Base (a layer 2 Ethereum network incubated at Coinbase) has seen a surge in total value locked (or user deposits) within dapps, entering the top three chains by deposits.
The total value locked in the layer 2 network base is $1.7 billion, up 20% from early May, according to DeFiLlama data.
The Base mainnet was launched publicly in early August 2023 and has since risen to become the third most valuable layer 2 blockchain in terms of TVL, with Arbitrum valued at $3.81 billion pegged and $2.26 billion, according to data. It is the third most valuable after the Blast in dollars.
As a result, it exceeded the deposit amount on the OP mainnet that previously occupied the space. It also became the largest chain in Superchain, a layer 2 roll-up ecosystem developed with the software package OP Stack.
Decentralized exchange Aerodrome continues to contribute to Base’s total value surge with $714 million in deposits, followed by Uniswap with $312 million.
These upper layer 2 chains, including Arbitrum, Blast, Base, and OP Mainnet, are optimistic rollups that operate by executing transactions outside the main Ethereum blockchain (off-chain) and periodically publishing transaction data on-chain. This reduces the load on the main Ethereum chain, allowing it to handle more throughput. The “optimistic” part of the name comes from the assumption that all transactions are fundamentally valid.
Optimistic rollups perform calculations to confirm a transaction only if someone submits “evidence of fraud” indicating that something may have gone wrong. When fraud is detected, the network rolls back fraudulent transactions. This approach contrasts with zero-knowledge rollups such as zkSync, Linea, and Scroll, which provide cryptographic proof of the validity of a transaction in advance.
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