Meme Coins Surge on Base Layer-2 Blockchain, Propelling the Ecosystem to New Heights

Meme coins in the Base layer-2 blockchain were among the top performers on Friday as the ecosystem continued to gain traction.

Layer-2 blockchain Base saw its meme coins lead the market on Friday with impressive gains, as the ecosystem continues to gain steam.

Toshi (TOSHI) soared by over 70%, pushing its market cap to more than $237 million and making it the third-largest meme coin on Base, following Brett and Akuma Inu. The rally follows TOSHI’s listing on Coinbase, the largest exchange in the U.S.

This listing also boosted TOSHI’s 24-hour trading volume to $165 million. According to Nansen, a whale purchased Toshi tokens worth over $3.16 million.

Another standout meme coin in the Base ecosystem was Keyboard Cat (KEYCAT), which surged by 46%, lifting its market cap to $8.2 million. Basenji (BENJI) and Doginme also performed well, each climbing by over 20%.

Meme coins on Base have steadily gained market share in the crypto space, with the ecosystem now boasting a total market cap of over $2.5 billion.

These coins have played a key role in transforming Base from a relatively small blockchain network into one of the largest layer-2 networks in crypto. According to DeFi Llama, protocols within the Base blockchain handled $1.24 billion in trading volume on Friday and $12.98 billion over the past seven days—a 13% increase.

Base protocols such as Uniswap, Aerodrome, PancakeSwap, and Alien Base have processed transactions worth more than $60 billion in the past 30 days. This growth has driven higher fees within the ecosystem, which has already generated $10.64 million in fees this year and $93 million over the last 12 months.

Meme coins have helped to propel other chains higher in the past few years. For instance, meme coins like Official Trump (TRUMP), Fartcoin, and Dogwifhat have helped to make Solana the most active network in crypto since 2024. According to TokenTerminal, it has even passed Ethereum in fees this year.