Basenames on Base: Complete Guide to Onchain Identity

This guide walks you through registering a Basename (e.g. alice.base), verifying it onchain, using it in DeFi and social apps, and-if you’re a builder-wiring in ERC‑8021 attribution so your product can understand who’s doing what on Base.

Estimated time: 20-30 minutes for a user; 45-60 minutes if you also implement attribution in a dApp. Difficulty: Beginner for registration, Intermediate for builders.

1. What You’ll Achieve

By the end of this guide you will:

• Have a working, human‑readable Basename (e.g. you.base) mapped to your wallet on Base.
• Know how to confirm that ownership on the Base explorer (BaseScan).
• Use your Basename inside DeFi and social apps instead of long hex addresses.
• (For builders) Add ERC‑8021 “builder codes” so your app can attribute transactions to identities and growth campaigns.

Once you get past the first onchain registration, the rest is straightforward. If thousands of new users are minting basenames every week, you can too.

2. Why This Matters

Basenames on Base are specialized onchain identities-human‑readable aliases like alice.base that point to your wallet. Under the hood they’re NFTs following ERC‑721 and ERC‑6551, plus attribution via ERC‑8021. In practice, they behave like usernames for DeFi and social apps:

• UX: You send to alice.base, not 0x4f3C….
• Attribution: Apps can tag actions to identities using ERC‑8021, making rewards, analytics, and referral programs measurable.
• Compliance: Optional KYC attestations via Chainlink oracles let institutions know “this address is verified” without exposing raw personal data onchain.

On Base (rebranded as Basechain in 2026), adoption is already meaningful: public dashboards report billions in TVL and hundreds of thousands of basenames minted, with a noticeable share of transactions tagged for identity and attribution. Base’s low fees and 200ms “Flashblocks” make Base a natural hub for identity‑linked DeFi and tokenized real‑world assets.

If you’re a reporter, builder, or compliance lead, you don’t just need to understand basenames—you need to see how they work in practice. That’s what this guide is for.

3. Prerequisites

Before touching contracts or UIs, get the basics in place. Skipping this setup is exactly how people end up with stuck transactions or names minted to the wrong network.

• Non‑custodial wallet that supports custom networks (e.g. MetaMask, Rabby, Rainbow) or the Base App (Coinbase’s wallet rebrand).
• Base network configured in your wallet:
  • RPC URL: https://mainnet.base.org
  • Chain ID: 8453
  • Currency symbol: ETH
  • Block explorer: https://basescan.org
• ETH on Base for gas (a few dollars’ worth is plenty for name registration and a few test txs).
• (Recommended) Basic familiarity with:
  • ENS‑style naming (if you’ve ever bought an .eth name, this will feel similar), and
  • Reading a block explorer (Etherscan/BaseScan).
• (For builders) Ability to:
  • Read Solidity interfaces, and
  • Construct custom transaction data or use a web3 library like ethers.js or viem.

4. Step‑by‑Step: Set Up and Use Your Basename

Step 1 – Add the Base network to your wallet

If Base isn’t in your wallet’s network list, add it manually. This is critical: if you register a name on the wrong chain, it won’t exist on Base.

• Open your wallet (e.g. MetaMask).
• Go to Settings → Networks → Add network.
• Enter:
  • Network Name: Base
  • RPC URL: https://mainnet.base.org
  • Chain ID: 8453
  • Currency Symbol: ETH
  • Block Explorer URL: https://basescan.org
• Save and switch to the Base network.

Pro tip: Always double‑check the RPC URL and Chain ID against Base’s official docs. Fake RPC endpoints are a common phishing vector.

Step 2 – Bridge a small amount of ETH to Base

You need ETH on Base to pay gas for registration and later transactions. If you already have ETH on Base, you can skip this.

• Connect your wallet to the official bridge at https://bridge.base.org.
• Select From: Ethereum Mainnet and To: Base.
• Enter a small amount of ETH (e.g. 0.02–0.05 ETH) so you can cover several transactions.
• Confirm the transaction in your wallet. This runs on Ethereum L1, so fees will be higher here than on Base.
• Wait for the bridge to complete. This typically takes a few minutes depending on L1 congestion.

