The Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, has witnessed a remarkable surge in assets locked, soaring by approximately 200% over the last month to over $3 billion, according to L2beat data.
Key contributor Jesse Pollak disclosed that Base hit the $3 billion milestone five days after crossing the $2 billion threshold. Notably, the network took 203 days to reach its first billion mark and just 23 days to touch $2 billion.
Furthermore, on-chain data shows that the increased TVL is matched with an ever-expanding user base. According to the Dune analytics dashboard curated by Watermeloncrypto, Base’s daily active users have surpassed 5 million this week, with the network’s total revenue already exceeding $36 million.
Consequently, industry experts foresee Base’s growth catalyzing the entry of more firms into on-chain development. Ryan Watkins, the founder of Syncracy Capital, said:
“Imagine when Wall Street realizes Coinbase is printing $500M+ in annual revenue from an Ethereum rollup. Base may be the ultimate catalyst that gets enterprises building onchain.”
Why Base metrics are rising
The network’s exponential growth can be attributed to various factors, including the notable surge in meme coin activities and the advent of innovative products.
There has been a notable surge in memecoins traction on Base recently. Consequently, Base has experienced heightened liquidity and more favorable market sentiment as industry analysts speculated that the assets could spearhead the next adoption phase.
Notably, CryptoSlate reported that Base’s memecoins proliferation briefly spiked its network fees above that of rival layer-2 networks despite the introduction of the Dencun upgrade. To manage this surge, the network adjusted its gas fee target to 3.75 mgas/s, which gave it 50% more capacity.
Moreover, Base has witnessed a surge in crypto developers creating new products on the layer-2 solution, further fostering adoption and usage.
For context, Base recently welcomed one of the pioneer layer-3 networks, Degen, to its ecosystem on March 28. It said:
“L3s are appchains which deliver lightning-fast transactions because they settle on L2s like Base instead of connecting directly to Ethereum. A new onchain internet demands new models for scaling, and L3s utilize the power of L2s in new ways.”
Andrew Forte, the director of business development at Dappd, also highlighted Coinbase’s recent efforts to develop a native smart wallet that does not need seed phrases or private keys for the layer-2 solution. According to him, this wallet could help drive Coinbase’s vast user base to Base.
Coinbase plans to incentivize developers to contribute to the network through grants, allowing them to build freely and rewarding those who positively impact the ecosystem.
Pollak added:
“Gas grants will be upfront, with path to scaling. Builder grants will be primarily retroactive because we’ve observed that creates aligned incentives and a strong builder culture.”