Base Flips Arbitrum, Escapes Vitalik’s “Doomed L2” List with Stage 1 Upgrade

🚀 Base Beats Arbitrum, Goes Stage 1 — And Vitalik Approves

Base is no longer the new kid on the block. With a massive surge in TVL and a major protocol upgrade, Coinbase’s Layer-2 has overtaken Arbitrum as the top Ethereum rollup — and graduated to Stage 1 maturity, dodging Vitalik Buterin’s “L2s doomed to fail” list in the process.

“Proud that Base is now Stage 1 — and #1 by TVS. But it’s still day one,”
— Jesse Pollak, Base creator

📊 Base Takes the Lead — By the Numbers

According to L2Beat:

• 💥 Base TVS (Total Value Secured): Surged past Arbitrum by $710M
• 💸 Recent spike: +$557M in TVL
• 🥇 Now the largest optimistic rollup in Ethereum’s ecosystem

Meanwhile, Arbitrum’s facing:

• 📉 Token price down 80%
• 🧪 Rejected by Nvidia’s accelerator program
• 🔄 Struggling with token buybacks and retention

The rollup race just got real — and Base is outpacing fast.

🔐 Stage 1 Upgrade = Governance + Decentralization

So what does “Stage 1” actually mean?

🧱 Defined by Vitalik Buterin, Stage 1 rollups must:

• 🔓 Be governed by smart contracts
• 👥 Have 75% of council members outside the core team
• 🔐 Reduce reliance on multisig-based security

“Welcome to the full-EVM Stage 1 gang, Base,”
— Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum co-founder

This means Base now meets Ethereum’s decentralization goals — and is no longer a centralized, operator-controlled chain.

🧠 Why It Matters: Beyond the Buzzwords

Stage 1 is more than a badge:

• 🛡️ It adds cryptographic trust
• 🧠 Reduces risk of censorship or rug pulls
• 🌉 Sets the groundwork for Stage 2 (fully trustless rollups)

Base now joins a short list of “legit” L2s that aren’t just fast — but aligned with Ethereum’s ethos.

📈 Ecosystem Flex — Aerodrome, Morpho, Aave & Uniswap Lead

Base’s dominance isn’t just tech — it’s traction:

• 🚀 Aerodrome: $830M TVL (+5% in a week)
• 🔁 Uniswap and Aave: Heavy liquidity flows
• 🧱 Morpho: On-chain lending activity growing rapidly

And with Coinbase behind it? Expect more integrations, faster ramps, and retail on-boarding at scale.

🔮 What’s Next for Base?

Now that Base is #1 in TVS:

• 🧩 Expect deeper ecosystem incentives
• 🧠 Focus will shift toward Stage 2 trustlessness
• 🔌 Push for interoperability across other L2s and L1s
• 🏗 More infra for builders — and possibly a Base-native token?

Base isn’t just racing Arbitrum. It’s positioning as the consumer-facing L2 that could onboard the next 100M users.

🧠 TL;DR: Base Is No Longer a Testnet for Coinbase — It’s The Rollup

• 🚀 Surpasses Arbitrum in TVS
• 🔓 Upgraded to Stage 1 with smart contract governance
• ✅ Off Vitalik’s “L2s that might fail” list
• 📈 Ecosystem and DeFi TVL booming
• 🧱 Real steps toward full Ethereum alignment

The rollup wars just entered a new phase — and Base is playing to win.