The Ethereum layer-2 sector is experiencing significant growth, with Base achieving notable milestones. As per information obtained from Token Terminal, Base has surpassed $10 million in total revenue since its introduction in early August 2023. Referring to Token Terminal, Erick Smith, Chief Investment Officer at 401 Financial, highlighted that by late November, there had been a remarkable increase in revenue, coupled with an average of more than 1 million monthly active users on the platform.
Developed in collaboration with another leading L-2 Optimism, Base was launched by Coinbase on Ethereum and is the first blockchain to be launched by a publicly traded company. The base was designed to overcome some of the Ethereum blockchain’s issues, such as scalability and transaction processing costs.
The Ethereum L-2 leverages Optimism’s standardized and open-source development stack that developers can use to build blockchain networks. This adds Base to the list of Layer 2s that Optimism expects to form a superchain of interoperable blockchains. Since its release, it has quickly gained prominence among Decentralized Applications [Dapps] developers who build on it to get access to Coinbase’s massive ecosystem of 110 million verified users and more than $80 billion in assets.
The introduction and rollout of Base not only stimulated certain foundational applications of cryptocurrency, such as facilitating payments and conducting trades with digital currencies, but it also brought to fruition other applications, including the emergence of decentralized social media platforms.
Ethereum L-2 Use Cases
One notable example is Friend.tech, a social media application that garnered attention in Q3 20323. This platform enables users to tokenize their social media accounts, subsequently allowing them to sell partial ownership using the technology provided by Base.
As of September 2023, Friend.tech has played a pivotal role in advancing the adoption of Web3 and Base, contributing significantly to the network’s overall traffic. The platform benefits from a robust network infrastructure characterized by features like interoperability and efficient performance, complemented by the existing user base of Coinbase. This positioning not only enhances the potential use cases for Base but also increases its versatility.