Base Establishes Itself in Top-Ten of Defi Protocols, Leaving Solana in The Dust

The Base mainnet went live only approximately six weeks ago, yet it continues to gain traction. This layer-2 network, which is a Coinbase project, claims to be ten times cheaper than Ethereum, the blockchain on which it is built. According to data from DeFi Lama, the total value locked (TVL) on Base has now reached $370.29 million, surpassing Solana, which has a TVL of $310.43 million.

Ethereum still Dominates DeFi

While these numbers are impressive, they pale in comparison to the top protocols, with Ethereum taking the lead. Ethereum boasts a TVL of $21.18 billion ($32.97 billion), comprising 54.64% of the total value locked across all chains. In comparison, Base accounts for just 0.96% of TVL across all chains..

Decentralized Finance, or short DeFi, has enjoyed increasing popularity. With DeFi, users are able to access peer-to-peer financial products via blockchain, similar to services through traditional banking. Users can trade, swap, borrow, lend and much more, without a bank as an intermediary.

Currently, a significant portion of the volume on Base comes from its two largest protocols: Aerodrome and Friend.Tech. Together, they account for approximately $134.48 million ($209.07 million), which is roughly a third of all TVL on Base.

Friend.Tech, which is still in beta, initially garnered significant interest but saw a decline in user interest in August, only to experience a resurgence in September. Users of the decentralized social network faced temporary disruptions to trading in early September when Base experienced service interruptions.

Base Growth Against Trend

Base has experienced remarkable growth in its TVL, increasing by 111% in the past month, while Solana’s TVL has dropped by 12.22%. The drop in TVL for Solana does not necessarily mean that Solana is failing, but it represents a continued overall downward trend in crypto. Interestingly, all of the top ten DeFi protocols are in the red, except for Base and Tron.

It’s worth mentioning that Base doesn’t have a native token, and Coinbase issues a warning on its website about potential scammers offering fake Base tokens. As of the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap, SOL was trading at $19.48 ($30.32), reflecting a 5.2% decrease over the last 30 days.