Base Explodes with Memecoin Mania: Market Cap Soars by 477%

Base Surges with Memecoin Mania

Hey there, fellow crypto enthusiasts!

It seems that the Ethereum Layer 2 network, Base, is having a whale of a time with memecoins taking over the show. In just 24 hours, the market cap of memecoins on Base skyrocketed by a whopping 477% to $1.02 billion, according to Coingecko. That's some serious memecoin madness!

Memecoin Market Cap Madness

While Base is basking in memecoin glory, Solana's memecoin market cap has also seen a respectable 17% increase to $6.4 billion. The broader Meme category is also on a roll, with a 12% gain to $62 billion. It's a memecoin party across the board!

Top Performers: Briun Armstrung, Degen, and More

Among the top-performing tokens on Base is Briun Armstrung, a cheeky nod to Coinbase's CEO and founder, Brian Armstrong. The token has jumped 25% to $0.02 today, and it's up an impressive 362% in the past seven days.

But wait, there's more! Misspelled celebrity names have taken off on Solana, with Jeo Boden and Doland Tremp emerging as two of the most popular examples.

And let's not forget Degen, the biggest winner on the Base network today. It's notched a 52% gain on the day, trading at $0.01. Its market cap now stands at $213 million. Based Chad and doginme round out the top 3, up more than 40% and 50%, respectively.

Base's Explosive Growth: Memecoins and Bots

Base is having a blast in March, and it's likely due in large part to memecoin trading and bots. Weekly transactions reached an all-time high last week, with 4.75 million transactions, as did new user count, which notched its second biggest week, adding 409,359 signups, according to a Dune dashboard.

Total value locked on Base has also gone through the roof, nearly doubling to $939 million from $477 million on Feb. 29, as per data from DefiLlama.

Fees Spike on Base

But hold your horses, because fees on Base are spiking. Revenue peaked on March 19 as traders paid $1.67 million to the network, a near 700% increase from the day before. Transaction costs have dropped today to $921,000, but they're still significantly higher than usual.

Jesse Pollak's Explanation

Jesse Pollak, Base's creator, has shared some insights on X about the reasons behind the surge. After Ethereum's latest upgrade, Dencun, went live on March 3, transaction costs plummeted on Layer 2s, right as memecoin season kicked off.

The Dencun upgrade and its subsequent lower fees prompted more users to use Base, which piqued demand, leading to above-target blocks, said Pollak.

Base's Moves to Lower Costs

But Base isn't sitting idly by while fees soar. The company is making moves to help alleviate the high costs. Base is preparing to raise the network's gas target by 2-3 times, along with testing a parallel pathing work that will aim to achieve the company's medium-term gas goal.

Solana/Base Rotation: Degen Traders Flock to Base

According to crypto trader Miles Deutscher, degen traders are flocking to Base. "The Solana > Base rotation is underway," he posted on X on March 24, adding a photo of a dashboard with memecoins that have pumped tens of thousands of percentage points.

Memecoins: The Talk of the Town

Memecoins have been the talk of the town in crypto in the past few months. Most of the frenzy has taken place on Solana, with users posting life-changing gains on Twitter. The lighthearted ecosystem took a turn last week as traders launched a plethora of racist tokens.

If degens can expect a similar scenario to take place on Base as it did on Solana, then wild times await.