Base, the Layer 2 Ethereum network built by Coinbase, has reached over $2 billion in total value locked (TVL), which makes it the second optimistic rollup in terms of deposits behind just Arbitrum.
According to the data extracted from DeFiLlama, Base’s TVL stood at $2.08 billion from about $430 million during the start of the year which is a 370% increase year to date.
It was founded in August of 2023 and can be described as an optimistic rollup: Withdrawing and depositing tokens from/off the mainnet Ethereum and only occasionally broadcasting transaction data to the mainnet.
This is a more efficient way of doing things since it shifts the burden from Ethereum hence improving on the network’s transaction capacity.
Base’s Growth Driven by Aerodrome
Base’s TVL has increased mostly due to the DEX Aerodrome which currently contributes to more than $1 billion of the overall deposits.
Uniswap also pays for it, bringing approximately $220 million.
While Arbitrum dominates the TVL among optimistic rollups, Base has turned out to be much more active in terms of volumes.
Daily transactions and active addresses making it rank among the optimistic roll- up industry, data from The Block show.
According to the sources, it is seen that DeFi is rebounding here, as highlighted from the 2023 low levels of important metrics including active loans and TVL.
First of all, active loans have risen to almost 13.3 bln USD, which can be traced back to the first half of 2022.
Another critically important metric for DeFi and for overall crypto market evaluation is lending – the ability of investors to let other people borrow their cryptocurrencies in exchange for a particular percentage of interest.
In the course of the recent 2021 bull market, the DeFi active loans reached $22.2 bln, right when the BTC and ETH rates were nearing $69k and $4,800, correspondingly.
Nonetheless, these reached an approximately $10 billion in March 2022 and a $3.1 billion in January 2023.
Crypto sector has largely recovered, and manufacturing has seen the active loan value returning up to $13.3 Billion.
Total Value Locked or TVL in DeFi also experienced a sharp drop last year, crashing from its all-time high of around $180 billion in November the previous year to approximately $37 billion in October of 2023.
But later, the sector has reported a wonderful growth of approximately 160%, and the TVL is estimated almost at $96.5 billion as of now, shared by DefiLlama.
Coinbase Asks Court to Order SEC to Explain Crypto Laws
Earlier this week, Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange, requested a federal appeals court in Philadelphia to compel the SEC to come up with new regs for cryptos.
In its defense, Coinbase stated to the court that the operation of its business and regulation compliance had become unrealistic due to the action of the SEC.
The SEC has been “arbitrary and capricious, ” said Eugene Scalia, a lawyer for Coinbase.
Scalia also said that the regulator has not been providing Coinbase with guidance on how to register and navigate the laws applicable in the United States.
Coinbase sued the SEC last year, insisting that the agency offer rules that make it easier to define when certain cryptos are securities.
However, the SEC dismissed the claims in December, insisting that it did not agree with the view that current crypto regulations are “unworkable.”
In mid July this year, the exchange was able to achieve a partial win against the SEC which may see them get some key information on how the agency determines which tokens are securities.
