Cryptocurrency enthusiasts have ferried millions of dollars into the emerging Base blockchain, whose shutters still remain officially closed to the public eye. The thrill of uncovering lucrative opportunities, thus far, has been met with a harsh reality of scams and empty promises. However, the zest for striking gold in the meme-coin market yet holds a strong allure over investors.
Base, a layer-2 blockchain developed by Coinbase, has garnered a whopping $68 million in ether (ETH), amassed over $200 million in trading volumes, and surpassed popular networks like Arbitrum in transactions, over the past weekend. Notably, the public debut of the bootstrapped network lies in the future. Created on the tech stack, OP Stack, Base went live for developers in July to pioneer the testing of blockchain-based applications and products ahead of its launch later this year.
An intriguing uptick was seen when meme coin BALD, exchangeable via LeetSwap decentralised exchange (DEX) constructed atop Base, fired up by a staggering 4,000,000 percent from issuance to peak price. It saw over $100 million traded within 24 hours. This exponential climb piqued interest across the crypto community on social media application X, luring traders to gatecrash the bridge to fortune.
However, the tokens traded on Base, like brian (BRIAN), toshi (TOSHI), and basedbot (BOT), regardless of their skyrocketing valuation, offered little in terms of fundamental value. This lack offered opportunities for original purchasers and influencers pocketing hefty gains while latecomers were used as stepping stones for liquidity. Among this frenzy, some developers capitalised on the momentum by deploying tokens only to withdraw suddenly, leaving investors in the lurch.
Simultaneously, users accused that they were unable to sell popular tokens such as BALD and BOT. The unpleasant discovery was that they had unwittingly bought forgeries – tokens that hold no trading value in the open market.
A sector of traders indicated to Coindesk that investors were likely seeking profits in a stagnant market. Jeff Mei, COO of BTSE, outlined the spectrum of investors’ risk appetite, acknowledging the prevalent meme coin culture even though these coins are tremendously speculative and volatile.
Nevertheless, opinions remain split. Mikolaj Zakrzowski, a Web3 analyst at CryptoQuant, questioned the future prospects of Base, highlighting that a single entity had a considerable influence on the total value locked in the Base protocol.
Source: Coindesk
