptoRank.io, Base topped Ethereum’s Layer 2 fee rankings as of January 14th, earning around $147,000 per day, well ahead of Arbitrum’s roughly $39,000 and Starknet’s $9,000.
The data shows a sharp concentration of activity on one network, even as most other Ethereum scaling chains struggle to clear $5,000 in fees in the same 24 hours.
Base advances as fee data shows widening disparity
CryptoRank said that based on the January 14 snapshot, Base’s share of total Ethereum L2 revenue was close to 70%, while all other L2 revenue combined was just over $15,000. Linea charges about $4,500, Optimism $2,400, Unichain $2,000, Ink $1,500, zkSync $900, and Scroll $600, showing how thin fee generation is outside of the top tier.
The fee figures quickly sparked debate on social media, especially after some users pointed out Polygon’s much higher returns on the same day. Cryptocurrency analyst Vadim and X user New York Pascal both posted that Polygon recorded approximately $155,000 in daily fees, slightly more than Base’s total, based on DefiLlama’s network-wide earnings table shared within hours of CryptoRank’s post.
This comparison raises the question of how Polygon should be classified. X user Thorex asked if Polygon was L2 at all. This reflects a long-term discussion in the community about a combination of scaling solutions, including Polygon’s proof-of-stake chain and new zero-knowledge products.
This difference is important because CryptoRank’s post focused specifically on Ethereum L2, while Polygon’s revenue figures often include activity from its broader ecosystem.
According to DefiLlama’s revenue table, the top of all chains is Tron, with more than $1 million in fees per day, followed by Polygon, Base, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum. Within that broader context, Base still ranks near the top of Ethereum-affiliated networks, even if it is not the most profitable chain overall.
Ecosystem growth further strengthens base fee strength
Base’s recent fee performance comes as Coinbase continues to expand the products built on its network. Late last year, the exchange launched a tokenized Everything app. It is a rebranded version of Coinbase Wallet that combines social content, transactions, and payments into one interface.
The company says the app, currently deployed in over 140 countries, is built on Base and uses tokenized posts and assets that can be traded directly from social-style feeds. This release introduces new ways for users to interact on-chain, including monetizing content engagement and instantly settling rewards into wallets.
While Coinbase does not publish a direct relationship between the app and daily fee totals, this timing helps explain why Base continues to attract activity compared to other L2s that do not have similar consumer funnels.
