Base Achieves 959 TPS, Nears Solana's Performance

Base, a layer-2 blockchain developed by Coinbase, briefly achieved a transaction processing speed of nearly 1,000 transactions per second (TPS), bringing it closer to the performance of the layer-1 blockchain Solana. On May 29, Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base, announced on X that the blockchain had sustained near 1,000 TPS during a launch event on the agentic artificial intelligence platform Virtuals.

During this event, Base reached a maximum of 959 transactions per second, with a theoretical maximum of 1,429 TPS. However, its real-time TPS is typically around 156, with spikes driven by other platforms launching tokens on Base or memecoin trading activities. Currently, the network's TPS is reported to be 137.

In comparison, Solana's throughput is currently around 1,039 transactions per second, with a similar figure of “true TPS” reported at 1,029. While Base's brief transaction throughput put it much closer to Solana for a time, Solana has remained more consistent with its TPS.

The Virtuals AI agent platform had a token launch event this week for an “emotionally intelligent, voice-native AI companion” named Solace. The Virtuals Protocol generated more than $60,000 in fees on Base on May 28, compared to just $4,000 on Solana. There was a spike in Base fees on May 29, but the average remained around 4 cents.

Base is the largest rollup-based layer-2 network in terms of value locked onchain, with $15.3 billion, surpassing both Arbitrum One and the OP mainnet and holding a market share of almost 34%. Both Base and Solana have positioned themselves as platforms primarily used to mint and trade memecoins, deriving most of their network revenue from these sources.

Base’s decentralized finance-derived total value locked is $3.75 billion, close to its all-time high. In contrast, Solana has $9 billion in value locked on DeFi protocols, down 18% from its January all-time high of $11 billion, driven by memecoin trading. Ethereum remains the leader in DeFi, with almost $63 billion in TVL, but its transaction throughput is far lower, and its fees are higher compared with Base and Solana.

This achievement by Base highlights its technical advancements and commitment to enhancing performance, making it a strong competitor in the blockchain space. The brief surge in TPS to nearly 1,000 underscores Base's potential to scale and handle increased transaction volumes, which is essential for attracting more users and applications. As Base continues to refine its technology and optimize its performance, it is likely to see further improvements in transaction speed and overall efficiency.