Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network Base arguably leads the L2 ecosystem. It got there by riding three speculative waves: SocialFi apps, memecoins, and AI agents. That’s three years of explosive growth. But hype cycles fade. Base is preparing its biggest architectural overhaul in 2026. The challenge now? Converting that growth into lasting momentum.
Base launched in 2023. It used Optimism’s OP Stack. The goal was ambitious: onboard 1 billion users to crypto.
The network’s breakout came during “Onchain Summer” that year. SocialFi app Friend.tech drove 700,000 users to Base in a single week. The app let users trade access to social connections. It generated over $1 million in daily fees at its peak. That briefly surpassed Bitcoin.
The excitement didn’t last. Activity collapsed. Friend.tech was later abandoned. The episode revealed two things: Coinbase’s powerful distribution engine and the fragility of speculation-driven apps.
The next surge arrived in 2024. Memecoin mania shifted from Ethereum and Solana to Base. More than 380,000 ERC-20 tokens were deployed in one week. That’s according to blockchain data.
The explosion of token launches boosted DeFi liquidity. Base pulled ahead of Ethereum in active addresses. It held that lead from mid-2024 through late 2025. Uniswap activity on Base even rivaled Solana’s decentralized exchanges. Speculative trading was bootstrapping network growth at scale.
Base’s third act centered on AI agents. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong believes crypto is a natural financial rail for AI. The network introduced “Based Agents” in late 2024. It’s a toolkit. AI agents can operate crypto wallets autonomously.
Virtuals Protocol allowed users to create token-linked agents. “Luna” was one example. It could tip other users onchain without human intervention. Activity cooled later. But the experiments showcased something new: autonomous economic actors interacting directly with smart contracts.
A second SocialFi wave arrived in 2025. Coinbase rebranded its wallet into the Base App “super app.” Base became the default execution layer. Farcaster drove fresh spikes in transactions and token launches. It’s a decentralized social network tied to crypto addresses. Creator platform Zora did the same.
By early 2026, Coinbase sunset its Creator Rewards program. Farcaster feeds went dark too. Activity declined from peak levels. Again.
These overlapping hype cycles propelled Base to the top. It leads Ethereum’s L2 ecosystem across key metrics: users, transactions, fees, total value locked. Everything.
The pattern mirrors how Binance’s exchange powers BNB Chain. Distribution strength and user inflows dominate activity. Base is now moving to a unified, internally maintained stack. That means faster upgrades. Greater control.
The network faces a critical test. Can its hype-era gains translate into infrastructure-led leadership? Can it outlast the next downturn? That’s the question.
