- Base’s TVL surged to $4 billion with upgrades for faster transactions, lower fees, and decentralization.
- Base challenges Ethereum’s scalability with ambitious performance upgrades and decentralization plans, eyeing L2 dominance.
Base is stepping up.
With its TVL climbing back to late-2024 highs, the Coinbase-backed Layer 2 is launching key upgrades to reduce fees, speed up transactions, and decentralize its infrastructure on Ethereum’s mainnet.
However, with Ethereum still facing scalability challenges, the real question is—can Base transition from a fast follower to a dominant Layer 2 player?
Base’s bold vision for the future
Jesse Pollak’s latest X post sketched a performance roadmap for Base: sub-200 millisecond confirmation times, fees under a cent, and output at 200 transactions per second.
But it’s not just about speed, seems like.
Pollak emphasized neutrality – eliminating sandwich attacks and giving builders fair execution – alongside plans to decentralize core infrastructure in two stages.
When asked if Base could ever hit 1 million TPS, his one-word reply – yes – wasn’t framed as a joke.
TVL rebounds – but can momentum stick?
Base’s TVL has surpassed $4 billion for the first time since December 2024, signaling renewed investor confidence.
Earlier in 2025, the network experienced a prolonged liquidity plateau amid market uncertainty. However, May’s surge suggests that recent protocol upgrades and a stronger focus on decentralization are beginning to gain traction.
Still, the challenge ahead is turning TVL spikes into sustained economic activity. Without long-term user retention and organic builder adoption, even this latest liquidity push could prove more cyclical than structural.
Base’s rapid ascent
As of May 2025, Base has emerged as a formidable player in the Layer 2 landscape. This growth positions Base ahead of competitors like Arbitrum [ARB] and Optimism [OP] in terms of TVL and daily transaction volumes.
Ethereumm[ETH] isn’t standing still. The recent Pectra upgrade brought moderate gains in scalability – boosting blob output and nudging smart contract wallet usability forward.
Further down the roadmap, the Fusaka upgrade promises more technical muscle through PeerDAS and Verkle Trees, targeting data availability and state size concerns.
Base, on the other hand, is moving faster. With shorter confirmation times, cheaper fees, and a push toward decentralizing core operations, it’s making a case for near-term dominance in the L2 arena.
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