Base moved above Tron into fourth place by total value locked overnight, with $4.91 billion locked across the network compared to Tron's $4.90 billion, according to on-chain data tracked by DefiLlama. Base held the fifth position as of the previous day.
The shift follows the sustained growth of Coinbase's layer-2 network since its mainnet launch in July 2023. Base has climbed the rankings as developers migrate applications onto the network, which offers lower transaction costs and faster settlement than Ethereum mainnet while benefiting from the security of Ethereum's base layer.
Tron, launched in 2017, has long held one of the highest TVL positions among blockchain networks. The network's $4.90 billion in locked value includes significant activity in decentralized exchanges and stablecoins, particularly in Asia-focused markets. Base has accelerated upward while Tron's total has remained relatively stable.
Ranking data on DefiLlama tracks the aggregated value of tokens locked in smart contracts across each chain, a commonly cited but imperfect measure of ecosystem adoption. The metric does not account for transaction volume, revenue generation, or unique user counts, all of which vary substantially between networks. Base and Tron serve different user bases and use cases, with Tron emphasizing low-cost transactions and stablecoin settlement and Base emphasizing Ethereum compatibility for developers familiar with the mainnet environment.
Base has benefited from integrations by major decentralized finance protocols and exchanges. Aave, Curve, and Uniswap all operate on Base, each contributing to the total locked across the chain. The network processed over $1 trillion in transaction volume during its first year of operation, according to Coinbase's public reports.
Capital continues to flow toward Ethereum-aligned layer-2 infrastructure. The $10 million difference between Base and Tron's TVL leaves little separation between the two networks, making the ranking volatile to intra-day capital movements. If Base's TVL expands by even 0.2 percent while Tron remains flat, the networks would swap positions again within hours.
The metric worth tracking is whether Base sustains this position for a full 30-day period without falling back below Tron. A sustained hold at fourth place would indicate structural capital migration rather than a temporary liquidity shuffle.
