- 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.
Source: X
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.
Source: DeFiLlama
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
