Base Dominates Ethereum L2 Fees with $147K Daily Revenue

The data from CryptoRank.io paints a picture of extreme concentration within the Ethereum scaling ecosystem. On January 14, Base’s $147,000 in daily revenue was nearly four times that of its closest Ethereum L2 competitor, Arbitrum, which generated roughly $39,000. Starknet followed with $9,000. The gap widens dramatically from there, with most other prominent scaling solutions generating minimal fees. Linea posted around $4,500, Optimism $2,400, and networks like zkSync and Scroll recorded just $900 and $600, respectively.

This performance translated to Base capturing nearly 70% of total Ethereum L2 revenue based on that day’s snapshot. The combined revenue of all other tracked L2s—including Arbitrum, Starknet, Linea, Optimism, Unichain, Ink, zkSync, and Scroll—totaled just over $15,000. This stark divide underscores a market where user activity and transaction volume are heavily concentrated on a single network, while many other technically sophisticated scaling chains struggle to attract comparable economic throughput.

The fee figures quickly ignited debate on social media, particularly after analysts like Vadim and X user New York Pascal highlighted data from DefiLlama. This alternative dataset showed Polygon recording about $155,000 in daily fees on the same day, a figure slightly above Base’s total. This comparison immediately raised fundamental questions about network classification, as highlighted by X user Thorex questioning whether Polygon should be considered an L2 at all.

The distinction is critical. CryptoRank’s analysis focused specifically on Ethereum layer-2 networks, which typically inherit Ethereum’s security. Polygon’s ecosystem, however, includes its independent proof-of-stake chain alongside newer zero-knowledge scaling products, leading to a long-running community discussion about its categorization. When viewed in the wider context of all blockchains, DefiLlama’s revenue table placed Tron at the top with over $1 million in daily fees, followed by Polygon, Base, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, and Arbitrum. This broader lens shows Base still ranking near the top among Ethereum-aligned networks, even if it wasn’t the highest-earning chain overall when including non-L2 ecosystems.

Base’s commanding fee performance coincides with strategic expansion from its creator, Coinbase. A key driver appears to be the late 2023 launch of Coinbase’s ‘Everything app,’ a rebranded version of Coinbase Wallet built directly on the Base network. This application, now live in over 140 countries, blends social content, trading, and payments into a single interface, utilizing tokenized posts and assets that can be traded directly from a social feed.

The app introduces novel on-chain interaction models, allowing users to earn from content engagement and receive rewards instantly into their wallets. While Coinbase has not published a direct correlation between the app’s launch and daily fee totals, the timing provides a compelling narrative. Base benefits from a powerful, consumer-facing funnel that other L2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, and zkSync currently lack. This built-in user base and application ecosystem from a major exchange like Coinbase provides Base with a significant advantage in generating consistent on-chain activity and, consequently, fee revenue.

The data from January 14 suggests that the layer-2 competitive landscape is entering a new phase. It is no longer solely about technological capability or total value locked, but increasingly about which networks can cultivate vibrant, everyday use cases and attract sustained user engagement. Base’s current lead, fueled by Coinbase’s product integration, highlights this shift and sets a high bar for other Ethereum scaling solutions aiming to capture meaningful market share and economic activity.