Base, a layer-2 blockchain built by Coinbase to help Ethereum handle more transactions, has just reached a big milestone. It has officially moved up from Stage 0 to Stage 1 in Ethereum’s rollup maturity rankings—and in the process, it overtook Arbitrum as the largest Ethereum scaling network.
These “stages” come from a framework created by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, to help measure how mature and decentralized L2 blockchains really are.
What Just Happened?
According to L2Beat, a site that tracks Ethereum layer-2s, Base gained $557 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) recently. That pushed it ahead of Arbitrum, with Base now securing over $710 million more in assets than Arbitrum.
TVL is a common way to measure how much money is being used in decentralized apps (dApps) on a network.
This growth also helped Base upgrade to “Stage 1,” which means it now has smarter governance systems. While it still relies on a security council to handle problems (so not fully decentralized yet), it has moved past the early stage where everything was controlled by its creators—what some call the “training wheels” phase.
Base’s creator, Jesse Pollak, celebrated the news, saying:
“Proud that Base is now Stage 1 — and #1 by value locked. But it’s still just the beginning.”
Why This Matters
Vitalik Buterin has been pushing for L2s to become more decentralized and secure. In fact, last year he warned that some L2s could fail if they don’t upgrade. Base was one of those networks still in Stage 0, but now, it’s off that list.
Vitalik welcomed Base to the group of more mature rollups, saying:
“Welcome to the full-EVM Stage 1 gang, Base.”
He added that this milestone is important because it moves L2s away from being controlled by a few people (like a multisig wallet) and toward stronger, cryptographic systems where users don’t have to rely on trust.
A Quick Look Back
This isn’t the first time Base has caught up to Arbitrum. In September 2023, Base’s TVL shot up by 400%, reaching over $2 billion, which brought it close to Arbitrum’s $2.6 billion at the time.
Right now, the top app on Base is Aerodrome, with around $830 million locked in. Other major protocols using Base include Morpho, Aave, and Uniswap, all big names in the DeFi space.
What About Arbitrum?
Arbitrum, once the clear leader, has had a rough time. Its total value locked and token price dropped sharply—by over 80% at one point. The team has tried to bounce back with token buybacks and other moves, but not all their recovery efforts have worked. A recent proposal to join Nvidia’s accelerator program was even rejected.
