Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base, surpassed Solana in daily token creation for the first time since early 2023, driven by the Zora platform. Zora, a token launchpad on Base, created 51,575 tokens in a single day, accounting for 67.7% of all token creations across both Base and Solana.
In contrast, Solana’s leading platforms, LetsBonk and Pump.fun, created 22,554 and 4,173 tokens, respectively. Zora’s model, which turns every social media post into a token, has fueled this surge, with 6,500 tokens created daily on average last month. This shift highlights Base’s growing traction in the blockchain space, while Solana’s Pump.fun has seen its market share decline significantly since early 2024.
However, Zora’s token creation is heavily speculative, with 93% of users classified as traders rather than creators. The primary driver of Base’s surge in daily token launches is the Zora platform, which accounted for 67.7% of token creations across both Base and Solana on July 30, 2025, with 51,575 tokens created in a single day. Zora’s innovative model, which tokenizes every social media post, has fueled speculative activity and significantly boosted token creation on Base.
Base, as a Coinbase-backed Ethereum Layer 2 solution, benefits from low transaction fees and high scalability, making it an attractive platform for developers and users launching new tokens. These characteristics mirror Solana’s strengths but are enhanced by Base’s integration with Ethereum’s ecosystem, providing access to a broader user base and infrastructure.
The surge in token launches on Base is largely driven by speculative activity, with 93% of Zora users classified as traders rather than creators. This speculative frenzy, similar to Solana’s memecoin boom, has driven mass token creation, particularly for memecoins, which thrive on hype and community engagement. Base overtook Solana in token creation after trailing in previous months (e.g., Solana’s 455,000 tokens vs. Base’s 177,000 in May 2024).
The shift reflects Base’s growing adoption and its ability to capture mindshare in token launches, particularly as Solana’s memecoin-driven model faces challenges. Platforms like Zora on Base have simplified token creation, allowing users to launch tokens with minimal technical expertise, much like Solana’s Pump.fun. This accessibility has attracted a wave of new projects, boosting Base’s token launch numbers.
Solana’s Traction Amid Memecoin Decline
Solana’s earlier dominance in token launches was heavily tied to memecoins, with platforms like Pump.fun and LetsBonk driving up to 70% of its decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes in early 2025. However, by July 2025, memecoin popularity has declined, with Pump.fun’s market share dropping to 10.6% and LetsBonk capturing 82.6% of Solana’s launch volume. This decline has reduced Solana’s daily token creation, allowing Base to surpass it.
Solana’s daily active addresses fell from 6.4 million in November 2024 to 2.8 million by March 2025, reflecting a sharp drop in user engagement as memecoin hype cooled. Network revenue also plummeted, with fees dropping to $39.25 million in the past 30 days by March 2025, down from earlier highs of over $4 million daily. This decline highlights Solana’s reliance on memecoin-driven activity for traction.
High-profile memecoin scandals, such as the LIBRA debacle in February 2025, which wiped out $4.4 billion in market cap, and pump-and-dump schemes on platforms like Pump.fun, have eroded investor confidence in Solana’s ecosystem. These incidents have contributed to a 19% decline in DeFi total value locked (TVL) and a contraction in DEX trading volumes, further weakening Solana’s traction.
Despite the memecoin decline, Solana is attempting to diversify its ecosystem. Projects like Jito and Marinade Finance in DeFi, along with initiatives like Solana Pay and tokenized real-world assets (e.g., Homebase’s tokenized rental property), aim to broaden its use cases. Institutional interest is also growing, with firms like VanEck and Bitwise filing for Solana-based exchange-traded products, signaling long-term confidence in the network.
Solana’s network has faced recurring outages, with eight major and ten partial incidents reported, including a 5-hour downtime in February 2024. These issues, combined with a significant token unlock of 15 million SOL ($2.5 billion) in March 2025, have added bearish pressure on SOL’s price, which dropped 60% from its January 2025 high of $261 to around $104 by July. This has further dampened Solana’s traction amid the memecoin decline.
Base’s surge in daily token launches is driven by Zora’s speculative token creation model, low transaction costs, and ease of use, allowing it to overtake Solana. Meanwhile, Solana’s traction has weakened due to a decline in memecoin popularity, scams, network outages, and token unlocks. However, Solana’s efforts to diversify into DeFi, tokenized assets, and institutional products.
