What is the Base RPC URL?

The Base Mainnet RPC URL with BoltRPC is https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key from dashboard.boltrpc.io. The chain ID is 8453.

How do I add Base to MetaMask?

Open MetaMask, go to Settings, then Networks, then Add Network, and enter: Network Name: BoltRPC Base, RPC URL: https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base, Chain ID: 8453, Currency Symbol: ETH, Block Explorer: https://basescan.org.

Is Base the same as Coinbase?

Base is a Layer 2 blockchain built by Coinbase, but it is a public network not owned or controlled by Coinbase. It is built on the OP Stack and settles transactions to Ethereum. Anyone can deploy contracts and build apps on Base.

What is the OP Stack?

The OP Stack is the open-source framework developed by the Optimism Foundation for building Layer 2 blockchains. Base, Optimism, Mode, Zora, and many other chains are built on OP Stack and share the same underlying architecture.

Does BoltRPC support WebSocket for Base?

Yes. BoltRPC provides WebSocket endpoints for Base at wss://endpoints.boltrpc.io/ws/YOUR_API_KEY/base. Use WebSocket for real-time event streaming: new blocks, pending transactions, contract event subscriptions.

Why not use the public Base RPC in production?

The public Base RPC is shared infrastructure. During high-traffic events it becomes congested, returns rate limit errors, and drops connections. Production applications need a dedicated provider with consistent response times.

What is the Base block time and why does it matter for apps?

Base produces blocks approximately every 2 seconds using the OP Stack sequencer. This means wallet balances and contract state update quickly. WebSocket subscriptions are the most efficient approach for real-time state rather than high-frequency polling.

Base RPC Endpoint

Base moves consumer traffic at L2 speed. Dedicated HTTPS + WebSocket endpoints sized for mint spikes, social dApps and onchain commerce.

chain id · 8453JSON-RPC 2.0WebSocketFull archiveDebug

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LIVE LATENCY

23ms

LIVE

gateway round-trip · sampled every second

IN PRODUCTION AT Chainlink

Your endpoint, ready in one line.

Drop this URL into your RPC client, HTTP library or wallet config. No SDK install required.

HTTPS

https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base

WEBSOCKET

wss://endpoints.boltrpc.io/ws/YOUR_API_KEY/base

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key. Get a free key →

Pick your stack.

Copy-paste examples for the libraries you already use. Swap the API key, hit run.

import { ethers } from "ethers";

const provider = new ethers.JsonRpcProvider(
  "https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base"
);
const blockNumber = await provider.getBlockNumber();

import { createPublicClient, http } from "viem";
import { base } from "viem/chains";

const client = createPublicClient({
  chain: base,
  transport: http("https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base"),
});

curl https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"eth_blockNumber","params":[],"id":1}'

Connect your dApp, bot, or protocol to Base Mainnet (Coinbase’s L2) with BoltRPC. Predictable request-unit billing with no daily caps makes Base the right choice for consumer apps that see highly variable read volumes.

Chain at a Glance


Chain ID	8453
Protocol	OP Stack on ETH
Block time	~2 s
Native token	ETH
Finality	Ethereum L1 finality ~7 days (challenge period)
EVM compatible	Yes

What Base is Built For

Base is Coinbase’s OP Stack L2, designed for consumer-facing onchain applications. The chain is backed by Coinbase’s 100 million+ user base and benefits from native integration with Coinbase Wallet. Consumer apps, NFT collections, social protocols and wallet infrastructure all land on Base first when targeting mainstream users. RPC demand on Base is characterized by high read volume: wallet balance checks, NFT metadata queries and transaction status polling at scale during active periods. Public Base endpoints regularly hit congestion during launch events.

Common Use Cases on Base

NFT launchpad backends NFT collection launches on Base generate some of the highest-density RPC traffic in the OP Stack ecosystem. A launchpad platform needs to verify wallet eligibility, check minting limits, poll transaction status for thousands of concurrent users and update frontend state in real time. During a high-profile mint, this means hundreds of concurrent eth_call and eth_getTransactionReceipt requests within a few minutes. A dedicated RPC endpoint handles this burst reliably; shared public infrastructure typically does not.