This is where many users get nervous: the ETH leaves your Ethereum address and doesn’t show on Base immediately. Don’t panic—use the bridge UI and BaseScan links to track status before trying again.

Step 3 – Register your Basename

This is the fun part—and the one most users mess up by not completing the second transaction. Basename registration usually follows a commit–reveal flow to prevent front‑running.

Because interfaces can change, the safest path is always from an official entry point:

• Start at https://base.org or within the official Base App.
• Navigate to the section labeled something like Identity, .base names, or Basenames.
• Connect your wallet (ensure it’s on the Base network).
• Search for your desired name (e.g. yourname).
  • The UI will show if yourname.base is available and often let you choose a registration period (1 year, multiple years, etc.).

This next step is where most users fail—here’s how to avoid it:

• Commit transaction: When you click something like Request or Commit, your wallet pops up. Confirm the transaction.
  • Gas on Base is usually well under $0.10 for this.
  • After confirmation, the UI will probably show a short waiting period.
• Wait, then reveal: After a short delay (to prevent front‑running), you must click a second button such as Register or Complete registration.
  • This sends the reveal transaction that actually mints the Basename NFT to your address.
  • If you close the tab or forget this step, your name won’t be registered.

Pro tip: Don’t walk away until you see explicit confirmation in the UI that your Basename is registered, or until you can verify it on BaseScan (next step).

Step 4 – Confirm ownership on BaseScan

Never rely on a single frontend to prove ownership. If it’s onchain, you can verify it on a block explorer.

• Go to https://basescan.org.
• Paste your wallet address into the search bar and hit enter.
• On your address page:
  • Check the Token or ERC‑721 tab.
  • Look for an NFT collection that clearly represents Basenames (name, symbol, and verified checkmark will depend on the official contracts).
  • You should see a token corresponding to your Basename.

If you click into that NFT, you’ll see the official registrar contract that minted and tracks the name. For security, always cross‑check that contract against links provided in Base’s documentation or the official Basename/Identity docs rather than trusting random Twitter threads.

Step 5 – Use your Basename in apps

Once your Basename is live, you can start using it as your onchain identity on Base. Exactly where it works will depend on which apps have integrated Basename resolution, but common patterns include:

• Wallets and transfers: In supporting wallets, you can:
  • Type alice.base in the recipient field instead of a hex address.
  • See your Basename alongside your address in the UI.
• DeFi protocols: DEXs and lending markets on Base can show your Basename in dashboards, position lists, and leaderboards.
• Social and content apps: Farcaster‑style social graphs and Zora‑style NFT apps can display posts or mints under your Basename, turning activity streams into identity‑linked content.
• Payments: In products like Base Pay or other USDC rails, your counterparty may simply see you.base instead of your raw address.

Why this works: under the hood, dApps call resolver contracts that map your Basename to your wallet address. If a dApp hasn’t integrated Basenames yet, it will still work with your address—your identity just won’t be visible there.

Step 6 – (Builders) Add ERC‑8021 attribution to your dApp

If you’re building on Base, this is where identity becomes a superpower. ERC‑8021 is an attribution standard used by Base “Builder Codes” to tag transactions for analytics, rewards, and growth campaigns—often linked back to Basenames.

• Get a Builder Code: Apply via Base’s official Builder Codes program (documented on the Base blog/docs). You’ll receive a unique code that identifies your app or campaign.
• Understand the pattern: ERC‑8021 typically appends a 16‑byte marker to transaction calldata so Base’s infra can attribute the tx.
  • From a high level, you take your normal encoded call data and concatenate the ERC‑8021 tag to the end.
• Implement in your client or contract:
  • In a web client using ethers.js or viem, construct your tx as usual, then extend data with the ERC‑8021 tag.
  • In contracts, expose functions that expect the tag and safely ignore it for core logic, while emitting events that include the builder code for offchain indexing.
• Test on a testnet or with tiny amounts:
  • Send a transaction through your dApp with the builder code attached.
  • Use BaseScan or Base’s attribution dashboards to confirm that the tx is showing under your Builder Code.

