Despite bearish sentiment in the Ethereum space, one of its Layer 2 networks continues to witness unprecedented levels of growth.
Base, the Layer 2 solution developed by Coinbase, a major centralized exchange and crypto custodian, has been able to reach new all-time highs in weekly active wallets, transactions, and decentralized exchange (DEX) trades.
Data from Dune Analytics reveals that Base saw 6.7 million active wallets in a single week, alongside 31.9 million weekly transactions. These figures exceed those of Polygon, the leading Layer 2 network. Polygon’s transaction volume has dropped significantly, falling from 31 million in March to just 17.5 million.
Base’s Transformative Development
Base’s becoming more popular among traders is largely due to Coinbase’s strong position in the cryptocurrency industry. With over 70 million users, the U.S.-based exchange offers a broad user base eager to explore crypto beyond traditional buying and selling. Many DeFi enthusiasts seeking faster transactions and lower fees have been drawn to Base.
Decentralized exchange (DEX) activity is heavily concentrated on Base, with over 3.5 million traders using the network. In comparison, Ethereum trails with 115,000 traders, while Optimism ranks third with 96,000.
Since its mid-2023 launch, Base has experienced rapid growth. Its second Onchain Summer campaign, which ended on August 30, generated more than eight times the activity compared to the previous year.
Users on Base have minted 24 million on-chain assets, generating over $5 million in revenue for participating developers.
However, that’s just a part of the whole story.
Base’s Vampire Effect on Other Chains
Coinbase’s Layer 2 network has been steadily drawing users away from other Ethereum Layer 2 solutions. Polygon’s active wallets have plummeted from 4.1 million in June to just 2.1 million. Arbitrum has seen a drop from 4 million in April to 1.2 million, and ZKsync has declined from 1.9 million to 400,000 during the same period.
Where have these users migrated? To Base. It seems Coinbase has struck gold with this network, at least for now.
Where has everyone gone? Base. Coinbase appears to have a winner on its hands, at least for now.
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