Base has surpassed Binance Smart Chain to become the third largest blockchain by total value locked, with $5.48 billion in TVL compared to BSC's $5.47 billion, according to on-chain data from DefiLlama. The shift occurred between August 28 and August 29, moving Base up one rank from fourth position.
The $10 million margin represents the tightest competition for the third-place slot in recent weeks. Base, the Coinbase-backed Ethereum layer two, has accumulated most of its TVL through decentralized exchanges and lending protocols built on the network since its mainnet launch in August 2023. BSC, which launched in 2021 as Binance's sidechain to Ethereum, has held consistent presence in the top tier of chains by TVL since inception.
Base's TVL has grown from $1 billion in December 2023 to nearly $5.5 billion by late August 2026, a 448% increase over roughly 20 months. The climb accelerated sharply in 2024 and 2025 as institutional-grade protocols deployed on the network and retail activity migrated from BSC and other L2s toward Base's lower fees and faster finality.
Ethereum mainnet remains the largest chain with significantly higher TVL, followed by Lido Finance's liquid staking derivative protocol. Solana typically occupies the fourth position in this ranking, though BSC and Base have traded placements several times in the past six months as relative inflows fluctuate week to week.
Coinbase's decision to market Base directly to institutions and integrate it into its own custody and trading platforms has drawn core infrastructure providers to the chain. The network also benefits from being natively EVM-compatible, reducing friction for developers migrating existing contracts from other Ethereum-compatible chains.
Base's lead over BSC widened to $10 million in a single day, a shift that could reverse if deposit flows to either chain shift suddenly. The threshold between third and fourth place has tightened consistently as liquidity fragments across more production chains.
