Coinbase has repeatedly denied creating a network token, but the airdrop community is still speculating about a future $BASE airdrop. Additionally, engaging with the Base protocol can increase your chances of receiving multiple airdrops from other projects if they also decide to launch tokens.
In this guide, we will cover the most likely tasks that will help you acquire the potential $BASE token, as well as how to qualify for other airdrops on the Base network.
After this article, you can try my Scroll airdrop guide. They raised $83 million and the tasks are very easy.
What is Base?
Base is an Ethereum layer 2 blockchain built by Coinbase to create a secure, low-cost, and scalable ecosystem for developers. The aim is to create a platform where developers can create applications on-chain without having to face security, speed, and gas-fee issues.
The layer 2 architecture helps settle transactions off-chain to utilize Ethereum’s decentralization and security while increasing efficiency and reducing transaction costs. So, in essence, Base is a lot like Optimism which uses optimistic roll-ups to settle transactions.
Coinbase announced the launch of their L2 blockchain’s testnet in February 2023 after which they had an overwhelming response. The mainnet launched to the general public on August 9, 2023.
Is a $BASE Token Confirmed?
Coinbase has repeatedly denied any plans to introduce a network token. However, there have been recent statements from Coinbase's Legal Officer, Paul Grewal suggesting that a token could be considered in the future. He said, "I think a token could be viable at some point in the future," and, "It's not something we've ruled out entirely."
Arbitrum, along with numerous blockchain project have initially denied rumors of a token launch, only to later surprise the crypto community by distributing an airdrop. Arbitrum went on to airdrop $120 million worth of ARB tokens. Those who qualified for the airdrop made thousands in profit.
Is a $BASE Airdrop Confirmed?
No $BASE token or crypto airdrop has been confirmed. However, we do know that Coinbase has the capability to fund an airdrop, and many similar L2 projects have conducted airdrops in the past.
Coinbase has $5 billion in cash on its balance sheet. If they were to airdrop, it could potentially be one of the largest ever. With these factors in mind, it's probably worth participating due to the high potential rewards.
11 Tasks To Get The Potential $BASE Airdrop
Base is an L2 blockchain, so it should be approached in a similar manner to Arbitrum, zkSync, and other Layer 2 airdrops.
To qualify, you should bridge funds to Base Mainnet and make use of DEXs, NFT marketplaces, and other dapps within the Base ecosystem. Additionally, you should use the official Base bridge at least once, interact with the Base Testnet, and collect commemorative NFTs.
Base has over 100 dapps in its ecosystem. Here is a non-exhaustive list of tasks to help you interact with Base and qualify for a potential airdrop:
Mainnet Actions
- Use the Official Base Bridge
- Try Other Bridges
- Mint an Onchain Summer NFT
- Mint an NFT on Mint.Fun
- Use Popular DEXs
- Get Guild Roles
- Try Other Dapps On Base
Testnet Actions
- Bridge gETH to Base
- Use DEXs
- Get the 'Early Builders NFT'
- Mint the 'Base, Introduced NFT'
1. Use The Official Base Bridge
Base has an official bridge where we can send ETH from Ethereum Mainnet to the Base network. You will need an EVM-compatible wallet (e.g. MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet) with some Ethereum. It will cost some gas fees but it might be a good task it since it's their official bridge. If you want to save on gas, I've listed cheaper bridging options in step 2.
- Go to bridge.base.org
- Connect your wallet
- It should automatically add the Base Network to your wallet. If it doesn't, go to http://chainlist.org/?search=base or the Base docs: https://docs.base.org/using-base and add the Base network
- Enter the amount of ETH you want to transfer and use the bridge
- Funds should arrive in a few minutes
2. Try Other Bridges
To save on gas fees or to increase your on-chain activity, you can also use the bridges below. They let you send ETH from different networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Binance Chain which will save a lot in gas fees. Go to one or both of these sites and bridge funds to Base:
- Orbiter Finance: https://www.orbiter.finance/
- Owlto Finance: https://owlto.finance/ (referral link, get 100 points)
- Layerswap: https://www.layerswap.io/
You can also use them to bridge out of Base later on. Plus, all of these might have their own airdrop as well. Check out my Orbiter Finance airdrop guide.
3. Mint an Onchain Summer NFT
During August 2023, Base had a huge NFT campaign called Onchain Summer to celebrate their Mainnet launch. It's powered by Mint.Fun and they collabed with Coca Cola, Atari and many NFT artists. The campaign ended on August 31, but you can still visit the site to buy and trade NFTs.
- Go to https://onchainsummer.xyz/ and connect your wallet
- Mint or purchase a cheap NFT
4. Mint an NFT on Mint.Fun
Mint.Fun is a L2 NFT Marketplace that supports the Base network. The next task is to go here and mint an NFT to generate more activity on the Base chain.
