Base is now one of the largest crypto networks by every metric including volume, active addresses and TVL. As a Layer-2, it offers much of Ethereum’s security with significantly lower transaction costs and faster confirmation times. If you want to move assets from Ethereum to Base to see what all the hype is about, this guide will walk you through your options and show how a cross chain swap on Matcha delivers the most efficient experience.

Why bridge to Base?

Base is a Layer 2 blockchain aimed at rapidly onboarding users to Web3 through cheap, scalable transactions and a community-focused approach. So far, over 1 million ETH has been bridged to Base.

Like many other popular L2s, Base is an Optimistic Rollup built using OP Stack, which ensures a high degree of compatibility and the flexibility to optimize for:

• Lower costs: as well benefiting from being a rollup, Base has made a concerted effort to achieve ‘Gigagas’ status: being able to process 1 billion units of gas per second, a measure of throughput that takes into account transaction complexity.
• Faster transactions: By conventional transaction-per-second (TPS) measures, Base processes around 150 TPS, around 10 times more than Ethereum, though this is likely to increase as more optimizations roll out.
• Developer and user onboarding: As part of the Optimism Superchain and leveraging its Coinbase affiliations, Base has established significant influence among developers and has nurtured a large community of active onchain users.

Base has achieved remarkable growth since launching in 2023. Since the start of 2025, Base has been processing over 10 million transactions each day.

In a 2025 Base Kickoff stream, founder Jesse Pollak set the following goals for the year: 25 million users, 25,000 developers, and a 250 Megagas throughput (currently at 21 Mgas/s).

How to bridge to Base

Base made the unconventional choice to close down it’s official native bridge in 2024. To move your assets from Ethereum to Base, the Base website recommends a choice of two third-party bridges, Brid.gg or Superbridge.  Both offer a choice of several assets, with zero added fees.

For more convenience, you can use Matcha’s Cross Chain Swaps feature, giving a choice of thousands more assets, direct swaps using tokens you own, and no added fees. Let’s compare these methods in more detail.

Base bridges

The bridges suggested by the Base website are both safe ways to move funds from Ethereum to Base but come with certain limitations:

• Advantages:
  • Supports several chains and crypto tokens.
  • Does not charge a fee on deposits.
• Disadvantages:
  • Withdrawal delays: using the native fee-free withdrawal option includes a 7-day delay on withdrawals, a common limitation of optimistic rollups.
  • Limited choice of supported cryptocurrencies.
  • The token you deposit is the token you receive, so you will need to make a swap after bridging to get the token you want.

Cross Chain Swaps on Matcha

Cross chain swaps are an alternative way to bridge, combining the act of bridging with a swap, so you can move from virtually any token to a selection of other tokens when bridging from Ethereum to Base, or from Base to Ethereum. At the same time, Matcha aggregates multiple bridges to get the most competitive pricing and fastest execution during the bridge phase.

• Advantages:
  • Fast bridging in both directions with no withdrawal delays.
  • Use any token you own and bridge to Base in one go.
  • No fees charged by Matcha.
  • Optimal pricing end-to-end.
• Disadvantages:
  • There may be fees charged by the selected bridge.

Step-by-step guide: bridge from Ethereum to Base

Here’s how to bridge your assets using a Cross Chain Swap on Matcha:

Step 1: Go to matcha.xyz and connect Your Wallet.

Matcha supports most of the top crypto wallets including Coinbase Wallet, Rainbow, Phantom, Zerion and MetaMask. You will need some ETH in your wallet to cover gas for bridging.

Step 2: Choose the token you want.

Use the search bar to filter by Base and enter the name or contract address for the token you want to receive. Native tokens and stablecoins are best supported by the aggregated bridges.

Step 3: Select Cross Chain in the trade module.

Switch from the Market tab to the Cross Chain tab and choose the token and chain you want to bridge from. Enter the amount you wish to transfer and Matcha will show the best available offer.

Step 4: Review and confirm.

Check the transaction details, including gas fees, slippage, and the estimated token amount you’ll receive on Base. Confirm when ready.

Step 5: That’s it! You can continue trading while the cross chain swap finishes.

Bridging on Matcha usually only takes a minute or two, though times may vary depending on network activity.

The future of Base and your role in it

Base is explicit in its goal to onboard a billion users and has committed to scalability above all else. Building in public and onboarding with a boots-on-the-ground attitude has delivered unprecedented results with Base becoming one of the most important networks in the space.

You can access all that Base has to offer and jump straight into the project that interests you most with direct cross-chain swaps to thousands of tokens. And if you ever need to move assets back to mainnet, you can instantly withdraw back to Ethereum without the 7-day delay. Whether you’re a trader, dev, or memecoin connoisseur, your role in Base is supported by Matcha.

We’re here to make your Base journey seamless. Make your first cross-chain swap and bridge to Base today!