Degen crypto traders have piled into an unrelated token called BASE following Coinbase’s layer-2 announcement.
Crypto Twitter is overwhelmed with reactions to Coinbase’s latest announcement regarding a layer-2 solution launch on Optimism. The new Ethereum layer-2 solution is called Base. However, it shares its name with Base Protocol.
Furthermore, some degen traders have aped into the totally unrelated BASE token over the past few hours. As an inevitable result, the price has been pumped and dumped.
BASE Pump and Dump
The Base Protocol has a token with a price pegged to the total crypto market capitalization. The 1:1 trillion ratio allows traders to speculate on the entire crypto industry with one token.
The protocol’s BASE token surged 347% from around $1.67 on Feb. 23 before the Coinbase announcement to $7.46 after it. Furthermore, the move pushed prices close to BASE’s March 2022 all-time high of $7.98.
However, realizing their mistake, the degens dumped the token resulting in a fall back to $1.98 at the time of press.
Nevertheless, the move has still resulted in a 16.6% daily gain for the token.
There have also been suggestions of insider trading as the unrelated BASE token began to move long before the Coinbase announcement.
Coinbase L2 Reaction Overwhelmingly Bullish
The crypto community’s reaction to the Coinbase announcement has been overwhelmingly bullish. In a partnership with Optimism, the company aims to onboard more than a billion users to Web3. Base users will be able to securely interact with Ethereum and other layer-1 and 2 networks.
On Feb. 24, Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran labeled it as a “game changer.” He suggested that the Coinbase L2 network could become the new industry standard.
Ethereum advocate Ryan Berckmans explained why it was a “huge deal” for ETH. He suggested that in a multi-chain world, a single platform encompassing all of them will likely come out on top. Despite it being centralized, the Coinbase L2 could be the first of many corporate rollups, he said before concluding:
“Overall, a Coinbase rollup is hugely bullish for ETH because it heralds a growing number and variety of L2s that will expand Ethereum’s network effects from L2 infrastructure, apps, tokens, liquidity, and a web of cross-L2 bridges.”
Syncracy Capital co-founder Ryan Watkins said the Coinbase rollup is a “watershed moment in the evolution of Ethereum’s rollup ecosystem.”
There was no reaction in ETH prices, however, with a 1.2% loss on the day to trade at $1,648.
Disclaimer
BeInCrypto has reached out to company or individual involved in the story to get an official statement about the recent developments, but it has yet to hear back.
