Base, a Layer 2 Ethereum network nurtured by Coinbase, has witnessed a significant surge in total value locked within decentralized applications (dapps), propelling it into the top three chains by deposits.
According to DeFiLlama data, the total value locked in Base’s Layer 2 network now stands at $1.7 billion, marking a 20% increase since the beginning of May.
Since its public launch in early August 2023, Base has ascended to become the third most valuable Layer 2 blockchain by Total Value Locked (TVL). It follows Arbitrum, with $3.81 billion locked, and Blast, with $2.26 billion.
Base has surpassed OP Mainnet in terms of deposits, becoming the largest chain on the Superchain, an ecosystem of Layer 2 rollups developed using the OP Stack software package.
The surge in Base’s total value locked can be attributed in part to contributions from decentralized exchange Aerodrome, with $714 million in deposits, followed by Uniswap at $312 million.
Base, along with other top Layer 2 chains like Arbitrum, Blast, and OP Mainnet, employs optimistic rollups to execute transactions off-chain and periodically post transaction data on-chain, reducing the burden on the main Ethereum chain and increasing throughput. This approach assumes transaction validity by default, only performing computation to verify transactions if a fraud proof is submitted, unlike zero-knowledge rollups such as zkSync, Linea, and Scroll, which provide cryptographic proofs upfront.