What is Base? The Complete Guide to Coinbase's Layer 2

You've heard of Ethereum. You probably know it's expensive to use.

A simple token swap on Ethereum mainnet can cost you $5, $20, even $80 when the network gets busy. Sending an NFT? Same story. For everyday users, those fees make Web3 feel like a private club with a steep cover charge.

Base is how Coinbase is tearing that velvet rope down.

Built on top of Ethereum, Base is a Layer 2 blockchain that processes transactions faster, charges a fraction of the cost, and inherits Ethereum's security without any of the congestion. As of 2026, it's the dominant Layer 2 in terms of users and daily transactions—and the ecosystem apps being built on it are starting to look less like crypto experiments and more like the apps you actually want to use.

This guide covers everything: what Base is, how it works technically, why Coinbase built it without a native token, and what's actually happening on the network today.

What is Base, Exactly?

Base is an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) blockchain built by Coinbase. It launched its mainnet in August 2023, and it runs on the OP Stack—the same open-source framework that powers Optimism.

The clearest one-sentence description: Base is Ethereum, but cheaper and faster.

It's not a separate blockchain trying to compete with Ethereum. It's an extension of Ethereum that handles transactions off the main chain, bundles them together, and settles the final result on Ethereum. You get Ethereum's security guarantees without paying Ethereum's gas prices.

A few things that make Base unusual compared to other L2s:

No native token. Base doesn't have its own coin. Gas fees are paid in ETH, same as mainnet.
Coinbase-backed. It has the infrastructure, regulatory know-how, and 100+ million user base of one of the largest exchanges in the world sitting behind it.
EVM-compatible. Any smart contract or tool that works on Ethereum works on Base with zero changes.
Part of the Superchain. Base is a core member of Optimism's "Superchain"—a network of OP Stack chains that share security and will eventually share liquidity and messaging.

Who Built It—and Why?

Base was announced in February 2023 and led by Jesse Pollak, Coinbase's head of protocols. His stated mission: bring one billion people onchain.

That's not a marketing line—it's a product decision. Most blockchain infrastructure is built for people who already understand crypto. Base is being built for people who don't, yet.

Coinbase's reasoning is straightforward:

Ethereum is the most secure, most adopted smart contract platform on earth
Ethereum's fees make it unusable for everyday transactions
Coinbase already has a massive distribution channel (the Coinbase app, Coinbase Wallet)
If they build the infrastructure, they can onboard those 100M+ users onchain—not just onto an exchange

The bet: when using crypto is as easy as using Venmo, a lot more people will actually do it. Base is the infrastructure layer for that bet.

How Base Works (Without the Jargon)

Base is an optimistic rollup. Here's what that means in plain terms.

The Problem Base Solves

Ethereum can handle around 15–30 transactions per second on mainnet. When millions of people are trying to transact at once, they're bidding against each other for block space. That competition is what drives gas fees through the roof.

Layer 2 chains solve this by moving most of the work off mainnet.

Optimistic Rollups: The Key Mechanic

Here's how Base processes a transaction:

You submit a transaction (a swap, a mint, a transfer) to Base
Base executes it almost instantly, at very low cost
Base batches hundreds of transactions together into a single compressed data package
That package gets posted to Ethereum mainnet, where it's permanently recorded

The "optimistic" part refers to how fraud gets caught. Base assumes all transactions are valid by default (optimistic), but there's a 7-day challenge window during which anyone can submit a "fraud proof" if they spot invalid data. After 7 days, transactions are finalized on Ethereum.

This is different from zero-knowledge rollups (like zkSync or StarkNet), which use cryptographic proofs to verify transactions immediately. Optimistic rollups trade instant cryptographic finality for simpler implementation and full EVM compatibility.

The result: In June 2025, Base handled periods of up to 1,500 transactions per second with median fees under $0.05. Compare that to Ethereum's 15–30 TPS at $5–80 per transaction.

EVM Compatibility

Because Base runs the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), every Solidity smart contract, every development tool (Hardhat, Foundry, Remix), and every wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow) works on Base out of the box. Developers can deploy to Base by simply changing the RPC endpoint in their config. No rewrites, no new languages.

This is why Base has attracted thousands of deployed apps—the cost of migrating from Ethereum is nearly zero.

Base Stats: What's Actually Happening

Base's 2025 growth was not subtle.

Revenue grew 30x year-over-year, making Base one of the most profitable L2 networks
TVL crossed $1 billion within 7 months of mainnet launch and kept climbing
Morpho's TVL on Base alone grew 1,906% in 2025 (from $48.2M to $966.4M)
Dominant L2 by users and transactions throughout 2025, per The Block's year-end report
130,000+ daily active users within the first month of mainnet

These aren't just impressive numbers—they reflect something structural. Base has the distribution advantage of the Coinbase product suite. When Coinbase Wallet recommends Base, when the Coinbase app makes it easy to bridge, when Smart Wallet removes the seed phrase friction entirely—onchain activity becomes a byproduct of normal Coinbase product usage. No other L2 has that.

What Can You Actually Do on Base?

Base isn't just infrastructure—there's a real ecosystem of applications built on it. Here's what people are actually using:

DeFi (Decentralized Finance)

Aerodrome Finance is Base's flagship DEX (decentralized exchange), where you can swap tokens, provide liquidity, and earn yield. It quickly became the dominant trading venue on the network. Alongside it, Morpho (lending/borrowing), Uniswap (swapping), and dozens of other DeFi protocols have all deployed on Base.

