Base by the numbers
Base Analyst: This analytics dashboard for Base shows robust ecosystem growth for the year 2024, with a current Total Value Locked (TVL) of $2.826b and a stablecoin market cap of $3.63b, where USDC maintains a dominant position at 92.68%. The platform demonstrates healthy daily activity with $1.536b in 24-hour volume, generating $249,782 in fees and $247,643 in revenue. The chart from Defillama illustrates a significant upward trajectory in TVL since early 2024, particularly accelerating from September through November, reaching a peak of approximately 1.586b USD. Trading metrics indicate strong user engagement with 982,519 active addresses in the past 24 hours and positive capital flows showing $46.54m in inflows. Despite a 4.05% weekly decline in stablecoin market cap, the overall weekly volume of $8.084b and a positive weekly change of 3.54% suggest sustained growth momentum. The DEX vs CEX dominance ratio stands at 7.21%, indicating room for further DEX adoption within the ecosystem.
Introduction
Base is a Layer 2 blockchain platform developed by Coinbase to enhance Ethereum's capabilities. It aims to increase transaction speed, security, and accessibility while reducing costs on the Ethereum network. Using Optimistic Rollup technology, Base bundles multiple transactions and processes them off-chain before settling on the Ethereum mainnet. This approach allows for faster transactions and lower fees compared to the main Ethereum network, while maintaining full compatibility with Ethereum-based tools and frameworks.
The platform supports a wide variety of blockchain applications and offers a developer-friendly environment. Base is currently in its developmental stages, with plans to transition from a Coinbase-incubated platform to a fully decentralized ecosystem. It's part of a larger vision called the 'Superchain', which aims to interconnect various Layer 2 solutions. While Base offers significant advantages in terms of speed, cost, and scalability, it's important to note that it's still a developing technology, and users should be aware of potential complexities and security considerations when interacting with it.
Base ecosystem
Base's ecosystem has experienced rapid growth since its launch, establishing itself as one of the fastest-growing Layer 2 networks. By mid-2024, Base had accumulated nearly $2 billion in total value locked (TVL), with a significant jump from $175 million to $370 million between August and September 2023. This growth is supported by a developer-friendly environment, offering tools for gasless transactions and easy-to-use APIs. The Base ecosystem fund actively supports builders through grants and hackathons, fostering a vibrant community of developers and projects.
The platform has attracted a diverse range of popular projects, particularly in the DeFi space. Decentralized exchanges like Uniswap, 1inch Network, and SushiSwap are among the most active dApps on Base. Additionally, Aerodrome serves as Base's central liquidity hub, while meme coins like TOSHI and BRETT drive significant trading volumes. Base's integration with major platforms like OpenSea for NFTs, coupled with its connection to Coinbase's vast user base of nearly 100 million, has significantly contributed to its rapid adoption. Looking ahead, Coinbase is committed to further expanding Base's ecosystem, with plans to support more Ethereum features and progressively decentralize the platform.
Key Features
Utilizing Optimistic Rollup technology, Base bundles multiple transactions off-chain before settling them on Ethereum, resulting in significantly lower transaction fees and faster processing times. The platform boasts full compatibility with Ethereum tools and smart contracts while offering a developer-friendly environment with features like gasless transactions and easy-to-use APIs. Base supports account abstraction (ERC-4337), allowing for more flexible transaction types, and aims to be open-source, permissionless, and progressively decentralized over time. onThe ecosystem on Base is rapidly growing, with popular features including:
• Low Transaction Costs: Base offers considerably cheaper transaction fees compared to Ethereum L1, making it more affordable and accessible for users to interact with decentralized applications.
• Ethereum Compatibility: Base is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to deploy existing Ethereum code without major modifications.
• Security: Base leverages Ethereum's robust security measures while implementing additional safeguards like cryptography, fraud-proof mechanisms, and audits.
Strategic Development
To enhance flexibility, Base supports account abstraction and offers developer grants and hackathons to foster innovation. The ecosystem's growth is further fueled by events like Onchain Summer, which showcases builders. Additionally, Base has embraced popular meme coins to drive trading volume, contributing to its dynamic and diverse ecosystem.
By leveraging Coinbase's extensive resources while maintaining an open ecosystem, Base is strategically positioning itself as a leading Layer 2 solution. The platform is progressively increasing its throughput and scalability, with plans to support more Ethereum features like sharding in the future. This comprehensive approach to ecosystem development, focusing on DeFi, NFTs, developer tools, and core infrastructure improvements, aims to establish Base as a key platform for onchain applications and Web3 adoption. As Base continues to evolve, it's poised to play a significant role in shaping the future of decentralized finance and blockchain technology.
Focus on grow
Jesse Pollack, who leads Base & Coinbase posted on X back in January that Base would start focusing on two metrics: Checkout my data analysis of these two metrics below or click the image to interact with the dashboard.
This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. The content provided does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice. We do not recommend any specific cryptocurrency, token, or investment strategy.
