The number of new tokens listed on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) surged to a record high at the beginning of April, driven by an increase in activity on Solana and Base DEXs.
Meanwhile, new tokens appearing on Ethereum-based DEXs like Uniswap have declined over the last 12 months.
The surge in the issuance of new tokens coincides with an increase in DEX volumes. DefiLlama data shows that March has been a record month in terms of DEX volume, with over $260 billion worth of tokens changing hands on over 1,000 DEXs. Ethereum DEXs handled over $77 billion in trading volume, and Solana came second with over $60 billion.
Still, Ethereum’s dominance level fell to a record low of 28.36% in March, slightly recovering to 34% at the beginning of April.
Solana & Base Are Key Drivers
As of today, Solana and Base are among the top 5 chains by DEX volume after Ethereum and Binance’s BNB Smart Chain (BSC). However, Solana and Base account for over 85% of all the new tokens listed on DEXs.
The emergence of Base as a leading DEX player has been one of the key drivers of the influx of new tokens. Base is a layer-2 chain backed by US-based crypto exchange Coinbase. The total value locked (TVL) on Base projects has surged from $400 million at the beginning of 2024 to a record $1.5 billion as of this writing. Monthly DEX volume on Base has experienced a tenfold increase during the same period to almost $8 billion in March.
Meme Coins Account for Largest Share of New Tokens and DEX Volume
Meme coins account for the lion’s share of new tokens listed on Solana and Base DEXs amidst increasing interest in meme coins. We recently reported how meme tokens drive DEX activity on Solana, and the same thing is happening on Base.
DEX Screener data shows that all of the top 10 most actively traded tokens on Base DEXs are meme coins, including Based Shiba Inu, BLERF, Based Peng, and Base Boy.
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