In the wave of the expanding decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem in the blockchain industry, Coinbase's Layer2 network Base is emerging with 'phenomenal growth.' As the Ethereum Layer2 solution officially endorsed by Coinbase, Base quickly became the 'new gathering place' for developers and users since its launch, thanks to its deep integration with the Coinbase exchange (such as one-click cross-chain and compliance infrastructure), extremely low gas fees (the average cost of a single transaction is less than $1), and security at the level of the Ethereum mainnet. Recently, the trading activity on the Base network has experienced explosive growth, driven primarily by the meme coin ecosystem represented by Brett, Toshi, and Degen—this trend has not only boosted Base's DEX trading volume but has also led the market to focus on its growth potential in 2025.
From the latest market data, Base has ranked fourth globally among decentralized exchanges (DEX) in trading volume, and as of recent statistics, its daily trading volume remains stable at $1.379 billion, second only to Ethereum's mainnet, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), and Avalanche. Behind this data, the contribution of Meme Coins accounts for over 60%: different from the 'value capture' logic of traditional DeFi tokens, Meme Coins on Base rely more on community consensus, scenario-based interaction, and traffic fission, while the low threshold and high liquidity of the Base network provide a fertile ground for such assets.
In the current Base Meme Coin ecosystem, the following three tokens have become the most watched targets in 2025 due to their market cap scale, community activity, and market recognition:
1. Brett (market cap $445 million): Ecological 'leader', driven by both traffic and consensus
As the 'leader' in the Base Meme Coin track, Brett's market cap not only remains at the top but has also made a leap from 'niche community token' to 'core ecological asset' in a short time. Its core advantages lie in three points: First, the early community foundation is solid, accumulating over 100,000 core users through platforms like Discord and Twitter (X) from the start, and the community has spontaneously formed an operational model of 'meme creation + trading fission', with user stickiness far exceeding similar tokens; second, the liquidity advantage is significant, as Brett has already launched on leading DEXs within the Base ecosystem (such as Uniswap V3 Base version, Curve Base pool), while reaching millions of potential users through Coinbase Wallet's 'one-click trading' feature, with average daily trading volume stable at $80 million - $120 million; third, the exploration of scenarios is leading, as the community has recently initiated a 'Brett Payment Scene Test', planning to collaborate with NFT markets and mini-game platforms on Base, promoting the token's transformation from 'speculative target' to 'practical tool' — this move is also seen by analysts as a crucial precursor to its market cap exceeding $1 billion in 2025.
However, it should be noted that Brett's current valuation is already at a high level, and short-term volatility may intensify. Investors need to pay attention to the sustainability of its community operations and the progress of scenario implementation.
2. Toshi (market cap $238 million): 'Differentiated narrative' breakthrough, binding Base ecosystem dividends
If Brett excels in 'first-mover advantage', Toshi has stabilized its position in the competition through 'differentiated narrative'. Its core positioning is 'Base ecosystem native Meme Coin', deeply binding the token name and community slogan to the Base network — for example, the community proposed 'Toshi = the Dogecoin of the Base ecosystem' and spontaneously promoted the token as an alternative tool for 'developer incentives' and 'community voting' within the Base ecosystem. This narrative of 'growing together with Base' has attracted a large number of investors optimistic about Base's long-term value.
In terms of market performance, Toshi's growth is more 'stable': on one hand, its market cap growth rate is lower than Brett's, but its volatility is only 60% of Brett's, making it suitable for investors with lower risk tolerance; on the other hand, Toshi has recently reached a partnership with the 'Developer Fund' incubated by Base, injecting some tokens into the fund to support small and medium-sized projects on Base. This move not only enhances the ecological value of the token but also brings it indirect backing at the official level. Analysts predict that as the number of projects within the Base ecosystem surpasses 500 in 2025 (currently about 200), Toshi's 'ecological binding value' will be further released, and its market cap is expected to sprint towards the $500 million range.
3. Degen (market cap $114 million): 'High elasticity' target, small market cap + strong fission potential
Compared to the first two, Degen ranks third in market cap, but it is viewed as the 'most elastic' Base Meme Coin for 2025. Its core characteristics are 'small market cap + strong community fission capability': as of now, Degen's circulating supply is only 1/4 of Brett's, and the community quickly attracts new users through models like 'invitation commissions' and 'trading leaderboard rewards'. Recently, the average daily number of new users has surpassed 5,000, with growth rates far exceeding those of Brett and Toshi.
What is even more noteworthy is that Degen's community is attempting to create a fusion model of 'Meme Coin + DeFi' — for example, by launching the 'Degen Liquidity Mining Pool', where users can deposit Degen to earn rewards in other niche tokens within the Base ecosystem. This kind of 'small bets for big rewards' gameplay quickly attracted a large amount of short-term speculative funds, pushing its average daily trading volume to exceed $60 million at one point, even surpassing some mid-market cap DeFi tokens.
However, Degen's risks are also the most prominent: its current market cap still relies on 'traffic fission', lacking substantial ecological support, and the community management is relatively loose, posing a potential risk of 'pump and dump'. For investors, it is essential to closely monitor the progress of its community governance mechanism's improvement to avoid blindly chasing high.
2025 Base Meme Coin growth logic: Infrastructure + User dividends dual support
Why does the market generally have high hopes for the performance of Base Meme Coins in 2025? The core logic lies in the fact that the 'infrastructure dividends' and 'user growth dividends' of the Base network have not yet been fully released. From the infrastructure perspective, Base plans to launch 'Base Mainnet 2.0' by the end of 2024, optimizing cross-chain speed and smart contract compatibility, which will attract more developers to settle in and provide Meme Coins with richer application scenarios; from the user side, Coinbase plans to integrate Base into its main exchange's 'Layer 2 trading zone' in 2025, which means tokens on Base will directly reach Coinbase's 280 million registered users — this move could become the 'key catalyst' for the explosive growth of Base Meme Coins' market cap.
Of course, Meme Coins themselves still belong to high-risk assets, and price fluctuations are greatly influenced by community sentiment and market capital flows. Investors need to rationally assess their risk tolerance when laying out, prioritizing targets with strong community consensus and clear ecological implementation plans, while avoiding overly concentrated positions.
Overall, the explosion of DEX trading volume on the Base network is not accidental, but an inevitable result of 'infrastructure advantages + Meme Coin traffic dividends'. As the Base ecosystem matures further in 2025, core Meme Coins like Brett, Toshi, and Degen may usher in a new growth cycle, but whether they can achieve 'doubling market cap' ultimately still depends on the substantial realization of ecological value and the long-term maintenance of community consensus.
