The Coinbase-backed Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base, is experiencing rapid growth, reflecting the significant adoption and attention it enjoys from the crypto community.
Base’s growth comes amid the stock market launch of its Smart Wallet, a self-custody solution that aims to bring more than 1 billion users on-chain.
Increased network activity
Base recorded the highest daily transactions between Ethereum Layer-2 networks last day, surpassing notable rivals such as Arbitrum and Optimism.
According to data from blockchain analytics platform GrowThePie, Base’s number of transactions rose 7.1% to 2.7 million as of June 4, compared to Arbitrum’s 1.89 million.
L2Beat data further confirms this significant activity. The platform shows that Base processes an average of 31.37 transactions per second (TPS), while Arbitrum handles approximately 22 TPS.
This increase in network activity has led to substantial growth in the total value of assets locked (TVL) to the layer 2 network. L2BEAT reports that Base’s TVL increased 8.68% to $7.64 billion, which is close to Optimism’s TVL of $7.76 billion. Currently, Optimism and Base control 16.42% and 16.17% of the L2 market respectively, while Arbitrum holds a 40% share.
Additionally, a Dune Analytics dashboard compiled by on-chain analyst Kofi indicates that Base is the highest-earning Layer-2 network over the past three months. According to the dashboard, Base earned $16.88 million in March, $12.90 million in April and $6.98 million in May.
Market experts said network activity on Base soared after the implementation of the Dencun Upgrade in March. This update introduced proto-thankshardening, which significantly reduced gas costs for layer 2 solutions like Base. At the time, Crypto reported that Base saw increased bot trading activity that drove transaction costs to high levels compared to rivals.
Smart wallet
Coinbase has introduced its long-awaited Smart Wallet product to the market, saying it would address major challenges that have made it “slow, expensive and difficult” to get on-chain.
According to the company:
“Smart Wallets allows users to create a free, secure, self-custodial wallet in just seconds. They simplify onboarding, reduce the number of transactions to sign, and allow you to seamlessly use your Coinbase balances onchain.”
The self-custodial wallet would initially support eight networks, including Base, Ethereum, Optimism, Arbitrum, Polygon, Avalanche, BNB and Zora.
