How to Get Started on Base with Equalizer Exchange

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Equalizer Exchange

4 min readFeb 20, 2024

Base is a Layer -2 (L2) chain developed by Coinbase and built on Optimism, the second largest L2 scaling solution and ecosystem for Ethereum. Coinbase aims to introduce its existing and growing user base to the limitless opportunities of the blockchain and experiment with Decentralized Finance (DeFi) solutions through Base.

“Our vision for Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users into the cryptoeconomy.“ Feb 24 2023

This article will help you get started on Base.

Article Overview

What is BASE
What is Equalizer Exchange
How to Bridge to Base with Equalizer Exchange
Using Equalizer Exchange

What is Base?

Coinbase, the biggest crypto centralized exchange (CEX) in North America, launched the testnet of Base, their developer-friendly, Layer-2 (L2) on-chain solution on February 23, 2023 and the mainnet on August 9, 2023.

Base will become the onchain home for Coinbase, offering an open ecosystem where anyone, anywhere, can build decentralized applications (dApps) with the goal of reaching the next 1B+ users.

To start your journey interacting and experimenting with the dApps on Base you will first need to bridge your cryptocurrencies onto Base from Coinbase or self-custody wallets.

The following section will outline how to bridge your cryptocurrencies onto Base using one of the more popular bridges, Squid/Alexar on Equalizer Exchange, link here: https://base.equalizer.exchange/bridge

What is Equalizer Exchange

Equalizer Exchange is a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) built on Base. It enables users to trade tokens that have launched on the Base ecosystem, along with earning a yield from various product offerings within the DEX.

The native governance token for Equalizer Exchange is SCALE. By holding SCALE tokens you are able to participate in the network and vote on which trading pair will receive liquidity. In return for your votes you will receive a yield through fees and bribes . Additionally, you can provide liquidity directly to a range of liquidity pools directly on Equalizer Exchange.

How To Bridge to Base with Equalizer Exchange

A cryptocurrency bridge is a tool that enables the transfer of cryptocurrencies between two different blockchains. To transfer your cryptocurrencies to the Base layer 2 network it is recommended that you choose a well known bridge that offers safety, speed, and reliability.

Equalizer Exchange has integrated two of the most popular and reliable bridge solutions directly into their platform. These are Squid/Axelar and Stargate/LayerZero. In the example below, we are demonstrating how to use Squid/Alexar.

Connect your Coinbase wallet or other self-custody wallet:

Visit the Equalizer Exchange and select ‘Bridge” from the menu, or click here https://base.equalizer.exchange/bridge. Click on the top icon on the right-end of the website to connect your Coinbase, Metamask or other compatible wallet via Wallet Connect. Double-check that the Equalizer Exchange is operating on Base.

Choose Your Desired Chains and Token:

We have selected Squid/Axelar as the bridge. Then select the token and cryptocurrency you would like to bridge from, in this example, we selected USDC on Ethereum, and then select the destination chain and the asset you would like to bridge to. In this example, we choose to keep the USDC token on Base.

Input and Review:

Don’t forget to input how many tokens you would like to bridge and review the estimated transaction fee it costs. Ensure you have the exact or more than the combined fee. Note: If you are bridging from the Ethereum network, you will need sufficient ETH to pay for gas fees to complete the bridging.

Approve and Confirm:

All DEX require the user to give permission to approve actions, in this instance, the transaction is the transferring of assets on a bridge. By clicking Submit you are giving permission for this action, and a small fee payable in ETH is needed to fund the transaction. Wait a few minutes and this transaction will be confirmed.

For more information on bridging your assets to Base, including how to bridge using Stargate/LayerZero please read our tutorial How To Bridge to Base with Equalizer Exchange.

Using Equalizer Exchange

Bridging assets onto Base is the first step that enables you access to multiple features and benefits on Equalizer Exchange. Once on Equalizer you can now buy a multitude of Base-native tokens, including SCALE, our DEX governance token.

To see a list of all tokens available on Equalizer go to the swap page, https://base.equalizer.exchange/swap