In just a few months, Base has rapidly leapt from a relatively unfamiliar Layer 2 project to a leader in the Ethereum compatible ecosystem, with TVL (total locked value) exceeding US$3.85 billion, surpassing Arbitrum and Optimism, becoming the most competitive new giant in the Layer 2 market. With the strong endorsement of Coinbase and the support of North American capital, the Base ecosystem ushered in explosive growth in 2024. In November, the capital inflow exceeded Solana, becoming one of the hottest wealth tracks in the blockchain field. However, despite Base's remarkable achievements in capital inflow and ecological growth, its on-chain transaction volume has not surpassed Solana, which shows that while expanding at a high speed, Base still faces the dual challenges of continued growth and market competition.
Taking market value as an example, the market value of Clanker's CLANKER token has reached 70 million US dollars, which reflects the huge appeal and current craze of the Base ecosystem. Unlike traditional VC coin gameplay, the rise of Meme tokens drives on-chain data and user trading behavior back to exchange listings, forming a new ecological model. Users accumulate chips on the chain and then use exchange liquidity to exit. This gameplay pushes CEX (centralized exchanges) to the corner of the market. This is also what I think is a strong hint of the early stage of the real bull market, similar to the on-chain liquidity scene that broke out in DeFi Summer in 2020. This innovative mechanism demonstrates the vitality of the Base ecosystem, but also exposes the challenges it still faces in market competition.
Comparison of on-chain data between Base and Solana on Artemis
The relationship between the public chain and the ecological project is like a dance between a couple, inseparable and mutually supportive. As a public chain, whether Base can break through the 4 billion US dollar TVL mark and become the market leader with the empowerment of AI Agent and Meme culture is still an unresolved challenge. At the same time, whether ecological projects such as Clanker and Virtual Protocol can find soil for growth in the Base ecosystem and rise with the help of market heat is also worth paying attention to. Clanker and Virtual Protocol are representative projects in this round of Base craze. The former is a "machine for making popular Memes", and the latter has different development paths from GameFi to AI infrastructure to consumer platforms, but they have seized the market outlet and become a focus of attention. Through the rise of these projects, we have seen the attractiveness of the Base ecosystem and the current market craze, showing the deep interest entanglement and tacit understanding between the public chain and the project. Although the wind and moon are boundless, they are still full of commercial and market interest drivers behind them.
Clanker: Base Ecosystem’s “Hit Meme” Maker
Clanker, like a crazy invention from "Rick and Morty", has become a reality in the laboratory of the Base public chain - it is an AI Agent full of ideas, focusing on using social media and smart contracts to turn illusory ideas into real Meme tokens. Imagine that, like Rick, @clanker directly deploys an ERC-20 token on Farcaster with a liquidity pool and smart lock-up functions - this is not only a magic of technology, but also a carnival of decentralized narrative. Clanker simplifies the operation process and relies on the Clanker.sol contract to realize the minting of ERC-20 tokens, the initialization of the Uniswap V3 pool, the injection and locking of liquidity. Users only need to initiate a simple request on Farcaster to easily complete the deployment and distribution of tokens. At present, multiple Meme tokens with a market value of over 10 million US dollars have been created. It breaks the technical barriers and gives everyone the opportunity to become the creator of the Meme economy. At the same time, it creates tangible benefits for the community through a 40% handling fee sharing mechanism.
Clanker technical implementation flow chart
However, this carnival is not just for entertainment. Clanker is exploring how to integrate the concept of DeSci (decentralized science) into its system. For example, future tokens may no longer be just funny or sentimental, but may carry the functions of scientific research funding, experimental results sharing, or open source tool support. Just like Rick used random inventions to solve cosmic problems, Clanker's tokens may become experimental tools for the scientific research community, providing scientists with new funding models, while reshaping the academic trust system with on-chain transparency. This combination of DeSci and Meme is not only refreshing, but also opens up an unexpected future for blockchain applications.
Clanker is such a crazy and creative laboratory, which continues to expand the boundaries of Web3 in laughter and innovation. Who knows, will the next industry whose rules are rewritten by it be science?
CLANKER, LUM, ANON three major token market capitalization performance
The issuance stories of the three major tokens CLANKER, LUM, and ANON, especially the combination of ANON and the anonymous posting tool anoncast, even attracted the attention of Vitalik, the founder of Ethereum. It is also worth noting that the birth of AI Meme Luminous ($LUM) originated from an inspiration collision in the Farcaster community. A user proposed the bold idea of creating a token that symbolizes the results of human and AI collaboration: the interwoven blue and gold light streams represent AI and human consciousness, forming an infinite loop, and the deep space background conveys a sense of technology and the future. Through the Clanker platform, this idea was quickly realized, and the minting of tokens, the initialization of the Uniswap V3 pool, the injection and locking of liquidity, and the design of a 40% transaction fee feedback mechanism were all automated. $LUM not only reduces technical barriers with simplified operating procedures, but also quickly attracts community attention through the narrative theme of "human and AI collaboration" and artistic visual design, becoming a cultural symbol within the Base ecosystem. Relying on strong community communication power, $LUM has now exceeded 30 million US dollars from inspiration to market value.
