In 2024, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a boom, with meme coins playing a significant role in the frenzy. Established meme coins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have led the way, while a wave of new meme coins, particularly those emerging from the Solana chain, have gained prominence.
Tokens such as dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK), and Book of Meme (BOME) have seen exponential growth, with BOME experiencing a staggering increase in market cap from $4 million to nearly $1.5 billion within just 72 hours of its launch.
The rise of these new meme coins has also spurred a resurgence in the Solana (SOL) project, which has gained momentum since late 2022. Memes have played a significant role in driving volume to the token and chain, contributing to its revival.
The success of these new meme coins has created overnight millionaires, fueling a search for the next big meme coin. Coinbase’s Layer-2 solution, Base, launched in summer 2023, has facilitated this trend by providing a scalable development environment for Ethereum-based tokens, making it easier for users to create and access meme coins.
Base has become a hotspot for meme coins, with fifteen of the top twenty tokens on the platform being meme coins, according to Dexscreener. Tokens like Roost on Base (ROOST) have witnessed astronomical gains, with ROOST soaring over 20,000% shortly after trading commenced.
This trend is not limited to ROOST, as tokens like Based Chad (BASED), Pepebutblue (PBB), and BoolRan (BOOL) have also experienced significant increases, with some surging more than 500% in the last 24 hours.
With Base providing an open-source development solution, virtually anyone can launch their own meme coin and tap into the substantial volume supported by the Layer 2 platform. However, the prevalence of meme coins has led to heightened degeneracy in the meme coin market.