The database will be transformed into a unified, internally maintained stack, representing the largest architectural change since launch.
After debuting in 2023 as a rollup built on the OP Optimism stack, Layer 2 Ethereum Coinbase is now consolidating its software into an internal distribution that can unlock faster updates and greater autonomy over its technical roadmap.
Three years have passed since the Base fired its test network. The network saw the SocialFi explosion and experienced its own memecoin wave. It even went through a phase that both fascinated and unnerved Crypto Twitter when AI agents started transacting on its chain.
Here’s how it got here.
Friend.tech is the main star of the “Onchain Summer” festival at Base
The Base mainnet opened to builders in July 2023, with users joining in August. The period following Coinbase’s ribbon cutting was promoted as the “Summer of Onchain.” In its first week, Base attracted 700,000 recent users, bringing in approximately $242 million in revenue.
Friend.tech was the main act of the Coinbase summer festival. It was a social media app that allowed users to buy and sell access to their connections. The loudest voices on Crypto Twitter have been testing the industry’s newest toy, which has also attracted the opulent and renowned from outside the community. In less than two weeks after launch, it generated over $1 million in daily fees, surpassing Bitcoin at the time.
It didn’t take long.
By the end of August, fees and transaction volume had dropped and the platform was declared “dead”.
A little over a year later, the team relinquished control of the project, giving up administrator rights on their clever contracts.
Base is riding its own memecoin wave
The memecoin craze has become one of the biggest cryptocurrency stories in recent years, attracting political and public figures. Ultimately, this prompted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to do so country that such tokens fall outside the scope of securities laws.
Solana is a popular blockchain for memecoins. Data shows that the memecoin boom gained momentum in slow 2023 as its daily lively addresses began to climb towards Ethereum levels. In March 2024, Solana clearly surpassed Ethereum in this regard as Base users started to show some signs of life after the launch of Friend.tech.
From March 19 to March 25, Cointelegraph magazine found over 380,000 ERC-20 tokens deployed on the database. This activity provided recent liquidity to Base’s DeFi ecosystem, and by June 2024, Layer 2 had pushed Ethereum to lively addresses. It maintained this advantage until December 2025.
AI agents start transactions in Base
In the second half of 2024, AI agents took the driver’s seat in cryptocurrencies. Similar to memecoin, early experiments such as Goatseus Maximus, ai16z, and Truth Terminal began on Solana.
Developers launched agent-linked tokens, autonomous trading bots, and social accounts that presented themselves as autonomous onchain actors.
Related: Can Solana shed its memecoin image in 2026?
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong he argued that cryptocurrencies provide a natural financial pipeline for AI systems because agents lack the legal identity required to open classic bank accounts.
Base focuses on AI agents capable of maintaining balances, tipping users, and interacting directly with clever contracts. In October 2024, Coinbase introduced “Based Agents” – a set of tools that allowed users to create AI agents equipped with cryptocurrency wallets.
Base-native’s most evident experiment was the Virtuals protocol, which allowed users to create agents tied to onchain tokens and addresses.
One such Virtuals agent, Luna (unrelated to Terra), became the first in the database to independently execute onchain directions.
In January 2025, Virtuals expanded into Solana to take advantage of its larger retail base. However, AI agent token activity soon declined and virtual activity cooled.
SocialFi’s second appearance on Base
Base’s 2023 debut was followed by the explosion of Friend.tech. In 2025, SocialFi returned to Base in a different form, inspired by deeper integration with the Coinbase consumer ecosystem.
This pursuit was tied to Coinbase’s “super app” ambitions. Super apps are platforms that serve a variety of 21st century needs, such as messaging, digital banking, ride-sharing, and even food delivery.
Related: Banks seem unable to support cryptocurrencies, even if they are mainstream
Such platforms already exist in Asia. WeChat in China is used in the daily lives of over a billion users, connecting communication, payments and commerce. South Korean companies KakaoTalk and the Japanese line serve similar functions in their markets. Social media giants such as X and Meta have said they are exploring similar models.
In July 2025, Coinbase renamed its wallet to Core Application, making Ethereum’s second layer the default execution layer in the wallet ecosystem.
At the center of this phase was Farcaster, a decentralized social network where accounts are linked to cryptographic addresses. Posts, tips and token launches linked directly to onchain activity.
At the same time, Zora, which enables creators to create and distribute tokenized content, saw a surge in activity in mid-2025, which contributed to measurable spikes in Base transactions and token launches. Tokens were frequently promoted on Farcaster.
SocialFi’s second appearance on Base lasted longer than Friend.tech, but interest waned after an initial period of hype. On February 9, 2026, Coinbase announced that it would end its Creator Rewards program and Farcaster-powered social channels. The change doesn’t directly affect Zora users, although activity there has also dropped since its peak.
The base becomes the most lively layer of Ethereum 2
During the first three years, Base demonstrated the distribution power of the largest American exchange, just as Binance influences the activity of BNB Chain users.
Technical differences aside, Binance has tried to distance itself from the blockchain it founded by trying to give it its own brand, while Coinbase has kept Base close to its orbit.
Coinbase and its blockchain have ridden the wave of emerging trends such as memecoins and artificial intelligence agents, while becoming the center of the SocialFi creator economy and applications.
These trends have come and gone, but they have truly pushed Base to the top of Ethereum’s Layer 2 ladder. According to data from Nansen and., it currently leads in terms of number of users, transactions, fees and total value blocked DefiLlama.
Trends attracted users and distribution brought scale. Now Base is consolidating its foundations. Whether the unified stack cements its leadership position or merely ends its first era of growth will define its next three years as Ethereum’s focus shifts from L2 back to mainchain scaling.
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