Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network Base has seen a significant increase in transaction throughput in recent days, according to the company. However, some critics argue that the reported figures may be misleading.
Base’s Reported Throughput
Jesse Pollak, Coinbase’s Head of Protocols, recently reported seeing throughput on Base as high as 300-400 transactions per second (TPS) with no issues.
According to Pollak, this would put Base’s throughput in the same range as rival network Solana, which claims up to 1,000 TPS but reportedly sees around 400 TPS when failed transactions are excluded.
Critics Question Figures
However, some critics have argued that Pollak’s reported figures may be misleading, as they do not include failed transactions like Solana’s do.
For example, blockchain analytics platform Chainspect shows Base’s real-time TPS at 268 and its maximum recorded at 292. Meanwhile, Solana analytics site Solanabeach reports a 7-day average of 2,300 TPS for Solana.
In addition, Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana-based Helius Labs, analyzed recent blocks on Base and found numerous failed transactions that were not being counted in the TPS statistics shared by Pollak.
Ongoing Debate
The debate over Base’s throughput versus Solana’s comes amid rising tensions between supporters of the two networks. In recent weeks, Solana has faced criticism over reliability issues, while Base has seen its activity surge largely thanks to interest in memecoins.
While Base’s throughput figures are disputed, it’s clear the network is seeing significant growth in adoption. The debate over the underlying performance of the two layer-1 blockchains is likely to continue as they battle for market share.
