Base TVL Soars to $8B After Surpassing OP Mainnet

The total value locked (TVL) on Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has exceeded $8 billion. This milestone was achieved just days after Base surpassed Optimism’s OP Mainnet in terms of TVL. Data from L2Beat reveals that as of June 10, Base’s TVL stands at $8.05 billion. This figure includes $2.14 billion in canonically bridged value—assets locked on Ethereum that are represented on Base—and $5.92 billion in natively minted assets.

Base, which is backed by Coinbase, recently became the largest chain within the Superchain ecosystem, overtaking OP Mainnet. It is now the second-largest Ethereum scaler in terms of TVL, second only to Arbitrum One, which boasts an impressive $18.27 billion. Base first reached the $1 billion mark in TVL on February 27, just seven months after its launch in August of last year. Since then, its TVL has increased eight-fold over a span of 104 days, demonstrating remarkable growth.

In addition to its impressive TVL figures, Base leads all Ethereum layer-2 networks in terms of transactions per second (TPS). Over the past month, Base has managed to process an average of 30.36 TPS, surpassing Arbitrum One, which processed 23.52 TPS. During this period, Base handled a staggering 64.86 million transactions, highlighting its growing usage and popularity.

Base has also been profitable in recent months, despite some fluctuations. Over the past three months, the network has generated substantial on-chain profits. According to a Dune Analytics dashboard by “niftytable,” Base earned a record $16.9 million in on-chain profits in March. Although this figure dropped by 58.6% to $6.98 million in May, Base still far outstripped OP Mainnet, which reported $1.57 million in profits for the same month.

A significant portion of Base’s recent profits can be attributed to the surge in memecoin activity during the early months of 2024. This popularity has had a downside as well. The network experienced an 18-fold increase in funds stolen from phishing scams between January and March, indicating a growing security concern associated with its rapid growth.

The anticipation surrounding Ethereum layer-2 scaling networks is high. Analysts at asset management firm VanEck project that these networks will collectively amass a market cap of $1 trillion by 2023. Base’s recent achievements lend credibility to these projections, suggesting that layer-2 solutions will play a vital role in Ethereum’s future.

Base’s rapid development and success illustrate the potential for layer-2 networks to alleviate the congestion and high transaction fees typically encountered on the Ethereum mainnet. These scaling solutions are crucial for the broader adoption of decentralized applications and other blockchain-based services.

Base’s substantial growth in TVL, impressive transaction processing capabilities, and profitability underscore its significant role in the evolving Ethereum ecosystem. As Base continues to expand and attract more users and assets, it will be interesting to observe how it shapes the future landscape of blockchain technology.