Base Shift Raises Questions for Optimism

Jona Jaupi & yyc trader
February 20, 2026

gm, Defiers!

Today’s big story:

• Base’s plan to move away from the OP Stack is not just a technical update – it’s a move that forces the DeFi space to rethink how Optimism’s Superchain model works.

In other news

• BGD Labs is quitting Aave
• EtherFi is moving to Optimism
• Aptos proposes tokenomics overhaul
• Rocket Pool’s Saturn One Upgrade [SPONSORED]

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Today’s Big Story

Base Shift Raises Questions for Optimism

Base’s plan to move away from the OP Stack is not just a technical update – it’s a move that forces the decentralized finance (DeFi) space to rethink how Optimism’s Superchain model works.

The idea behind the Superchain is simple: different chains use the same core tech and share a small portion of their revenue with the Optimism Collective. As more chains join and activity grows, the ecosystem is supposed to become more sustainable and valuable over time.

However, this model only works if the biggest chains (and the biggest revenue providers) stay aligned with the vision.

Base, the largest L2 with a total value locked of over $3.8 billion, has been one of the biggest users of Optimism tech and the largest contributor to the revenue pool. According to Nansen data, Base processes four times more transactions than Optimism, generates about 144 times more decentralized exchange (DEX) volume, and produces around 80 times more in gas fees.

So when Base announced earlier this week that it would shift to its own unified stack, the big question wasn’t about compatibility – it was about incentives. If the largest L2 can operate more independently and keep more of its revenue, why wouldn’t other chains eventually do the same?

And this issue isn’t unique to Optimism; it's a pattern seen across crypto and even traditional finance. The same infrastructure that helps a network grow also makes it easier for the players to customize it or move away once they are large enough.

“Base moving away from the OP Superchain isn’t that surprising when you look at the incentives,” Shresth Agrawal, CEO of Pod Network, told The Defiant. “Base was reportedly contributing around 97% of the revenue, so at some point the ‘Superchain tax’ becomes hard to justify.”

Still, OP Labs CEO and Optimism co-founder Jing Wang said this was always part of the strategy, writing on X that the company made the stack open-source to “encourage forks” and establish it as the standard for building rollups – even as Base’s shift is “a hit to near-term onchain revenues.”

The move also raises questions about Optimism’s token economics, Oxytocin, head of ecosystem at Umia and a former Optimism governance delegate, told The Defiant. The Foundation proposed in January using 50% of Superchain revenue to buy back OP tokens, but with Base likely contributing less revenue in the near future, it could make that plan less effective (if not obsolete).

OP Chart - Coingecko

“Without Base's revenue, OP's buyback proposal makes even less sense, but I'm interested to see how the Optimism Foundation iterates from here,” Oxytocin said in a separate post on X earlier today.

The news has also weighed on Optimism’s native token, OP, which is trading at $0.13, down 6% on the day and more than 32% over the past week. Clearly, investors are thinking about what Base’s move could mean for future Superchain revenue.

However, it hasn’t been all negative for Optimism. Earlier this week, EtherFi announced that it will move its Cash accounts and card program from Scroll to the OP Mainnet, which is currently the third-largest Ethereum L2 by TVL at over $1.84 billion.

Let’s see what happens next!

Xx, Jona, staff reporter at The Defiant

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Top News in the Past 24 Hours

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Why it matters: BGD Labs is one of the main teams that builds and maintains Aave’s technology.

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Why it matters: With its leading fee-generating dApp departing, Scroll now faces losing a big chunk of its revenue.

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