Rising interest in 'meme coins' leads to increased fees and stuck transactions on the Ethereum layer-2 blockchain.
In recent developments, Coinbase's Base, a layer-2 blockchain aimed at facilitating lower fee transactions on Ethereum, has been grappling with a significant surge in traffic. This increase in activity has led to a notable rise in transaction fees and has resulted in numerous transactions becoming 'stuck'. The primary driver behind this sudden spike in traffic appears to be a growing interest in 'meme coins' on the Base platform, which has seen daily transaction counts leap from under 200,000 to over 600,000.
The Base chain, incubated by Coinbase as a solution to Ethereum's scalability issues, has been hit hard by its own success. Following the Ethereum Dencun upgrade, which aimed to reduce transaction fees across layer-2 networks, Base saw its fees drop by over 90%. This reduction made it an attractive platform for traders, leading to a daily transaction volume that skyrocketed to a record 2.12 million in a single day. However, this influx of activity has not come without its challenges.
For users of the Base chain, the immediate impact has been felt in the form of increased transaction fees and delays. Transactions that once moved smoothly through the network are now experiencing slowdowns, with some becoming 'stuck' due to the congestion. Coinbase has advised users facing such issues to either resubmit their transactions with higher fees or to wait for the traffic to subside. Despite these hiccups, Coinbase has reassured its users that their funds remain secure, highlighting the network's robustness with a total value locked of over $700 million, making it the third-largest layer-2 network on Ethereum.
The current situation on the Base chain underscores the challenges faced by blockchain networks as they scale. While the surge in transactions demonstrates the growing interest and adoption of cryptocurrency, it also highlights the need for ongoing improvements in network scalability and efficiency. For users of the Base chain and similar platforms, this episode serves as a reminder of the importance of monitoring network conditions and being prepared to adjust transaction fees accordingly.
