Base Surpasses Arbitrum in Revenue After Departing Optimism Protocol

Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network operated by Coinbase, has surpassed Arbitrum's Orbit licensing fees in revenue. In February 2026, Base decided to depart from the OP Stack, allowing it to retain 100% of sequencer fees. This move eliminated the 12% protocol fee previously paid to the Optimism Protocol. As a result, Base generates $2.3 million in daily sequencer profit.

Base leads Ethereum L2s in daily transaction volume with 12.89 million transactions. The network's dominance is driven by massive on-chain activity and the success of native protocols. Coinbase keeps 100% of all sequencer fees following the departure from the OP Stack, while Arbitrum uses a different model through its Orbit platform.

Arbitrum's Orbit licensing models lag behind Base in revenue. Robinhood Chain, an Orbit-powered network, achieved $808 million in 24-hour DEX volume and secured almost $600 million in TVL within two weeks of its public launch. However, Base smart wallet fee revenue now exceeds these Orbit licensing fees.