Social app onchain reads Base is the primary L2 for consumer social protocols: onchain identity, follower graphs stored in contracts, creator economy mechanics. Social apps read on-chain state for every user session, making wallet balance checks, ENS-equivalent lookups and social graph queries via eth_call continuously. These are low-latency read workloads with high concurrency requirements across a large active user base.

Wallet balance polling and account management Applications built for Coinbase Wallet users on Base need to display balances, token holdings and transaction history in real time. Backend services poll eth_getBalance and eth_getLogs for potentially large numbers of user wallets. At Base’s scale, this is a sustained high-read workload that requires reliable infrastructure rather than shared public endpoints.

Built for teams that ship on Base.

Predictable RU billing for high-volume consumer read patterns

Base apps generate a high ratio of read calls: balance checks, ownership queries, event polling. On opaque compute-weighted billing, read-heavy workloads accumulate cost fast. BoltRPC prices each method with a fixed, published request-unit weight, so your billing stays predictable as you size a plan to how many eth_call or eth_getLogs requests your application makes.

No daily caps during launch spikes

NFT mint events, token launches, and viral moments on Base create sudden traffic spikes. Public endpoints throttle and drop connections exactly when traffic peaks. BoltRPC is built for high-throughput workloads without imposing daily caps that cut off your application mid-event.

High-growth L2 ecosystem

Base's integration with Coinbase Wallet and its expanding onchain app ecosystem means RPC demand is accelerating significantly. BoltRPC's infrastructure is built for exactly these workloads.

Full EVM compatibility

Base is EVM-equivalent. Any Ethereum code works on Base with a single endpoint change.

WebSocket for real-time app state

Consumer apps on Base need to react to on-chain state in real time. Subscribe to new blocks and contract events via WebSocket for instant notifications without polling.

One provider for the OP Stack Superchain

Building on multiple OP Stack chains? BoltRPC supports Base, Optimism, and other Superchain networks from one API key with a consistent endpoint format.

Full JSON-RPC coverage.

Every standard Base method you would expect. Archive-only methods are available on request for qualifying plans.

STANDARD5

eth_calleth_blockNumbereth_getBalanceeth_sendRawTransactioneth_getLogs

Base, explained.

Common questions about connecting to Base over BoltRPC.

Ask a question →Read the docs

: The Base Mainnet RPC URL with BoltRPC is https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your API key from dashboard.boltrpc.io. The chain ID is 8453.
: Open MetaMask, go to Settings, then Networks, then Add Network, and enter: Network Name: BoltRPC Base, RPC URL: https://endpoints.boltrpc.io/rpc/YOUR_API_KEY/base, Chain ID: 8453, Currency Symbol: ETH, Block Explorer: https://basescan.org.
: Base is a Layer 2 blockchain built by Coinbase, but it is a public network, not owned or controlled by Coinbase. It is built on the OP Stack (same as Optimism) and settles transactions to Ethereum. Anyone can deploy contracts and build apps on Base.
: The OP Stack is the open-source framework developed by the Optimism Foundation for building Layer 2 blockchains. Base, Optimism, Mode, Zora, and dozens of other chains are all built on OP Stack. Chains on the OP Stack share the same underlying architecture and can interoperate as part of the Superchain. BoltRPC supports both Base and Optimism.
: Yes. BoltRPC provides WebSocket endpoints for Base at wss://endpoints.boltrpc.io/ws/YOUR_API_KEY/base. Use WebSocket for real-time event streaming: new blocks, pending transactions, contract event subscriptions.
: The public Base RPC endpoint is shared infrastructure. During high-traffic events (token launches, NFT mints, market volatility) it becomes congested, returns rate limit errors, and drops connections. Production applications need a dedicated provider with consistent response times.
: Base produces blocks approximately every 2 seconds using the OP Stack sequencer. For consumer applications, this means wallet balances and contract state updates are visible to users quickly. However, it also means your polling frequency should be calibrated accordingly: polling every 2 seconds is reasonable; polling every 200ms is wasteful. WebSocket subscriptions are the most efficient approach for real-time state.

Ship on Base this week.

An API key in under 60 seconds, Base plus 23 other chains, and a team that answers when you write.

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