In this guide we will go through the different methods to bridge ETH from the Ethereum network to the BASE network and to buy BASE tokens. This guide will be especially useful to crypto beginners, but also more veteran investors which are learning about BASE.
Notice
The information in the following article does not represent financial advice. This article is for informational and educational purposes only. Make sure you do your own research before investing in crypto or using various tools or platforms.
What is BASE?
BASE is an Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by Coinbase – one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world. BASE is lower cost and adds more scalability to the Ethereum Network.
Practically, the BASE network is a Layer 2 on top of Ethereum’s Layer 1. The BASE network manages transactions on it’s own layer and when necessary, communicates with the main Ethereum network.
You can think of Ethereum’s layer 1 as a highway and BASE layer 2 as an additional road which helps with congestion and frees up traffic. Thus, BASE adds a secondary infrastructure to Ethereum for processing transactions quickly, cheaply, and efficiently, while still leveraging the security and decentralization of Ethereum’s Layer 1.
At the moment of writing this guide, BASE has no cryptocurrency of it’s own – it uses mostly ETH. Officially, Coinbase says that it does not currently plan on releasing a BASE token, but who knows what the future holds.
You can check the official BASE documentation at the following link: https://docs.base.org/docs/
Transfering ETH from Ethereum network to BASE network
In order to use the BASE network and create transactions on it, we first need to transfer some funds onto it. You can’t use ETH that is on the Ethereum network to make transactions on BASE network directly.
1. Setting up your wallet
You have multiple options:
1.1) Use the Coinbase official wallet:
Install the Coinbase Wallet extension in your browser which supports the BASE network by default. The wallet will automatically list your assets separately depending on the network they are on. Tokens which are not on the Ethereum mainnet will display a small icon next to them which indicates the network they are on. The Coinbase wallet allows you to bridge your tokens to another network directly so you won’t even need to go through the next step.
1.2) Use another wallet such as Metamask
- Install the Metamask wallet.
- Open the network selection dropdown menu by clicking the dropdown button at the top left corner of the app.
- Click the ”Add network” button.
- Select the BASE network (it should be in the list by default). And save.
If you are using another wallet, you may need to add the BASE network manually. In this case, you need to fill out the following network details:
| Name | Value |
|---|---|
| Network Name | Base Mainnet |
| Description | The public mainnet for Base. |
| RPC Endpoint | https://mainnet.base.org |
| Chain ID | 8453 |
| Currency Symbol | ETH |
| Block Explorer | https://base.blockscout.com/ |
Now you are all set. You can switch between networks freely and the wallet will show any tokens you have on your address on that specific network.
It should be noted that your wallet address will be the same on both the Ethereum network and the BASE network. That’s because your tokens will be on the same address, just that they will only be visible on the network they are on.
2. Bridge ETH from Ethereum network to BASE network
There are multiple ways you can get your ETH on the BASE network:
2.1) Withdraw ETH from exchanges directly into your BASE wallet.
Some exchanges such as Coinbase or Binance allow you to withdraw ETH into your own wallet directly onto the BASE network. In Binance for example, you have the option to select the network you wish to withdraw to from the drop-down menu when withdrawing crypto coins.
The network fee is currently 0.00003 – 0.0025 ETH.
2.2) Use a bridge to transfer ETH from the main Ethereum network to BASE network
Pick a reliable and reputable bridging application to bridge ETH from the Ethereum network to the Base network.
Before May 20th 2024 Base had an official bridge, but that is no longer the case. In order to promote decentralization, Base now recommends using a reputable third party. Visiting the www.base.org page and clicking on “Bridge” in the main menu takes you to a page where you can select a third party bridge.
Beware!
Do take note that you should only use reputable applications and third-party bridges. Don’t connect your wallet to any shady website or you may risk losing funds. This may be either because of malicious code from the application or due to hacks. It is generally recommended to disconnect your wallet from applications and websites after using them. In this article we will only mention some of the more popular bridges. We are not associated with any of them. Do your own research before using one.
For our guide, we connected to one of the 2 bridges on the Base bridge page: https://superbridge.app/base
To bridge ETH from Ethereum network to Base, do the following:
- Connect your wallet to the web page
- Input the amount of ETH you wish to transfer to Base
- Click “Deposit”
- Approve the transaction in your wallet
You should take notice that even though the bridge page estimates a fairly low network fee, the gas fee as shown in the wallet when approving the transaction is much higher.
To circumvent this, you can use the previously mentioned method and send your ETH to an exchange that supports withdrawals on BASE (Coinbase, Binance etc.) and later withdraw to your BASE wallet.
Alternatively, you can also use some other third-party bridges that boast lower fees and network costs. Some of the more popular ones are:
- https://www.synapseprotocol.com/
- https://across.to (full disclosure: this is basically an affiliate link which will also give us a small reward if you use their platform after clicking the link)
Other than that, you can also try doing the bridge transaction during the weekend when there are less transactions on the network and gas and network fees can be less expensive.
Bridging back from BASE to Ethereum network
To withdraw ETH from the Base layer 2 back to the Ethereum network, you can use the same bridge by clicking the “Withdraw” button. Do keep in mind that when withdrawing back from the Base network, transfer time takes around 7 days, as you can see in the transfer time in the image below (unlike the transfer from Ethereum to Base which is much faster: around 3 minutes).
You can circumvent the 7 days waiting time by transferring the ETH to central exchanges. For example, sending assets back and fourth between your Coinbase wallet and Coinbase exchange does the bridging automatically for you.
3. You can now make transactions on the BASE network
Now that you have ETH on your wallet on the BASE network, you can make all sorts of transactions. Let’s go through the steps to buy the StePUP ($PUP) BASE token:
- Visit Uniswap
- Connect to your wallet
- Select the BASE network in your wallet
- Now you will automatically make transaction on the BASE network through Uniswap (notice how all tokens in the Uniswap app have the little BASE network logo next to them)
- Select ETH as the coin you wish to use to buy a new token
- Copy-paste the StePUP ($PUP) token address in the lower swap field: 0x70d37F7F64Ea0DdEDC163DDCFb8b80f72ad97a69. At first it may show up without the token’s logo in the list: this is how it usually is for new tokens. Be careful to input the correct token address. There are multiple cryptocurrencies with the $PUP ticker and often times there are duplicates and scams.
- It may be necessary to input a custom slippage – especially if the token is new. Click the little wheel and input a custom slippage of around 3% if your transactions keep failing due to price changing significantly very quickly.
- Click “Swap” and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You are now equipped to step-up to the BASE(d) Layer 2!
One thing to keep in mind is that BASE is still a relatively new network: it was launched on august 9th 2023. During the first days, transferring tokens in and out of the network was much more complicated and less user friendly, but the network has developed rapidly in just a few months and plans to continue its updates.
Meanwhile, third-party developers continue to launch various apps on the network and provide various services that benefit from lower fees compared to the Ethereum mainnet.
The StePUP meme token is just one part of the BASE ecosystem and we aim to bring value to this network in our own way.