- Go to https://mint.fun/ and connect your wallet
- Click on 'Minting Now' and mint any NFT on the Base chain. Many of them are free
- Optional: Try getting the "Base Day One" NFT that commemorates the official launch of Base. It's only available on the second hand market on sites like OpenSea
- Optional: Click on "!fundrop'" and mint a !fundrop pass to earn points and help qualify for the potential Mint.Fun airdrop
5. Use Popular DEXs
Swapping tokens on DEXs are one of the easiest ways to generate on-chain activity. This is exactly what we want when farming airdrops. Here are some of the largest DEXs on Base so far according to data from Defi Llama. You don't have to use all of them, but you can if you want more activity in your wallet:
- Uniswap: https://app.uniswap.org/#/swap
- 1Inch: https://app.1inch.io/
- PancakeSwap: https://pancakeswap.finance/swap?chain=base
- SushiSwap: https://www.sushi.com/swap
- Aerodrome: https://aerodrome.finance/swap
- Alien Base: https://app.alienbase.xyz/
Go to these sites and swap popular tokens. You can swap any token and any amount, as many times as you want. Depending if the DEX supports, you can also add liquidity to the pool and immediately withdraw it.
6. Get Guild Roles
In the official Base Discord, there's a panel titled 'Roles' where you should complete as many tasks as you can.
- Go to https://base.org/discord and join the group
- Head over to https://guild.xyz/buildonbase
- Connect your account. It requires setting up (or already having) a Twitter, Github, Discord profile and crypto wallet.
- Once that's all connected, complete the tasks like following Base and Coinbase on Twitter, star their Github projects, and so on. Grab the NFTs if you can.
- Lastly, go back to the Discord, open the Roles panel, click Join Guild to confirm.
7. Use Other Base Dapps
If you want to interact with unique smart contracts, which could be an airdrop criteria, here is where you can find the most popular Base dapps at any given time:
- Go to https://defillama.com/chain/Base
- Browse the top protocols based on Total Value Locked (TVL)
- Interact with new protocols if you like what you see
Just remember to stay safe and use a burner wallet when interacting with new projects. Some other dapps you can potentially interact with include:
- BaseSwap (DEX): https://baseswap.fi/
- RocketSwap (DEX): https://app.rocketswap.cc/exchange/swap
- DackieSwap (DEX): https://www.dackieswap.xyz/swap
Testnet Actions
While there's no guarantee, early users who use the testnet could be rewarded if there is a potential airdrop. Aptos, for example, airdropped 20 million tokens to 110,235 testnet users. Let's hope Base does the same if they have an airdrop.
1. Bridge gETH to Base
To interact with the Base testnet, we need to bridge gETH (test tokens) using the official testnet bridge. Here's what to do:
- Go to the official Base bridge: https://goerli-bridge.base.org/deposit. Make sure you are on Base Goerli
- Connect any EVM-compatible wallet (MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, etc)
- It should automatically add the Base Network to your wallet but if it doesn't, add it by going to http://chainlist.org/?search=base or the Base docs: https://docs.base.org/using-base
- Get gETH testnet tokens. Base recommends multiple faucets but Bware Labs Faucet is the easiest: https://bwarelabs.com/faucets/base-testnet
- Now go back to https://goerli-bridge.base.org/deposit and bridge your gETH testnet tokens to Base testnet
2. Get The 'Early Builders NFT'
In the Base Discord channel, there is a challenge in the Quests tab where you can mint a free “Early Base Builder” NFT. There are a few steps here but it’s pretty easy and takes under 5 minutes. Here’s what I did:
- Go to apetimism.com/launch, connect your wallet and click sign in
- Click 'Create New Project.' Type any random name and pick Base Goerli and ‘Create’
- Tap on the ‘Smart Contract’ panel and fill in the fields however you like (Token Name, symbol, etc)
- Click 'Save and Deploy'
- Copy the smart contract address you see on the screen (you might have to wait a second)
- Now to get the NFT, go to https://quests.base.org/ Connect your wallet and tap “start quest”. Continue through the pages until you can paste your smart contract address from above.
- Continue and should be eligible to mint the free 'Early Base Builder' NFT
3. Mint the 'Base, Introduced' NFT
Base launched an NFT to celebrate the testnet launch. To get it, head to https://zora.co/collect/eth:0xd4307e0acd12cf46fd6cf93bc264f5d5d1598792
You can mint 1 per address but you do have to pay ETH gas fees. I would do it when gas fees are low. It's not guaranteed that this will be part of the snapshot but holding this NFT helps you complete other tasks like Guild roles.
4. Try Pira Finance
Pira Finance is a DEX currently in testnet where you can swap tokens for free, helping us get some testnet transactions in our wallet. They also are hinting at a possible airdrop in the future.
- Go to https://www.pira.finance/
- Connect to Base Goerli Testnet
- Swap tokens and add liquidity to the pool
Tracking Your Base Stats
Here are some free Base airdrop tracking tools. You can paste your wallet address to see useful stats like transaction volume, number of active days, and more. Keep in mind, some stats will vary between tools.
Wrapping Up
Base already has $300M in TVL in the first couple of months, according to Defi Llama, and it is expected to continue growing. Although they have denied an airdrop, it is common for most airdrops, so we will have to wait and see what happens. Base is supported by a well-funded company, making it worth considering for your airdrop list.
