America’s leading virtual currency exchange coinbase launched the Ethereum Layer 2 network Base in 2023, penetrating deeper into the on-chain economy.
Initially touted as a “‘bridge’ for users to the crypto economy,” Base was designed to house Coinbase’s existing on-chain products and provide an open ecosystem for millions of new decentralized apps.
Since its launch, Base has grown to become one of the leading services. Ethereum Layer 2 networks represent an important part of on-chain culture and activity.
Learn everything you need to know about Base below.
What is a base?
Base is a layer 2 network of Ethereum created by an American cryptocurrency exchange. coinbase Built on open source standards, Base leverages Optimistic Rollup, a technology that batches and processes transactions to help users save money on gas bills.
As a result, trading on Base offers users significantly cheaper and faster transactions compared to trading on the Ethereum mainnet, while taking advantage of the security of a layer 1 blockchain.
Why did Coinbase launch Base?
Coinbase launched Base to help solve the critical problem of introducing new users and developers to cryptocurrencies, with the hope of one day bringing “billions of users to the crypto economy.”
With this in mind, the company needed to find a way to provide developers and users with safer, cheaper, and faster applications and products. To do so, Base’s Layer 2 blockchain is designed to be open source, decentralized, and interoperable, leveraging the transparency of open source code to serve as a “bridge, not an island” to other major crypto ecosystems, maintaining a commitment to eliminating unnecessary intermediaries.
Does Base have tokens?
Unlike many other layer 2 networks, Base does not have a native token and instead uses Ethereum as a gas token to facilitate transactions on the network.
Many cryptocurrency users have speculated that the chain could eventually get its own tokens, but the exchange was adamant until recently that it had no plans to issue base tokens.
“We have no plans to create a token for Base,” said Brian Armstrong, CEO of the company. decryption The company stuck with this policy for two years in 2023, but the company’s chief legal officer said it “has not completely eliminated it.”
In September 2025, Base pivoted from its previous messaging, tweeting that it was “beginning to explore network tokens.” However, Coinbase reiterated that there are “no final plans” to launch tokens for the Base network.
Base is starting to investigate network tokens
We are still in the early stages of consideration and do not have any details to share regarding timing, design, or governance. We are committed to building a community collaboratively and in an open environment. pic.twitter.com/KUKzrfjzXT
— Base (@base) September 15, 2025
While there are currently no native token rewards offered to those building on-chain, the network will offer grants and funding opportunities to builders for efforts to bring users and applications to the Layer 2 network.
What can you do with Base?
Base has dozens of apps and protocols that support gaming, social, gaming, and other on-chain activities. DeFioffering users a wide range of potential activities.
DeFi
The base holds more than $3.78 billion in total value locked (TVL) funds. smart contract According to DefiLlama data, it is on chain.
Topping the list is decentralized lending platform Morpho, whose chain has a TVL of $1.88 billion.
Other traditional DeFi players include uniswap and AAVE have a large presence on Coinbase’s L2, with smaller protocols like Moonwell and Pendle holding over $100 million in TVL as well.
game
Base has a robust gaming ecosystem highlighted by its gaming-centric Layer 3 network B3, which hosts approximately 244 games and over 7 million wallets. Built by former members of the Base team, this ecosystem has attracted prominent Web3 game publishers such as Parallel Studios and Nifty Island.
Other games such as Frenpet, Aavegotchi, and Heroes of Mavia are also based in Base.
consumer application
Beyond gaming and DeFi, Layer 2 networks are host to a variety of consumer applications, from community art to restaurant loyalty programs.
One of the prime examples associated with Base is the decentralized social media protocol Farcaster and its popular Warpcast client. They offer blockchain-based alternatives to popular social media sites such as X and Facebook.
Base is also home to hundreds of token launchpads like Flaunch, restaurant loyalty platform Blackbird, collectible sticker platform Sofamon, and more.
Base integration stack
Originally launched as an OP stack chain leveraging layer 2 networking Optimism, in February 2026 Base announced a move to its own unified “Base/Base” stack, citing a need to increase the pace of shipments and reduce “cognitive overload” for developers.
Bass’ plan to discontinue its relationship with Optimism will end a three-year dependency under which a portion of the sequencer’s profits will be donated to Optimism’s treasury under a licensing agreement. The move will allow Base to generate additional revenue as well as greater independence under a home-run technology stack that is optimized “directly to our use cases.”
The project remains a Stage 1 distributed rollup and will continue to work with Optimism as a client on OP Enterprise: Mission-Critical Support while adding independent signatories to the Base Security Council as part of the transition.
How is Base different from other blockchains?
Coinbase’s scaling network is the largest Ethereum Layer 2 network in the crypto economy today, hosting over $1.7 billion more TVL than the next largest Layer 2 network, Arbitrum, according to DefiLlama.
But it doesn’t just outperform layer 2 blockchains in terms of financial performance. Comparing Base to all other blockchains, including layer 1 networks such as Solana and Ethereum, it ranks 9th in daily active addresses over the past year, with just under 1 million daily active addresses, according to data from Token Terminal.
Moreover, according to Tokenterminal data, the chain ranks 7th among other Layer 2 networks for core developers, below projects such as Optimism, Arbitrum, Linea, and zkSync Era.
What does the future hold for bass?
Base’s overarching goal has always been to bring billions of consumers on-chain and ultimately expand the cryptocurrency ecosystem beyond its current user population.
To achieve these goals and more, the chain is improving the developer experience by employing AI agents and more, ramping up app distribution to help promote its growing suite of products, and focusing on reducing onboarding to less than 60 seconds when working with smart wallets.
This article was updated in February 2026.
