Bitget Wallet announced a new integration with Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, along with Aerodrome, one of Base’s most active decentralized exchanges (DEXs).
The move highlights the growing competition among wallets to streamline access to DeFi, even as market signals suggest underlying headwinds.
Bitget Expands into Base DeFi
The update will allow Bitget Wallet users to trade assets on Aerodrome directly within its app. It eliminates the need to bridge funds or toggle between platforms.
Aerodrome has emerged as the primary liquidity hub for Base-native assets such as cbETH and cbBTC, Coinbase’s wrapped Ethereum and Bitcoin, respectively.
By embedding Aerodrome’s trading and liquidity features into its mobile wallet, Bitget is betting that simpler user flows will accelerate adoption.
“Building on Base goes beyond product integration. It reflects a shared belief in building an on-chain ecosystem that anyone can access,” read an excerpt in the announcement, which cited Jamie Elkaleh, CMO of Bitget Wallet.
In the statement, shared with BeInCrypto, Aerodrome contributor Alex Cutler added that the decentralized exchange (DEX) regularly delivers the best execution on Base’s top assets. Based on this, Cutler says in-app access is a logical next step.
Aerodrome is the third-largest protocol on the Base chain, behind Morpho and Aave, with a TVL (total value locked) of $656 million.
The rollout will also extend to Bitget Wallet’s GetGas feature, which lets users pay transaction fees without holding ETH, a common friction point on Layer-2 (L2) networks.
A dedicated Base ecosystem section in the wallet’s “Discover” tab will feature curated dApps, token feeds, and trading options.
Bitget’s integration comes just one day after the company launched GetAgent, an AI assistant designed to help users navigate its platform.
The back-to-back rollouts highlight Bitget’s strategy of combining AI-driven user support with deeper DeFi integrations. These could help Base chain capture market share from rivals like MetaMask and Trust Wallet.
Bitget’s Push Into Base Arrives Amid Fading DeFi Conviction
Still, the timing raises questions. While Aerodrome is currently the third-largest protocol on Base by TVL, its native token has struggled to hold momentum.
AERO rose only 2.04% to trade for $1.36 at the time of writing, with analysts warning that weak trading volumes and falling futures open interest suggest limited upside.
Analysts also highlight that reduced market conviction and speculative flows leave AERO vulnerable to near-term pullbacks.
Meanwhile, broader activity on Base has softened. According to DeFiLlama, Base’s TVL slipped from $4.9 billion on August 14 to $4.75 billion this week, a decline of over 3%.
That slowdown suggests that liquidity incentives across the ecosystem may not sustain the same growth pace that carried Base earlier in the year.
Similarly, the network is recovering from a recent chain outage, which halted block production for 20 minutes and raised questions about decentralization in L2 blockchains.
The question is whether convenience features and curated experiences will be enough to offset structural weaknesses in DeFi’s current market cycle.
Liquidity across Base remains significant, but the decline in TVL and bearish signals for AERO suggest that protocols are still contending with volatility and fading speculative appetite.
For users, Bitget’s integration may lower barriers to accessing Base’s ecosystem. However, the broader backdrop points to a paradox, building easier onramps into DeFi while liquidity is thinning.
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