Base is perhaps the most active blockchain network in the AI agent space. They have moved beyond generic infrastructure to build specific tools, like the Agent Kit, designed to give LLMs the ability to transact on-chain. This makes them a core player in the 'Agentic Web' stack, providing the settlement layer for autonomous entities.
For developers, Base matters because it solves the 'wallet problem' for agents. By using smart wallets and account abstraction, they allow agents to manage assets and execute contracts without human intervention. This positions Base as the primary financial rail for AI agents that need to hire other agents, buy data, or trade assets autonomously.
Base is an Ethereum Layer 2 (L2) network that launched in 2023, incubated by Coinbase and built on the Optimism-developed OP Stack. While it began as a general-purpose scaling solution for decentralized applications, it has rapidly pivoted to become the foundational layer for what Jesse Pollak, the project's lead, calls the "agentic web." This strategy focuses on a simple but profound premise: for AI agents to be truly useful, they need the ability to spend money and own assets.
The network functions by bundling transactions and settling them on the Ethereum mainnet, which reduces costs for users by roughly ten-fold compared to Layer 1. This fee structure is critical for AI agents, which often need to perform high-frequency, low-value micro-transactions that would be economically impossible on the base Ethereum layer.
What distinguishes Base from other L2s is its developer-centric approach to AI. Through initiatives like the Base Agent Kit, the network provides the plumbing necessary to connect Large Language Models (LLMs) to blockchain wallets. This allows a developer to build an agent—using frameworks like LangChain or OpenAI's SDKs—that can check its own balance, send tokens, or interact with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols autonomously.
This capability is enabled by smart wallets and "paymasters," which allow agents to operate without the user needing to manually sign every transaction. It effectively treats the blockchain as a persistent, programmable backend for AI. By removing the friction of manual private key management, Base is attempting to move AI from a purely conversational interface to an actionable one.
Base is not the only network capable of hosting agents, but it possesses a unique distribution advantage through its parent company, Coinbase. The integration with Coinbase's existing user base and its "Smart Wallet" infrastructure provides a bridge between the traditional financial system and the on-chain world. This allows agents to interact with real-world value more easily than they might on isolated chains.
Furthermore, as a member of the "Superchain"—a collective of networks built on the OP Stack—Base benefits from shared security and future interoperability with other L2s like Optimism and Zora. This means an agent living on Base might eventually interact with applications across a wider network of blockchains without significant technical overhead.
Competitively, Base sits in a crowded field. Arbitrum currently leads in total value locked (TVL), and Solana offers higher throughput and lower latency for certain applications. However, Base's commitment to Ethereum's security model, combined with its focused narrative on "Based Agents," has attracted a specific class of developers building at the intersection of crypto and AI.
The project is also notably open-source, contributing back to the OP Stack and signaling a move toward decentralized governance. This is intended to mitigate concerns about Coinbase's centralized influence over the network. For those building autonomous agents, this path toward decentralization is a key factor in ensuring that the infrastructure their agents rely on cannot be unilaterally shut down or censored.
A low-cost, secure Ethereum Layer 2 for builders.
Base is hiring.