Benzinga - In 2024, one of the most interesting in terms of crypto prices, major tokens like Bitcoin have seen all-time highs (ATHs), and institutional adoption is reaching new levels. On a less serious note, meme coins have exploded in an unprecedented way. Investors are throwing billions of dollars into seemingly random projects and making almost unbelievable gains. Coinbase's new Layer 2, called Base, has added to the mania.
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Base was launched in the summer of 2023 and was meant to serve as a way for users to access decentralized finance (DeFi) applications through the Coinbase platform. The project, which is a collaboration with Optimism, allows developers to deploy new projects and tokens onto the Base chain. Base allows Coinbase to be an all-in-one platform, offering a centralized exchange, a wallet service and a Layer 2 for Ethereum.
The project failed to pick up large amounts of interest in 2023 but took off in 2024. The surge was led by a host of meme coins listed on the chain.
Base has become a feeding frenzy for meme coins. In March 2024, 21 of the top 25 tokens by volume on Base are meme coins. The other four tokens are pairs such as WETH/USDC, presumably used to get the funds necessary to purchase meme coins.
New tokens come out each day, and it is almost impossible to stay on top of the latest developments. Degen (DEGEN) and Toshi (TOSHI) have become some of the more well-known of the bunch.
DEGEN began trading in early January 2024 for $0.0000008. The token saw gains throughout February but took off towards the end of March, reaching nearly $0.02 for a gain of around 2,374,900%. To put this into perspective, an investment of just $10 would have been worth $237,900, comparable to winning the lottery. The token has amassed a market cap of over $200 million.
TOSHI also saw similar gains, though not yet to the level of DEGEN. TOSHI began trading in November 2023 for $0.000027. The token saw very small volumes until March 2024 when the token shot up in value, going as high as $0.0007 and resulting in a gain of nearly 2,500%.
The tokens themselves do not offer much value; they are simple and don't have big plans for the future. Instead, they are leaning into their identity as a meme coin.
Base shows a trend present in the crypto sector. Investors put thousands of dollars of money into these risky projects. However, the crypto community does not shy away from the risk. Instead, Base has provided a way for investors to embrace risk, frivolousness and degeneracy.
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