Chapter · Master Base
Onchain apps and Onchain Summer
Because Base is cheap and fast, a lot of apps run on it. You will find places to trade tokens, lend and borrow, mint and collect digital art, play games, and send payments. The word onchain just means the activity is recorded on the blockchain itself rather than on a private company server. Low fees matter a lot here, because they make small actions, like a one dollar tip or a tiny trade, actually make sense instead of being eaten by cost.
Free to play. No ads, no token, no account needed to start.
What this lesson covers
Onchain Summer
To draw people and builders in, Base ran a campaign called Onchain Summer, first in 2023 and again in later years. It featured art drops, events, games, and app launches to show what cheap onchain activity feels like. Campaigns like this are partly marketing, so it helps to keep a level head. Still, they did push a wave of new apps and users onto Base and helped it grow into one of the most active Layer 2 networks.
What you get asked
The word ___ means the activity is recorded on the blockchain itself, not on a private company server.
Onchain activity is recorded on the public blockchain. That openness is a core idea behind apps built on Base.
What was Onchain Summer?
Onchain Summer was a promotional push with art, events, and app launches. It helped drive early growth and activity on Base.
Why do low fees on Base matter for everyday apps?
When fees are tiny, small actions stop being eaten by cost. That unlocks micro payments, small trades, and casual onchain use.
Match each kind of app to what people do there.
Base hosts many app types. Each one uses the same cheap onchain rails to do trading, lending, collecting, or payments.
The rest of this chapter
Learn how Base works as Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2, from rollups and the OP Stack to gas in ETH, bridging, the sequencer, and staying safe.