Why it’s worth the effort: Base’s own numbers show a growing percentage of daily volume running through identity‑attributed transactions. If you care about growth loops, referral rewards, or reporting to compliance teams, ERC‑8021 is how your product avoids flying blind.

5. Common Issues and How to Fix Them

Transaction stuck or pending forever?

If your commit or reveal transaction seems stuck:

• Open the tx on BaseScan (most wallets let you click a link from the activity view).
• Check the status:
  • Pending: Network congestion. Wait a few blocks; Base’s Flashblocks usually mean this resolves quickly.
  • Failed / Reverted: Read the error—common causes are insufficient gas or trying to register a name that has just been taken.
• If your wallet supports it, use Speed up with a slightly higher gas price.
• If you sent a duplicate transaction by mistake, you may be able to Cancel using the same nonce (wallet‑specific).

Important: Don’t keep spamming new transactions with higher gas; you’ll just waste fees and make debugging harder. Always check BaseScan first.

Basename not showing in apps or your wallet?

If BaseScan shows your Basename NFT but your wallet or favorite dApp doesn’t:

• Make sure you’re on the correct network (Base, not Ethereum mainnet or another L2).
• In your wallet, use Refresh / Rescan NFTs or restart the app.
• Check if the app actually supports Basenames yet—it may only support ENS or raw addresses.
• Verify you completed both commit and reveal. If there’s no name‑related NFT under your address, the registration likely never finished.

If in doubt, go back to the official Basename UI from base.org. It should show whether your desired name is already registered to you.

Bridge taking forever?

Bridging from Ethereum to Base involves L1 finality; it can feel slow compared to Base’s sub‑second blocks:

• Use the bridge’s own Status or History tab to track the transfer.
• Confirm the L1 transaction is confirmed on Etherscan (for Ethereum → Base).
• Only if the UI or docs explicitly say something is wrong should you contact support; never send funds again to “speed it up.”

If you bridged to the wrong address, there is no easy fix—this is why the identity step (using names and carefully verified addresses) matters so much.

6. Pro Tips for Power Users and Teams

• Time your transactions: Registration on Base is cheap, but bridging from Ethereum isn’t. Use periods of low L1 gas (weekends, off‑peak hours) for large bridges; do identity operations on Base anytime.
• Register multiple years if identity is critical: If you’re a brand, protocol, or public figure, locking in your Basename for several years reduces the risk of expiry‑related chaos.
• Use different names for different roles: One Basename for public social presence, another for internal treasury or compliance‑sensitive operations, each tied to separate wallets.
• Builders: cache resolution results wisely: Resolving Basenames to addresses can be cached briefly for performance, but always handle cache misses and failures gracefully in case resolvers or oracles are temporarily unavailable.
• Compliance teams: know where KYC sits: KYC or “verified” flags typically live in offchain systems and are attested onchain via oracles like Chainlink. The Basename registry only stores attestations or flags, not raw personal data.

If we could do this, so can you: the hardest part is usually just getting comfortable sending those first few transactions and reading what actually happened on BaseScan. After that, working with identity on Base feels like using usernames instead of IP addresses.

7. What’s Next

With a Basename live and verified, you’ve taken the first step into Base’s identity layer. From here, natural next moves are:

• Explore identity‑aware DeFi: Try lending, DEXs, or yield protocols on Base that display positions and leaderboards by Basename.
• Link identity to social: Connect wallets to Farcaster‑style social apps or NFT platforms that can surface your Basename alongside posts and mints.
• Dig into RWA and compliance: Read Base’s and Chainlink’s guides on tokenized RWAs and onchain KYC to see how Basenames, DIDs, and KYC attestations combine for regulated use cases.
• For builders: Go deeper on ERC‑8021, ERC‑6551, and DIDs, and consider adding optional KYC attestations and Proof‑of‑Humanity integrations to your app’s onboarding.

Basenames are turning Base into a de facto identity hub for DeFi and beyond. The sooner you and your products learn to speak in Basenames rather than raw addresses, the easier it becomes to build user‑friendly, compliant, and analyzable onchain experiences.