Base Loses $1.4 Billion in TVL Amid Growing Rift Over Vision, Culture, and Execution

Base, the Ethereum Layer-2 network incubated by Coinbase, has seen its total value locked (TVL) fall by $1.4 billion in the past few weeks.

The decline comes as public debate over the chain’s strategy and product direction intensifies.

Base TVL Slides as Builders, Critics, & Coinbase Leadership Clash Over the Chain’s Direction

Base TVL has dropped from about $5.3 billion in January to roughly $3.9 billion as of this writing.

Base TVL. Source: DefiLlama

The drop matters because TVL remains one of the most closely watched indicators of capital activity and developer confidence in blockchain ecosystems.

However, TVL fluctuations are common across L2 networks, particularly during broader market rotations or liquidity shifts.

As liquidity tightens, Base is also facing unusually open criticism (and responses) from founders, investors, and Coinbase leadership.

Base creator Jesse Pollak framed the moment as part of a typical growth cycle for fast-scaling ecosystems.

“Base went from not existing to one of the most important chains in the world in two years, which happened because of the builders. And as with all fast growth, along the way, some left, some pivoted, some gave up. The builders who remain are the ones who define the next era,” Pollak wrote.

His comments reflect a view held by many infrastructure teams: that early surges often attract speculative capital and short-term projects, followed by periods of consolidation before the next phase of development.

Critics Argue Base Lost Focus

Some founders and investors say Base’s recent challenges are strategic rather than cyclical. A builder and Coinbase shareholder known as Hish on X publicly criticized the rollout of the Base App, arguing it was marketed as a “super app” but delivered features users did not request.

As a $COIN shareholder, I’m deeply concerned with how @Baseapp was marketed and executed.

It was pitched as the “mother of all superapps.”

Then they integrated:
– @farcaster_xyz, whose founders later pivoted to build a competing chain to @Base
– @Zora’s creator/content coins,…

— hish