Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, Base, has achieved significant transaction per second (TPS) throughput, as confirmed by Jesse Pollak, the Head of Protocols at Coinbase. According to Pollak, the network has achieved a TPS as high as 300-400, with no issues. However, Chainspect, an analytics platform, reported that the real-time TPS for Base is 26.8, with a maximum recorded TPS of 292. L2Beat, another analytics platform, reported that the average transactions per second on Base reached a peak of 37 on April 8, surpassing Ethereum’s 14 TPS by more than double.
In response to Pollak’s post, a pseudonymous trader named Wazz suggested that if the observations were accurate, Base could achieve a similar TPS to the Solana network. Wazz also mentioned that around 60% of Solana’s reported 1,000 TPS were failed transactions, indicating that the actual TPS was closer to 400. However, Mert Mumtaz, the CEO of Solana-based Helius Labs, questioned Pollak’s TPS figures, arguing that failed transactions were not accounted for in the Base figures. Mumtaz pointed out that the largest Base block had 94% failed transactions, resulting in a real TPS of 41.
These findings have intensified the ongoing debate between supporters of Ethereum layer-2 scaling solutions and advocates of the Solana network. Recently, Solana has faced criticism for degraded user experience, failing transactions, and other reliability issues. Mumtaz previously stated that Solana’s issues were not due to a fundamental design flaw, but rather a specific implementation bug in the networking protocol. Several Solana project launches have also been delayed due to network congestion.
Meanwhile, Base has experienced a surge in network activity driven by the increasing popularity of memecoins. The total value locked (TVL) on the Base network reached a record high of $1.5 billion on April 9. This represents a 235% increase since the beginning of the year as memecoin enthusiasts flocked to the network. However, an in-depth analysis of new memecoins on Base revealed that over 90% of them had at least one security vulnerability, and 17% were identified as scams.
Overall, Base’s performance in terms of TPS and its growing TVL indicate its increasing prominence in the cryptocurrency space. However, concerns regarding failed transactions and security vulnerabilities remain, highlighting the need for further improvements and scrutiny.