Base is Coinbase’s layer-2 blockchain network, built on Optimism’s OP Stack and launched in August 2023. It’s the first major layer-2 chain backed by a publicly traded company, giving it a unique position in the Ethereum ecosystem where institutional credibility meets the decentralized ethos of crypto.
The network launched without its own token — a deliberate choice to differentiate Base from the token-first approach of many crypto projects. Instead, Base generates revenue through transaction fees (called “sequencer revenue”), a portion of which flows back to the Optimism Collective as part of the OP Stack’s revenue-sharing model.
Base’s growth was explosive. Within months of launch, it became one of the top Ethereum L2s by transaction volume and active addresses. The network benefited enormously from being integrated into Coinbase’s products, giving its 100+ million verified users an easy on-ramp to L2. Social applications like Friend.tech and Farcaster clients drove early adoption waves.
The chain has attracted significant DeFi activity, with protocols like Aerodrome (a Velodrome fork) generating substantial trading volume. NFT minting, social tokens, and meme coins have also thrived on Base’s low-fee environment. Coinbase has committed to progressively decentralizing Base over time, with plans to remove its role as the sole sequencer and move toward a more distributed architecture. Jesse Pollak, who leads the Base team at Coinbase, has become one of the most visible figures in the L2 ecosystem through his advocacy for building onchain.
