Coinbase’s Base Network Faces $4 Billion in Bridge Outflows as Ethereum Nets $8.5 Billion in Inflows

Base Records $4.3B in Outflows as Ethereum Retakes Top Spot in Cross-Chain Liquidity

Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base, is facing significant withdrawals this year, reversing the strong growth it enjoyed in 2024 and reshaping the dynamics of cross-chain bridge activity.

Base, developed by Nasdaq-listed Coinbase, was the leading blockchain for cross-chain bridge inflows last year, pulling in $3.8 billion—the highest among the top 20 networks. However, new figures from Artemis Terminal reveal that so far in 2025, Base has experienced $4.3 billion in net outflows, losing its earlier momentum.

In contrast, Ethereum—the world’s largest smart contract platform—is staging a strong recovery. After losing $7.4 billion in net outflows during 2024, it has attracted $8.5 billion in net inflows this year, showing a renewed shift in investor confidence toward the primary Layer 1 chain.

Base’s recent slowdown is also evident in stablecoin activity. The stablecoin supply on Base has stayed above $4 billion since mid-May, while trading volumes have declined, reflecting less activity on the network.

According to L2BEAT, the amount of ether (ETH) locked on Base has plummeted over the past month—from 1.82 million ETH to just over 835,000 ETH. This drop is part of a broader trend of ETH leaving Layer 2 networks in recent weeks, as noted by Michael Nadeau of The DeFi Report on X.

Coinbase Protocol Specialist Viktor Bunin shared insights into the withdrawals, explaining that a significant share of the outflows is linked to Binance shifting funds back to Ethereum’s Layer 1 network.

“The vast majority is just Binance withdrawing to L1,” Bunin explained on X. “They had kept a huge amount on L2s. It’s unclear whether they were incentivized to leave it there or simply weren’t rebalancing across their supported networks.”

Cross-chain bridges play a crucial role in the crypto ecosystem, enabling tokens and data to flow between different blockchains and fostering greater interoperability. The recent changes in capital flows emphasize how rapidly liquidity can shift, altering which networks emerge as leaders in attracting funds.