In a significant shift, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced on X (formerly Twitter) that the company is reconsidering its stance on issuing a native token for the Base network. Initially, Coinbase had maintained a firm position against the issuance of any native tokens; however, Armstrong indicated on the 15th that the company’s philosophy regarding this matter is evolving.
The Base network, which is an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain established by Coinbase in 2023, has gained considerable traction in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. Currently, it boasts the second-largest total value locked (TVL) among Ethereum Layer 2 solutions, trailing only behind Arbitrum. As of the same date, Base recorded a TVL of $15.91 billion compared to Arbitrum’s $10.15 billion. This positions Base as a formidable player in the landscape of blockchain assets.
Despite the potential issuance of native tokens, it remains unclear how these tokens will function—whether they will only facilitate governance or also be utilized for transaction fees, commonly referred to as gas costs.
In addition to its TVL, Base leads the market in terms of transaction volume. Recent figures reveal that the network achieved an average of 148.77 transactions per second (TPS), significantly outperforming Arbitrum’s 22.49 TPS. Over the past 30 days, Base has processed approximately 327.8 million transactions, dwarfing Arbitrum’s 76.29 million and even surpassing Ethereum’s mainnet transaction volume of around 48.68 million.
Coinbase has also rolled out a Base application that consolidates various functionalities, including wallet services, transactions, social features, payments, and NFT capabilities. This app is designed to create a robust ecosystem for managing assets, allowing users to move their assets seamlessly across the Base network.
As Coinbase re-evaluates its approach to token issuance, the crypto community is closely watching for further developments that could reshape its engagement with the burgeoning Ethereum Layer 2 market.
