Ethereum advocate Evan Van Ness recently took to X to point to the fact that Base, a recently launched Layer 2 (L2) chain, has already surpassed Cardano in terms of Total Value Locked (TVL).
Van Ness contemptuously referred to Cardano as a "zombie chain," pointing to data from DeFiLlama which shows Cardano ranks only 14th in TVL with $163.55 million, far behind Ethereum's $21.604 billion.
Base, which was introduced earlier this year by Coinbase, has managed to secure a TVL of $193.56 million, just months after its launch, according to the same data. V
Base was unveiled by Coinbase in February of this year as an Ethereum L2 chain built in collaboration with Optimism. Layer 2 networks like Base operate on top of an underlying blockchain, in this case, Ethereum, to offer improved scalability, faster transaction speeds, and reduced gas fees, while maintaining the same level of security and decentralization as the mainnet.
It was designed to be a developer-friendly platform, offering seamless integration with Coinbase's products, users, and tools.
Base boasts a robust line-up of applications like BaseSwap, SwapBased, and Stargate, contributing to its $193.41 million TVL. Meanwhile, Cardano has its own set of top-performing dApps like Minswap, Indigo, and Liqwid.
It is worth noting that Cardano's positioning as a "zombie chain" by some advocates of competing networks doesn't take into account its broader objectives and ongoing developments.