In accordance with numbers shared by CryptoRank.io, Base topped Ethereum’s Layer 2 price rankings as of January 14th, incomes round $147,000 per day, nicely forward of Arbitrum’s roughly $39,000 and Starknet’s $9,000.
The information reveals a pointy focus of exercise on one community, at the same time as most different Ethereum scaling chains wrestle to clear $5,000 in charges in the identical 24 hours.
Base advances as price knowledge reveals widening disparity
CryptoRank stated that primarily based on the January 14 snapshot, Base’s share of whole Ethereum L2 income was near 70%, whereas all different L2 income mixed was simply over $15,000. Linea fees about $4,500, Optimism $2,400, Unichain $2,000, Ink $1,500, zkSync $900, and Scroll $600, exhibiting how skinny price era is exterior of the highest tier.
The price figures rapidly sparked debate on social media, particularly after some customers identified Polygon’s a lot greater returns on the identical day. Cryptocurrency analyst Vadim and X person New York Pascal each posted that Polygon recorded roughly $155,000 in each day charges, barely greater than Base’s whole, primarily based on DefiLlama’s network-wide earnings desk shared inside hours of CryptoRank’s submit.
This comparability raises the query of how Polygon needs to be categorised. X person Thorex requested if Polygon was L2 in any respect. This displays a long-term dialogue locally a couple of mixture of scaling options, together with Polygon’s proof-of-stake chain and new zero-knowledge merchandise.
This distinction is vital as a result of CryptoRank’s submit centered particularly on Ethereum L2, whereas Polygon’s income figures usually embody exercise from its broader ecosystem.
In accordance with DefiLlama’s income desk, the highest of all chains is Tron, with greater than $1 million in charges per day, adopted by Polygon, Base, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum. Inside that broader context, Base nonetheless ranks close to the highest of Ethereum-affiliated networks, even when it isn’t essentially the most worthwhile chain total.
Ecosystem progress additional strengthens base price power
Base’s current price efficiency comes as Coinbase continues to broaden the merchandise constructed on its community. Late final yr, the alternate launched a tokenized Every part app. It’s a rebranded model of Coinbase Pockets that mixes social content material, transactions, and funds into one interface.
The corporate says the app, presently deployed in over 140 international locations, is constructed on Base and makes use of tokenized posts and belongings that may be traded immediately from social-style feeds. This launch introduces new methods for customers to work together on-chain, together with monetizing content material engagement and immediately settling rewards into wallets.
Whereas Coinbase doesn’t publish a direct relationship between the app and each day price totals, this timing helps clarify why Base continues to draw exercise in comparison with different L2s that should not have comparable shopper funnels.

