Particularly in the Solana and Base networks, the rapid capital flow towards memecoins extended to a Base-based Layer 3 network called Degen Chain (DEGEN), which became operational last week. Despite being active for only a short four-day period, the network has already generated approximately $100 million in transaction volume, encompassing over 272,000 unique transactions in just the last 24 hours.
The Rise of Degen Chain and DEGEN
Although Degen Chain is a fairly new network, it has facilitated the creation of more than 7,500 contracts and 2,300 tokens since its inception. Unfortunately, data shows that the majority of these tokens have been involved in rug pulls or used for fraudulent activities.
Among the multitude of tokens on Degen Chain, Degen Swap (DSWAP) stood out. At the time of writing this article, DSWAP had a market value of just over $14 million, making it the largest token on the network. Another significant token, Degen Pepe (DPEPE), despite serving as a speculative memecoin, has a higher market value of $23 million. However, the majority of tokens on the network have market values below $1 million and primarily serve speculative investments.
Currently, Degen Chain does not support stablecoins, and transactions or trades can only be conducted using the network’s main asset, DEGEN. Notably, the price of DEGEN has risen over 500% to $0.6 since the network was launched. At the time of writing, it is trading at $0.4763 after a slight pullback.
The Layer 3 Trend
Degen Chain represents a relatively new development in Blockchain technology, a Layer 3 network specifically designed for the DEGEN token. As is known, the DEGEN token serves as the native gas fee or payment token on Degen Chain, while catering to various purposes such as tipping, community rewards, payments, and gaming.
Layer 3 networks, which are positioned on top of Layer 2 networks, offer a customizable and application-specific approach to Blockchain functionality. Unlike Layer 1 or Layer 2 networks, Layer 3 networks focus on completing specific tasks quickly and verifiably, meeting various needs such as payments, gaming transactions, and more.
