Solana’s recovery is undoubtedly the shining story of this cycle so far. The Solana network has risen rapidly on the back of technical improvements, lucrative airdrops, and the high-profile memecoin.
Memecoins have evolved from a non-serious, short-lived asset class to a forward-looking alternative to low-flow, high-FDV (fully diluted valuation) tokens that don’t leave enough upside for retail investors.
Today, the vast majority of memecoin activity occurs on Solana, although this activity is gradually migrating to Ethereum's second-layer networks (ETH L2) such as Arbitrum and Base. Base, in particular, has been very active recently. Although Base, incubated by Coinbase, is expected to become the new center of memecoins, activity on Solana remains dominant and firmly rooted in its ecosystem. So, can Base compete with Solana in the memecoin field?
This article will delve into the status quo, capital flows, and leading projects of these platforms, evaluate why Solana can become the capital of memecoins, and analyze the potential of Base compared with them. Get ready to witness the glory of Solana and the rise of Base!
Solana’s Memecoin Use Case
One of the key factors that made Solana the darling of this cycle is its active memecoin ecosystem.
Driven by airdrops from projects such as Jito, Jupiter, Kamino, Parcl, and Tensor, internal funding surged, and memecoin's market cap exceeded the $1 billion mark in a week. This is not only an amazing achievement, but also an excellent marketing victory. Currently, the total locked value (TVL) on the Solana chain has exceeded $4.8 billion, further consolidating its dominance in the crypto market.
Solana’s rise can be largely attributed to the memecoin craze, as evidenced by the activity of the popular memecoin launcher Pump.fun. On some days, Pump.fun accounts for 83% of all issued tokens, even surpassing Solana in 24-hour revenue. However, this success would not be possible if the network did not have such a strong memecoin arena, featuring major role tokens such as WIF, BONK, and BODEN. Solana is rising to the top due to its trendsetting memecoin ecosystem, continuing to set the tone for the crypto world.
Dogwifhat (Token: WIF; Market Cap: $3.3 billion), a adorable Shiba Inu wearing a knitted hat, became the Solana mascot due to its memorability, widespread promotion by Crypto Twitter celebrities, and its climb from a $10,000 market cap to multi-billion dollar status.
Jeo Boden (Token: Boden; Market Cap: $194 million) has stirred up a political storm with its lead of US President Joe Biden. In its first week, it delivered a 1,000x return, a performance that has undoubtedly tied in with the SOL memecoin scene.
Bonk (Token: Bonk; Market Cap: $2.65 billion) is Solana’s OG emoji coin. It’s a Shiba Inu from December 2022 that saw incredible price action last fall.
Overall, Solana not only has the most famous memecoin of the cycle, but also has a range of themed tokens, from dogs and cats to politicians, adding a lot of color to its becoming a cash cow of the memecoin craze.
Memecoin scenario of Base
Base has risen like lightning to become the unrivaled choice for Ethereum L2, and its memecoin ecosystem has won it enthusiastic support from consumers.
Projects such as DEGEN and friend.tech have sparked a chain reaction in the network, turning Base into a vibrant social hub. Although TVL has stabilized slightly in recent weeks, Base's rise has not diminished. Although Base's TVL is still some distance away from Solana, its daily trading volume is still jaw-dropping. Last week, the network's daily trading volume soared to a record $854 million, which is eye-catching!
With its amazing growth rate and amazing transaction activity, Base has undoubtedly become a shining star in the Ethereum ecosystem, attracting everyone's attention!
While the 2023 BALD rug incident may have left an initial bad impression on memecoin gamblers, the ecosystem has developed more momentum in recent memecoin cycles and remains the hot land of the Wild West.
Brett (Token: BRETT; Market Cap: $440M) is a token inspired by the character from the comic book “Boys Club” by Pepe creator Matt Furie. While the niche may be limited, it also attracts a certain audience, which in turn increases the demand for the token.
Toshi the Cat (Token: TOSHI; Market Cap: $146M), named after Brian Armstrong’s cat and Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, is Base’s leading pet-inspired memecoin.
Traders have shown loyalty to the blockchain that helped them build wealth. While SOL traders were able to purchase the token at a fraction of its current market value, Base still has no native token due to regulatory scrutiny. Unlike the Solana community, Base has had few landmark ecosystem airdrops.
While Base has a unique memecoin community, they do not have the same broad appeal as tokens in other ecosystems such as Solana; instead, they cater more to a crypto-native audience. This uniqueness makes the platform stand out, but the narrow subject matter range may limit the blockchain's success as a major memecoin hub.
While Base has been able to build early memes with its cheaper and faster transactions, the strongest memecoin communities on Ethereum still exist primarily on the mainnet. Solana has momentum and a more visible narrative this cycle, and while Base remains one of the liveliest L2 ecosystems, Base has a lot of room to grow further in the memecoin space.
Summarize
As far as memecoins go, Solana and Base exist on different planes.
Backed by a massive airdrop and a strong community, Solana has solidified its position with a diverse and thriving memecoin ecosystem. In contrast, despite Base’s impressive growth and support from Coinbase, it has yet to achieve the same level of mainstream appeal and capital creation.
Solana’s continued growth, evident in its increasing TVL and daily transaction volume, highlights its center stage position in this cycle. As the memecoin landscape develops, it will be interesting to see if Base can foster a standout memecoin that makes Base stand out both within and outside of the Ethereum ecosystem.
