Coinbase-Backed Base Surpasses Arbitrum in Active Addresses

Base, which is supported by Coinbase, is in the headlines after it surpassed Arbitrum Network in terms of number of addresses.

Base, the Coinbase-supported Ethereum layer-2 network, saw a strong start to April with more active addresses than Arbitrum. According to data from growthepie, It has surpassed Arbitrum. Base is now the leading Ethereum layer-2 network in terms of active addresses this month, with over 1.48 million new active addresses over the first nine days of April.

Moreover, Ethereum scaling solutions zkSync Era and the Optimism main net came in third and fourth with 1.21 million and 650,000 active addresses respectively. 

How Memecoin Mania Came in Handy for Base

The recent memecoin mania on the Coinbase-supported network has partly fueled Base’s increase in active addresses. Many crypto investors have traded the popular meme coins as the overall volume rose significantly. At the start of April, the collective market capitalization of meme coins surged to $70 Billion.

Brett (BRETT) and Degen (DEGEN) are among the largest meme coins on Base, with respective market caps of $720 Million and $523 Million, according to CoinGecko, while Toshi (TOSHI) and Normie (NORMIE) are also highly traded meme coins on the network. 

However, over the last 30 days, Arbitrum One still maintains a slight lead over Base in terms of active addresses, with 3.84 million compared to Base’s 3.76 million. Over the last 30 days, Starknet and Mantle have seen the largest drops in active addresses, at 51% and 40% respectively. 

Base recently surpassed the $4 Billion mark in total value locked on the protocol earlier this month, and it now only trails Arbitrum One and OP Mainnet, according to L2BEAT. 

The base also has the largest 30-day transaction count at 53.1 million, more than 10 million clear of Arbitrum‘s 41.2 million and Ethereum’s 37.9 million over the same timeframe, according to L2BEAT. 

Growing Scams in Base

However, scammers have also been attracted to Base’s popularity, as the network saw an 18-fold increase in successful phishing scams from January to March. These scams included a steal of $3.35 Million.

A recent analysis shows that one in six memecoins on Base are scams, and that 91% of memecoins possess security vulnerabilities that could expose users to significant losses. 

Coinbase officially launched Base last August, and the cryptocurrency exchange is the sole sequencer of Base, meaning that the chain is fully controlled by the exchange. However, the company has iterated its intention to progressively decentralize its over time.

Summary

Base, the Coinbase-supported Ethereum layer-2 network, has surpassed Arbitrum in terms of active addresses. The recent meme coin mania on the network has fueled its increase, but one in six meme coins on Base are scams, and 91% of Base meme coins have security vulnerabilities. Scammers have been attracted to Base’s popularity, resulting in an 18-fold increase in successful phishing scams from January to March.

The views and opinions stated by the author, or any people named in this article, are for informational purposes only. They do not establish financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading in stocks, cryptos or related indexes comes with a risk of financial loss.

Amanda Shinoy

Amanda Shinoy is one of the few women in the space invested knee-deep in crypto. An advocate for increasing the presence of women in crypto, she is known for her accurate technical analysis and price prediction of cryptocurrencies. Readers are often waiting for her opinion about the next rally. She is a finance expert with an MBA in finance. Quitting a corporate job at a leading financial institution, she now engages herself full-time into financial education for the general public.