Base launched in August 2023 with no token and a commitment from Coinbase to keep it that way. What it did launch with was deep Coinbase onboarding — any Coinbase user could move to Base with a few clicks — and that single feature turned out to be the biggest growth lever in crypto.
By mid-2024 Base was the most-active L2 by daily transaction count. Aerodrome became its dominant DEX, memecoins like BRETT and DEGEN took off, and the Farcaster social layer drove a wave of “Frames” experimentation. The ecosystem continues to grow and the token list here reflects the projects that have done best on the chain.
For the broader L2 picture see the Layer 2 sector. Data below is live from CoinGecko.