The cryptocurrency market has witnessed the launch of over 1 million new tokens since the beginning of April.

Ethereum and Solana, in particular, have been at the forefront of this token frenzy, with Ethereum hosting over 370,000 new tokens and Solana boasting an impressive 640,000 new tokens, mostly consisting of memecoins, according to a Dune Analytics dashboard.

On the Ethereum network, a staggering 372,642 new tokens have emerged since April 1.

Coinbase’s Base Attracts Majority of New Tokens

It’s worth noting that 88% of these tokens, amounting to 327,553, were launched on Coinbase‘s layer-2 blockchain Base.

The surge in activity on the layer-2 network can be attributed to the growing interest in memecoins, as users are drawn to the low-cost environment for creating these types of tokens.

In fact, Coinbase director Conor Grogan highlighted that the number of tokens created on Base within this short timeframe is double the total tokens created on Ethereum between 2015 and 2023.

Simultaneously, Solana has seen a significant influx of new tokens, with an astounding 643,227 tokens created since April.

Among these, approximately 466,914 tokens were memecoins, according to data from Step Finance.

The popularity of memecoins on Solana is evident, as a dedicated dashboard tracking the number of new tokens launched on the Solana-based memecoin platform pump.fun confirms the trend.

The rise of memecoins has sparked mixed reactions within the crypto community.

Some argue that the proliferation of memecoins has had a negative impact on the industry, leading to an increase in scams and rug pulls.

Critics view the abundance of memecoins as a diversion of funds from more legitimate projects. They argue that scammers now hold real money that could have been invested in projects with genuine potential.

The surge in new memecoins has also raised concerns about spam and the use of sniper bots.

These automated bots, designed to swiftly acquire new memecoins in hopes of profiting from a potential breakout, have been seen as a hindrance to the ecosystem.

They contribute to the perception of memecoins as a speculative and volatile segment of the market.

Despite the criticisms and concerns surrounding memecoins, they have proved to be a profitable narrative in the first quarter of the year.

Solana Meme Coin Season Presales Amass $150 Million

The surge in Solana meme coin presale scams comes as these events have amassed a staggering $150 million in SOL from only 33 presales.

Despite the allure of quick gains, analysts have emphasized that many of these projects, often promoted by smaller accounts, are either dubious or outright scams.

Moreover, the lack of transparency and accountability within the meme coin space on Solana heightens the risk for investors owing to the prevalence of rug pulls and disappearing funds.

Andrei Grachev, Managing Partner at DWF Labs, has also recently cautioned against such token presales.

“This ‘send coins to this address for presale’ reminds me 2017 ICO boom,” he wrote on X.

“It happens always when a lot of people become rich accidentally. It’d FOMO until money change their owners. Remember, you made money because someone made wrong decisions.”

This “send coins to this address for presale” reminds me 2017 ICO boom. It happens always when a lot of people become rich accidentally. It’d FOMO until money change their owners. Remember, you made money because someone made wrong decisions.
Very risky game, DYOR

— Andrei Grachev (@ag_dwf) March 19, 2024