ChainsBase: chain ID, RPC URLs and explorers

Base: chain ID, RPC URLs and explorers

The Base chain ID is 8453, written 0x2105 in hex, and Base's own docs give https://mainnet.base.org as its RPC URL. Apps on Base hold $5.7 billion in value at this check, by DefiLlama's count.

By Onchain Wiki editors · checked November 9, 2026, 11:17 UTC

Base network details, RPCs tested November 9, 2026
Chain ID	8453 (0x2105)
Native token	ETH
Public RPC	`https://mainnet.base.org` `https://base-rpc.publicnode.com`
Explorer	basescan.org
USDT contract	None listed by the issuer
USDC contract	`0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913`
Mainnet since	August 9, 2023
Official docs	docs.base.org/base-chain/quickstart/connecting-to-base

Base Network Settings for a Wallet

Base network settings for a wallet take five fields, and each value below matches Base's connection guide and the chainid.network registry.² The currency symbol is ETH because Base has no separate gas coin: fees are paid in ether bridged from Ethereum.

Base Mainnet settings from docs.base.org, read November 8, 2026
Field	Value
Network name	Base Mainnet
Chain ID	8453
Currency symbol	ETH
RPC URL	`https://mainnet.base.org`
Block explorer	`https://basescan.org`

Tested Base RPC URLs

Two tested Base RPC URLs returned 0x2105, chain 8453, when we sent eth_chainId on November 8, 2026.¹

https://mainnet.base.org, the endpoint Base publishes itself.
https://base-rpc.publicnode.com, a free endpoint from PublicNode that chainid.network also lists.³

Base's docs name one more address, https://mainnet-sequencer.base.org, for sending transactions only. Point reads such as balances and block lookups at the main RPC, not the sequencer address. To try contracts without spending real ETH, the Base Sepolia faucet hands out test funds.

Who Built Base and How It Scales

Coinbase built Base as a layer 2 on Optimism's OP Stack, the same open software that runs OP Mainnet.⁴ A layer 2 runs transactions on its own chain and then posts the data back to Ethereum, which is why the layer 2 page groups Base with Arbitrum and others.

Base mainnet opened to the general public on August 9, 2023, after a period when only developers could deploy.⁵

Base Transaction Fees in Two Parts

Base transaction fees come in two parts, according to Base's fee docs: an L2 execution fee for running the transaction on Base, and an L1 security fee for publishing it to Ethereum.⁶ The L1 part usually costs more and rises when Ethereum is busy. The execution fee has a floor of 0.005 gwei on Base Mainnet.

USDC and USDT on Base

USDC on Base has a native contract from Circle, 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913, listed in Circle's developer docs.⁷ An older bridged version carries the ticker USDbC; it came across from Ethereum and is not the contract Circle lists.⁸ The USDC contract address page has every network Circle supports.

Tether does not list an official USDT contract on Base as of November 8, 2026. Its supported protocols page covers Ethereum, Tron, Solana and other chains, with no Base entry.⁹ Any token called USDT on Base is therefore a bridged or third-party version, so check who stands behind it before accepting it as payment.

Questions People Ask About Base: chain ID, RPC URLs and explorers

These are the questions people ask next about Base: chain ID, RPC URLs and explorers.

What is the Base chain ID?

The Base chain ID is 8453 for mainnet, shown as 0x2105 in hex. Base's docs and the chainid.network registry agree on it, and a wallet that shows a different number for Base has the wrong network saved.

What is the Base RPC URL?

The Base RPC URL that Base publishes is https://mainnet.base.org. It returned chain 8453 in our November 8, 2026 test, as did the free PublicNode endpoint at base-rpc.publicnode.com.

Does the Base network have its own token?

The Base network does not use its own gas token: fees are paid in ETH, the same ether used on Ethereum. Base's docs list ETH as the currency symbol in its network settings.

Which explorer does Base use?

The explorer Base names in its docs is BaseScan at basescan.org, where you can look up any Base address, transaction or token contract. Blockscout also runs a Base explorer at base.blockscout.com, listed in the chainid.network registry.

Sources

Every number on this page comes from these sources, checked November 9, 2026.