Overview

• Buterin says Layer 2s like Base do not control user funds because withdrawals and asset safety are enforced by Ethereum’s Layer 1 contracts.
• He notes Base meets L2Beat’s Stage 1 standard, with a quorum‑blocking slice of the security council outside the managing organization to prevent unilateral censorship or theft.
• Usage metrics show roughly 160 transactions per second and about 330–360 million transactions over the past month, according to L2Beat reporting.
• Total value locked is reported near $15–16 billion, placing Base second among L2s behind Arbitrum.
• Coinbase’s backing is credited with accelerating adoption, while executives say a native token is only exploratory and debate continues over whether centralized sequencers resemble exchanges.