On the one hand, Clanker, as an innovative platform, greatly reduces the technical threshold by simplifying the user operation process (such as directly generating tokens through @clanker) and collaborating with AI to issue tokens, so that anyone can participate in the creation and dissemination of Meme tokens. On the other hand, spectators can't help but wonder whether the Clanker model can continue? As a "coin circle" project, its current model focuses on hype and dissemination, lacking actual "use" scenarios. The author would like to quote the thinking of cultural anthropologists here. In reality, a culture is neither a purely physical process nor an idealistic construction. It is a life rooted in the soil, including the simple instinctive life of shepherds, fishermen and farmers, as well as the highest achievements of artists and philosophers; just as individuals closely combine the nutrition and reproduction of animal life with more advanced rational and intellectual activities. As the world turns from real to virtual, Clanker may not only be a technical tool, but also the core engine of innovation and cultural dissemination in the Base ecosystem, gradually promoting the release of community interaction and creativity.
Virtual Protocol: An inspiring entrepreneurial story in the cryptocurrency world
Although both belong to the Base ecosystem, Virtual has chosen a completely different path: product-driven, emphasizing the connection between AI and Web2 users, and gradually building a set of high-frequency "use" tool systems. The views of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and A16Z co-founder Marc Andreessen point out the unique advantages of the Virtual team in high-frequency trial and error. From PathDAO to Virtual Protocol, the team spent three years crossing GameFi, AI infrastructure, and then consumer DApp, completing the miracle of growing the market value from US$10 million to US$1 billion.
PathDAO’s early GitHub and the ecosystem leader’s Twitter
Virtual includes multiple product lines, including modules such as MyShell's Alpp Store. Although the market value and call volume of a single product are not as good as Clanker's coin circle Meme, it has opened up space in the Web2 tooling scenario. $VIRTUAL is the native token of the Virtuals Protocol platform, designed for the AI agent ecosystem. Users need to use $VIRTUAL to purchase AGENT tokens (such as $LUNA), and they cannot be exchanged with other tokens, making $VIRTUAL the only channel to enter the ecosystem, purchase and invest in AI agents. VIRTUAL tokens play a key role in the entire system, driving economic activities within the platform and ensuring decentralization and fair distribution. Most agents on the platform are intellectual property agents representing specific personalities or roles, such as virtual life forms, frogs, emoticons, Donald Trump, Taylor Swift, etc. At the same time, developers are also creating functional agents to enhance the user's interactive experience with AI virtual life forms and ensure that they can seamlessly integrate into the virtual world. These agents not only generate real income, but also achieve long-term growth and co-ownership through tokenization. Participants can share the potential returns brought by agents by holding $VIRTUAL tokens and purchasing $LUNA tokens.
However, Virtual has been questioned by Degen for its "usability". Is it "putting the cart before the horse" for tool-type products? As a cryptocurrency ecological project, its core is "use" rather than "speculation", but has it lost its communication value?
Clanker: The "rebel" of Liangshan
Clanker is more like Song Jiang when he was forced to revolt in Liangshan Marsh. With his organizational ability and communication effect, he helped a group of grassroots heroes gain a foothold in the troubled times. Clanker attracted the attention of a large number of cryptocurrency users by creating hot meme tokens and created a frenzy in the market, just like Liangshan’s slogan of "Carrying out Justice for Heaven", which spread the ideology of the uprising to the world.
But the problem is that Liangshan’s brand is ultimately just a slogan, lacking long-term support. Although many of the tokens issued by Clanker have high market capitalizations, they remain at the conceptual level and have no solid use cases. This model is more like Liangshan’s helpless move to survive in troubled times. It continues to expand its influence through “speculation”, but it may not be able to maintain it for a long time.
Virtual: Liangshan's "Recruitment Faction"
In contrast, Virtual's path is more like the "recruitment faction" in Liangshan Marsh. Their core appeal is not to resist, but to ensure that their brothers have food and drink, and to pursue stability and order. Virtual focuses on polishing product functions, empowering users through AI tools, and building a bridge between Web2 and Web3. It is more like the "orthodox status" that Liangshan tried to maintain after accepting the imperial court's recruitment.
Virtual emphasizes "use" rather than "speculation". Although its tool-type products are frequently used, they lack the dissemination effect of cryptocurrency, just like Liangshan after being recruited, which solved the short-term livelihood problem but lost the initial rebellious spirit. This model may be more stable in the short term, but whether it can continue the ideological value of cryptocurrency is still unknown.
Ideological resistance vs. livelihood compromise
The core contradiction of the Liangshan Uprising lies in the game between the ideology of resistance and the reality of survival. Song Jiang's "doing justice for the heavens" represents the spirit of resistance, while the final recruitment is the choice to find a realistic destination for the brothers. This transformation shows the conflict between ideals and reality - ideals are resistance, and reality is compromise.
Similarly, the disagreement between Clanker and Virtual reflects another contradiction in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The opposition between "speculation" and "use" actually reflects the deeper problem of cryptocurrency: as BTC and ETH are gradually accepted by the mainstream and enter the era of war reserves and compliance, do we need more product innovation or stronger ideological dissemination? As Song Jiang sighed when he overlooked the military camp from the top of the mountain: "Since we are bandits, how can we not submit to the court? If we rebel, it is just to seek a peaceful life. How can we be rioters forever?" This sentence aptly expresses the mental journey from resistance to compromise with reality, and also provides a mirror for us to think about the future of cryptocurrency.