The low fees change the economics here. On Ethereum mainnet, compound interest strategies or frequent rebalancing often don't pencil out—the gas eats the yield. On Base, those same strategies become practical.

Farcaster, the decentralized social network, runs its application layer heavily on Base. When users tip with DEGEN tokens, buy Warps, or interact with onchain mini-apps inside Warpcast, those transactions often settle on Base. The social graph itself lives elsewhere, but the economic layer of Farcaster lives here.

NFTs and Creator Economy

Onchain Summer was Base's breakout moment for the creator economy—a multi-week campaign in partnership with brands like Coca-Cola, Atari, and dozens of independent artists. NFTs were minted by hundreds of thousands of users who had never touched Ethereum mainnet. When fees are $0.01 instead of $25, digital art becomes accessible.

Creator coins, music NFTs, and onchain publishing have all found a home on Base where they couldn't justify the cost on mainnet.

Onchain Identity and Websites

With the rise of onchain domains and tools like Onchainsite, Base is becoming the default home for persistent onchain presence. Deploying a smart contract-backed website or claiming an ENS subdomain on Base costs cents instead of dollars—which changes who participates.

Building on Base

If you're a developer, Base is currently the most pragmatic place to ship. You get:

Full EVM compatibility (your existing Solidity code works)
Coinbase's OnchainKit for React components (wallet connection, identity, swaps)
Coinbase Smart Wallet—passkey-based wallets with no seed phrases
AgentKit for AI agents that hold and transact ETH
Verified user data through Coinbase's identity infrastructure

The tooling is genuinely good in a way that wasn't true when Base launched.

Why No Native Token? (And Why That's Interesting)

Most L2s launch with their own token—partly for governance, partly to fund development, partly (honestly) as a fundraising mechanism. Optimism has OP. Arbitrum has ARB. Polygon has POL.

Base doesn't.

ETH is the gas token on Base. There's no $BASE you need to buy before you can transact.

Coinbase has made clear this is intentional. A few reasons:

Simplicity. Users shouldn't need to acquire a new token just to pay fees. ETH they already have works.
Regulatory clarity. Native tokens create regulatory ambiguity. Coinbase, as a public company, has strong incentives to avoid that.
Credibility. Not launching a token signals Base isn't a cash grab. It's infrastructure.

Some critics argue this means Base lacks a decentralized governance mechanism. That's a fair point—the chain is currently more centralized than Optimism or Arbitrum, with Coinbase running the sequencer. The long-term plan involves migrating toward decentralized sequencing via the Optimism Superchain, but that's still in progress.

Base vs. Other Layer 2s

The L2 space is crowded. Here's where Base sits:

	Base	Arbitrum	Optimism	zkSync
Technology	Optimistic rollup (OP Stack)	Optimistic rollup (Nitro)	Optimistic rollup (OP Stack)	ZK rollup
Native token	None (uses ETH)	ARB	OP	ZK
EVM compatibility	Full	Full	Full	Mostly
Backing	Coinbase	Offchain Labs	OP Labs	Matter Labs
Finality	~7 days (challenge period)	~7 days	~7 days	Minutes (ZK proofs)
Key differentiator	Coinbase distribution + Smart Wallet	Largest existing TVL	Superchain governance	Cryptographic finality

The honest answer: Base wins on distribution and UX. Arbitrum leads on existing DeFi TVL. zkSync/StarkNet have stronger finality guarantees. Depending on what you're building or doing, different chains make more sense.

For new users or apps that need consumer-friendly UX and Coinbase integration, Base is the obvious starting point.

How to Get Started on Base

Get a wallet. Coinbase Wallet is the simplest option, especially with Smart Wallet (no seed phrase). MetaMask works too—just add Base as a custom network.
Bridge ETH to Base. The official Base bridge lets you move ETH from Ethereum mainnet to Base. Third-party bridges like Across or Stargate are faster. If you have Coinbase account, you can also withdraw directly to Base.
Explore. BaseScan is Base's block explorer—you can see every transaction, contract, and wallet on the network. Aerodrome for DeFi. Zora for NFTs. Warpcast for social.
Build. The Base documentation is well-maintained. OnchainKit provides React components for common patterns. If you're building a website or app with an onchain component, Onchainsite makes it straightforward to publish with a Base-connected presence.

The Bigger Picture

Base isn't just a cheaper Ethereum. It's Coinbase's bet on what onchain looks like at a billion users.

The moves they're making—Smart Wallet to remove seed phrases, AgentKit to let AI agents transact, the Superchain to enable cross-L2 interoperability—all point toward the same vision: a world where blockchains are infrastructure you use without thinking about, like TCP/IP or HTTPS.

Whether that vision lands is still an open question. The technical foundation is solid. The distribution is real. The ecosystem is growing faster than almost any other L2.

For anyone building on or exploring Ethereum today, Base is the most pragmatic starting point—and increasingly, the most active one.

Learn More

Official Base site: base.org
Base documentation: docs.base.org
Base block explorer: basescan.org
OnchainKit (Coinbase React components): onchainkit.xyz
OP Stack: stack.optimism.io

Related reading on this blog:

Building something on Base? Onchainsite helps you publish an onchain-connected website in minutes—no backend required.