Base continues to drive the adoption of L2s, by retaining its growth momentum for the whole year to date. The tokenless chain by Coinbase carries more than 8M transactions per day, and is a leader both in raw numbers and in the complexity of tokenized transfers. Base is leading the momentum of L2 chains, in addition to the expansion of Arbitrum and Optimism. The L2 narrative slowed down in 2024 when it came to general hype, but the actual infrastructure was one of the most widely used Web3 features. Base reached a record of 8.8M transactions per day, surpassing other top L2s which together achieve 5.5M transactions per day. The L2 expansion at the end of 2024 shifted its priorities, unlike the earlier days of airdrop farming. The trend matches the expectations for 2025, where apps would be the drivers of activity and adoption. Base led the way, and top L2s retained peak transaction counts toward the end of 2024. | Source: GrowThePie The past year shifted the balance of L2 chains, displacing Polygon in several categories. The Polygon chain derived most of its activity from Polymarket bets. The chain retains legacy status for some apps, though it lost its previous inflow of activity based on Web3 games and NFTs. Toward the end of 2024, Polygon was lagging as projects picked other networks to launch their apps and tokens. L2 chains are also absorbing value, both through native token launches and inflows from Ethereum. Based on L2Beat data, L2 chains lock in more than $58B , mostly held within optimistic rollups. Toward the end of 2024, Ethereum held $68.42B in value locked, mostly based on LidoDAO and Aave. L2s retain varied app profiles The growth in L2 activity comes from each chain retaining a profile of apps and activities. Arbitrum and Optimism established themselves as hubs for DeFi and DEX trading. Base gets its heightened activity from high-liquidity trading and moving cbBTC, the newly issued wrapped BTC token. The other source of activity is AI agents, after Virtuals Protocol launched on Base. AI agents are tokenized, and are quickly becoming the most actively traded asset class on Base. Different chains are leaders in their category, specializing in specific smart contracts. DeFi activity made ZK Sync Era, Arbitrum, and Optimism peak performers. Base is the leader in CeFi activity , as it carries some of the utility transactions for Coinbase. For the Taiko chain, WETH9 is the busiest smart contract , fueling DeFi with a wrapped version of Ethereum. For Base, the leading contract is a MEV strategy executor. Those contracts are the most prominent based on gas burned, due to bandwidth constraints and competition. For Base, the contract with the biggest transaction count belongs to Uniswap V3. Recently, the Uniswap DEX also posted a record , after achieving peak monthly volume on its Base version. L2s keep adding to Ethereum burn L2 chains have shown they can successfully scale Ethereum tasks and carry high-speed activity. As of December 27, L2 blob fees were the third-biggest source of ETH burns, helping to curb inflation. Blob fees continue to be a top factor for daily ETH burns. | Source: Ultrasound Money Ethereum is still slightly inflationary, with inflation going back to 0.5% annualized. Most L2s are competing for blob space on Ethereum, but paying out relatively small fees to use the L1 layer. Taiko remains one of the most common sources of payments to L1, as the chain does not slow down its transaction posting to Ethereum. The past year saw conflicts arise on the exact role of L2s and whether they were harming Ethereum. In the second half of the year, L2 chains achieved a form of equilibrium, as both Ethereum participants and L2 validators could earn fees. Some apps continue to use their Ethereum versions, making the L1 chain retain some of the busiest smart contracts. Ethereum is still the biggest carrier of stablecoins , as the ERC-20 version of USDT is the most widely traded and transacted. L2 chains have taken up some of the transaction count and meme token activity, but they have only retained a fraction of the available stablecoin liquidity. Instead, L2s use wrapped versions of ETH as a valuable collateral, and expand by hosting a new selection of decentralized apps. A Step-By-Step System To Launching Your Web3 Career and Landing High-Paying Crypto Jobs in 90 Days.
