Top 5 Base Blockchain Projects to Keep an Eye On in 2024

As Bitcoin celebrates its 15th birthday in 2024, the echoes of the internet's transformation from a niche technology to a global phenomenon resonate with blockchain. Just like the early internet, blockchain platforms need to attract and retain a diverse user base to unlock the "next billion users."

The good news? The technology is rapidly evolving. While established players like Ethereum hold significant ground, innovative newcomers like Base are pushing boundaries and building the future of blockchain.

Base, Coinbase's brainchild, is an Ethereum Layer 2 solution garnering significant attention. It boasts remarkable growth and performance and promises a cost-effective and developer-friendly user experience.

Launched on August 9 by Jesse Pollack, Head of Protocol at Coinbase, Base offers more than just efficiency. It's a tool that empowers users to participate in the next wave of blockchain adoption, fostered within Coinbase with a commitment towards progressive decentralization. In short, Base aims to create an inclusive and accessible global crypto-economy for the masses.

Base: Low-Cost Ethereum Powerhouse for Next-Gen Blockchain Apps

Think of Base as the turbocharger for Ethereum. This Layer 2 platform delivers the security, stability, and scalability needed to power a whole new generation of on-chain applications. Here's what makes Base stand out:

• Effortless Scaling & Security: Base seamlessly integrates with Ethereum Layer 1, Coinbase, and other interoperable chains. This lets developers deploy any EVM codebase and onboard users and assets with confidence.
• Developer Friendly: Forget high gas fees! Base offers advanced Ethereum functionalities at a fraction of the cost. Features like Account Abstraction (ERC4337) and user-friendly APIs for gasless transactions break down barriers to entry, empowering developers to innovate freely.
• Transparency by Design: Built on the open-source OP Stack (a collaboration with Optimism), Base prioritizes accessibility and transparency for everyone involved. It's like having an open kitchen in the blockchain world, fostering trust and collaboration.

But wait, there's more! Base benefits from the massive ecosystem of Coinbase. With seamless integrations, easy fiat on-ramps, and access to millions of verified users, Base provides decentralized apps with the tools and infrastructure to thrive.

Many of the top Ethereum platforms and services, including Aave, Chainlink, Etherscan, and Sushi Swap, have already chosen Base for its advantages. This creates a powerful network effect, attracting even more users and developers. Plus, with its open-source template, anyone can build their own Ethereum L2 on top of Base, further accelerating innovation.

Base's Success Story: User Growth, Developer Activity, and Surging Transactions

Base's success story is unfolding rapidly. Base leverages the massive user base of its parent company, Coinbase. With 110 million users, Base has a built-in audience for its platform. This advantage is evident in the 7 million users already onboarded through Coinbase's integrated mobile and web applications.

Base isn't just attracting users; it's attracting developers too. On April 21, 2024, Base hit a significant milestone with a record-breaking 21,700 contract deployments in a single day. This surge in activity indicates a thriving developer ecosystem, aligning perfectly with the chain's strategic goals.

Base Network Power

This developer activity translates to real-world network growth. Base has seen impressive growth in Total Value Locked (TVL) and daily transaction volumes. On April 21, 2024, Base surpassed both Ethereum and other prominent Layer 2 platforms with a staggering 2.6 million transactions – more than double Ethereum's volume!

While Arbitrum holds a position above Ethereum in daily transactions, Base is quickly catching up. Beyond daily transactions, Base boasts a total of 63 million deployed contracts and a whopping 211 million total transactions, all within a year of launch.

Success isn't just about technology. Base fosters a strong community led by its creator, Jesse Pollack, a well-respected figure within the ecosystem. This supportive community translates to significant traction for projects built on Base. These projects are well-positioned to leverage Base's infrastructure and growing awareness to achieve their success.

Stay Tuned! In the next section, we'll delve into the top five projects you should keep an eye on within the Base ecosystem in 2024!

The Future of Base: Top 5 Game-Changing Projects on the Ethereum Layer 2 Platform in 2024

Aerodrome

Aerodrome Finance emerges as a premier decentralized automated market maker (AMM) on Base, with features such as a robust liquidity incentive engine and a vote-lock governance model. Launched on August 28, 2023, Aerodrome is designed to facilitate token swaps while generating fees from traders, ensuring proportional rewards for liquidity providers through $AERO token emissions. 

With its innovative epoch-based reward distribution system and the utilization of $veAERO for governance, Aerodrome Finance incentivizes active participation and ensures a fair and transparent ecosystem. Furthermore, Aerodrome's integration of ERC-20 and ERC-721 tokens enhances user engagement and enables seamless interaction with the broader crypto community.

Grand Base

Grand Base revolutionizes decentralized finance (DeFi) by introducing a decentralized market for spot synthetic real-world assets (RWAs) on Base. Offering exposure to RWAs without holding the underlying assets, Grand Base eliminates intermediaries and associated expenses, ensuring liquidity and stability for users. With gAssets mirroring RWAs and backed by on-chain collateral, Grand Base guarantees transparency and security for its users. 

Through its decentralized liquidity model and rigorous risk management protocols, Grand Base facilitates efficient price discovery and enables users to easily access a wide range of synthetic assets. It also focuses on community governance and decentralized decision-making, which empowers users to shape the platform's future and foster a collaborative and inclusive ecosystem.

Moonwell

Moonwell stands out as an open and decentralized lending and borrowing protocol on Base, Moonbeam, and Moonriver, delivering a streamlined user experience and empowering users to leverage their digital assets. With intuitive features and multilingual support, Moonwell prioritizes accessibility and usability, ensuring that users from diverse backgrounds can easily participate in DeFi. 

Backed by robust security measures and transparent on-chain governance, Moonwell ensures a secure and transparent lending and borrowing environment, inspiring trust and confidence among its users. By providing flexible borrowing options and competitive interest rates, Moonwell enables users to unlock the value of their assets and pursue their financial goals with confidence.

VIRTUAL Protocol

VIRTUAL Protocol pioneers the decentralized creation and monetization of AI personas for virtual interactions, offering a diverse range of AI characters for gaming, metaverses, and online interactions. By incentivizing contributions from creators, validators, and DApp founders, VIRTUAL Protocol fosters a vibrant ecosystem while providing new revenue streams for content creators and IP owners. 

Through its innovative tokenomics and governance model, VIRTUAL Protocol aligns incentives and ensures fair reward distribution, promoting long-term sustainability and growth. Additionally, VIRTUAL Protocol's focus on interoperability and compatibility with existing blockchain networks enhances its adoption potential and positions it as a key player in the emerging virtual economy.

Degen

Degen, initially a meme token, evolves into the de facto in-app currency for Farcaster, experiencing a remarkable five-fold increase in users within a month. As a reward mechanism for quality content, Degen bridges the gap between online contributions and real-world value, driving engagement within the Farcaster ecosystem.

With over 326k holders and 3.00M transactions, Degen showcases impressive traction and market adoption, demonstrating its potential to become a staple currency for virtual interactions. 

These are just a few examples of the exciting projects building on Base. The combination of Base's robust infrastructure and the creativity of its developer community paves the way for a bright future.

Base Blockchain: A Look Forward into a Scalable Future

The future of Base blockchain shines bright as it navigates the ever-changing world of blockchain technology. With a focus on scalability, security, and fostering a decentralized ecosystem, Base is poised to play a key role in shaping the future of digital finance and decentralized applications (dApps).

Moreover, as Base's community grows, with more strategic partnerships and developer incentives, it will drive adoption and network effects, potentially positioning it among the leading blockchain platforms.