Base — a Layer 2 Ethereum network incubated at Coinbase — saw its total value locked (or user deposits) within dapps surge to enter the top three chains by deposits.
The total value locked in the Layer 2 network Base stands at $1.7 billion, a 20% increase since the start of May, according to DeFiLlama data.
The Base mainnet became publicly available in early August 2023 and has since risen to become the third most valuable Layer 2 blockchain in terms of TVL, trailing Arbitrum, with $3.81 billion in value locked, and Blast, with $2.26 billion, data shows.
With this, it has surpassed deposits on OP Mainnet, which previously held the spot. It's also become the largest chain on the Superchain — an ecosystem of Layer 2 rollups developed with the software package OP Stack.
Decentralized exchange Aerodrome continues to contribute to Base's surge in total value locked, with $714 million in deposits, followed by Uniswap at $312 million.
These top Layer 2 chains — including Arbitrum, Blast, Base, and OP Mainnet — are optimistic rollups that work by executing transactions outside the main Ethereum blockchain (off-chain) and only periodically posting 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 valid by default.
Optimistic rollups only perform computation to verify transactions if someone submits a “fraud proof” indicating that something might be wrong. If a fraud is detected, the network rolls back the fraudulent transaction. This approach contrasts with zero-knowledge rollups such as zkSync, Linea, and Scroll, which provide cryptographic proofs for the validity of transactions upfront.