A meme coin frenzy has ensued on Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain even as the network is not officially live yet.
The lack of a two-way token bridge, a clunky decentralized exchange (DEX) experience, and a network being closed to the public have not deterred crypto traders from finding their way to Coinbase’s layer 2 blockchain in the hopes of unearthing a fortune.
Base, built by crypto exchange Coinbase on OP Stack, launched its testnet in January and opened to builders in mid-July basis the submission of applications to Base. Traction was scant, so far, as only a few DEXs went live on Base.
The tides shifted late on Saturday. Crypto Twitter user @cheatcoiner seemed to first tweet about meme coin bald (BALD) – funded by coinbase staked ether (cbETH) – on Base network, stating they picked up 2% of the supply.
What followed was a bull market speedrun: In less than six hours, bald tokens amassed a $50 million market capitalization as their popularity picked up among trading circles. It ran up to $85 million capitalization late on Sunday - netting @cheatcoiner over $1.4 million from an initial $500 investment.
From issuance to peak, the price rise was a 4,000,000% surge.
BALD market liquidity quickly piled on as the developer of bald tokens kept adding more ether to a liquidity pool that traded bald against ether. As of Monday, the trading pair holds over $32 million in liquidity and has surpassed $100 million in volumes.
such, @Cheatcoiner wasn’t the only lottery winner. Blockchain sleuth Lookonchain said Monday that four crypto wallet addresses transferred a cumulative 0.534 ether, or just over $1,0000, to buy 50 million BALD within 4 mins of the token’s issuance.
These addresses – likely insider wallets connected to the developer – sold 37 million $BALD for 554 ether as trading volumes picked up, netting $1 million in less than a day.
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