The Base Memecoin Index (Coinbase’s Layer 2 network) has diverged from memecoin indexes on other prominent Layer 1 base layers Ethereum, Solana and BNB Smartchain over 30 days.
The biggest token contributor to the Base Memecoin Index return was TOSHI, and we can see the impact this token had on the 30 day performance by excluding it from the index.
However TOSHI’s strong performance does not explain all of the out-performance of the Base Memecoin Index. To investigate further we looked at token age as a potential factor. Many Base memecoins are fairly young, and younger tokens have a tendency to experience strong growth. After we narrowed the Solana, Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain Memecoin indexes to only include memecoins aged less than 6 months, and viewed over 90 days, we saw that age was not a contributing factor.
What we could see from the chart above, however, was that unlike BNB Smart Chain and Ethereum Memecoin Indexes, the Solana Memecoin Index had been closely tracking the Base Memecoin Index until December. At this point a divergence between these network tokens began to materialise.
What's going on?
Without a standout token pushing the Base Memecoin Index up substantially, this suggests it's the Base ecosystem itself that is attracting interest. We can see that charting all tokens on Base vs Ethereum, Solana and Bitcoin adds further weight to a structural driver being the cause, with an index of Base ecosystem tokens a clear winner over 90 days, out-performing all other networks and Bitcoin.
Much has been documented about Base’s substantial gains in TVL and developer activity over the past year, and this could be part of what is driving this structural tailwind and leading to outperformance at both a memecoin and whole of ecosystem level. As Meghan Trainor would say, perhaps it really is all about that 'Base' in 2025.
