How Socialfi, Memecoins and AI pushed to the top of the L2 ladder
It will move to a unified, internally protected stack in what is expected to be the biggest architectural shift since its inception.
In the year After launching as a package on Optisism's OP Stack in 2023, Coinbase's Ethereum Layer 2 is now integrating the software into an in-house distribution, allowing for faster updates and more autonomy in its technical roadmap.
It's been three years since Beth started TestNet. The network experienced SocialFi explosions and rode its own memecoin wave. When AI agents started trading on the chain, it went through a phase that was both amazing and unhindered.
Here's how it got here.
Friend.tech headlines Base's “Onchain Summer” fest
Base's mainnet opened to developers in July 2023, and users followed in August. The period after Coinbase cut the ribbon was introduced as “Onchain Summer”. In its first week, Base attracted 700,000 new users, bringing in an estimated $242 million in revenue.
Friend.tech was the headline act at the Coinbase Summer Festival. It was a social app that allowed users to buy and sell access to their connections. The loudest voices on Crypto Twitter have tested the new toy of the industry, which also attracts the rich and famous outside the community. Less than two weeks after its launch, it generated over $1 million in daily payouts, surpassing Bitcoin at the time.
It didn't last long.
By the end of August, fees and transaction volumes were increased, and the platform was declared “dead.”
A little over a year later, the team revoked administrative rights to the smart contract and ceased to control the project.
Beth rides his own memecoin wave
The memecoin frenzy has become one of the defining stories of crypto in recent years, drawing in political figures and public figures. Eventually, it prompted the US Securities and Exchange Commission to declare that such tokens fall outside the scope of securities laws.
Solana is the go-to blockchain for memecoins. The data shows that memecoin's growth will start at the end of 2023, when its daily active addresses will start climbing to Ethereum levels. By March 2024, when Base users began to show some signs of post-Friend.tech life, Solana surpassed Ethereum in that measure.
From March 19 to 25, Cointelegraph magazine reported that more than 380,000 ERC-20 tokens were deployed on Base. That move has brought new liquidity to Base's DeFi ecosystem, and by June 2024, Layer 2 will replace Ethereum in active addresses. He remained at that helm until December 2025.
AI agents start trading on Base
In the year In the latter half of 2024, AIA agents claim the driver's seat in the crypt. Like memecoins, early experiments like Goatseus Maximus, ai16z and Truth Terminal launched against Solana.
Developers have launched agent-linked tokens, autonomous trading bots, and social accounts that present themselves as independent onchain actors.
Related: Can Solana Release the Memecoin Image in 2026?
Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, argued that crypto provides a natural financial platform for AI systems, since agents do not have the legal identity needed to open traditional bank accounts.
At Base, the focus is on AI agents that can hold balances, give users tips, and interact directly with smart contracts. In October 2024, Coinbase introduced “Based Agents” that allowed users to build AI agents equipped with crypto wallets.
The most visible test of Base Native is the virtualization protocol, which allowed users to create agents tied to tokens and onchain addresses.
One such virtual agent, Luna (not related to Terra), was the first on Base to autonomously execute onchain recommendations.
Virtuals later expanded to Solana in January 2025 to tap into its larger retail base. However, activity on AI-agent tokens soon slowed down, and virtuals with it.
The second coming of the SocialFi base
Base 2023's debut was followed by the exit of Friend.tech. In the year In 2025, SocialFi returned to Base in a different way, fueled by deep integration with Coinbase's consumer ecosystem.
That push was tied to Coinbase's “super app” ambition. Super apps are platforms that support various 21st century necessities like messaging, digital banking, ride sharing and even food delivery.
Related: Banks Can't Seem to Serve Cryptos, Although It's Going Mainstream
Such platforms are already available in Asia. WeChat in China is used in daily life by more than 1 billion users, combining messaging, payment and commerce. South Korea's Kakaotok and Japan's Line serve similar functions in their respective markets. He said social media giants like X and Meta are exploring similar models.
In the year In July 2025, Coinbase switched its wallet as the base application, making Ethereum layer 2 the default execution layer in the wallet ecosystem.
At the center of this phase was Farcaster, a decentralized social network of accounts linked to crypto addresses. Posts, tips and tokens are directly related to onchain activity.
At the same time, Zora, which allows creators to create and distribute tokenized content, saw an explosion of activity in mid-2025 that contributed significantly to underlying transactions and token launches. Tokens were often introduced on Farcaster.
The second coming of SocialFi on Base has been around for a long time, Friend.tech, but interest faded after the first announcement period. In the year The change doesn't directly affect Zora users, although activity there has slowed to a trickle.
Base will be Ethereum's most active Layer 2.
In its first three years, Base demonstrated the distribution power of the largest US exchange, similar to how BNB Chain's user activity is affected by Binance.
Beyond their technical differences, Binance has tried to distance itself from the established blockchain by trying to give it its own brand, while Coinbase has kept its base closer to orbit.
Coinbase and blockchain have died out emerging trends such as memecoins and AI agents at the center of creative economies and social apps.
Those trends came and went, but pushed Baez up the Ethereum layer-2 ladder. It now leads by users, transactions, payments and total value, according to data from Nansen and Defilama.
Trends in users and distribution have brought scale. Now the base is strengthening its base. As Ethereum's focus shifts from L2s to the main chain, the unified stack cements its lead or the completion of its first growth phase, defining the next three years.
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