Zora pushes Base ahead of Solana's Pump.fun and LetsBonk

Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network Base has overtaken Solana as the top ecosystem for launching memecoins, buoyed by a surge in token creations on the Zora platform in recent weeks. 

On Wednesday, Zora alone accounted for 23,419 newly launched tokens, surpassing both LetsBonk and Pump.fun, two of Solana’s most active launchpads, according to blockchain data tracked by @sealaunch_team on Dune Analytics.

the majority of new coins are now created on @base pic.twitter.com/RjGhbX9MwV

— jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) July 29, 2025

In total, 52,507 tokens were launched on several platforms, but Zora was responsible for 44.6% of that activity. LetsBonk followed with 19,593 tokens, or 37.3% of the total, while Pumpdotfun contributed 4,764 tokens, making up 9% of the overall count. The remaining volume came from Moonshot (2,407), Bags (1,053), and Believeapp (423), among others.

Zora takes Base over Solana in token launching activity

According to Coinbase director Conor Grogan, this is the first time that another chain has had more tokens launched on it than Solana since 2023. Zora, the creator-first protocol operating on Base, saw around 6,500 new tokens launched per day last month. On Monday, however, token creation through Zora spiked to a record 51,575 in a single day. 

The platform effectively contributed 67.7% of all token creation volume across Base and Solana combined on that day. Moreover, internal platform data shows Zora recorded over 2 million monthly active users in July, with more than 77,000 new users joining in the past week alone.

Co-founder Jacob Home confirmed the figures in a podcast interview earlier this week, stating, “2 million users have signed into Zora in the last month, 54,000 coins were deployed yesterday, and over the weekend we did $63 million in volume.” 

$ZORA token on a parabolic price rally

In tandem with the launch surge, the $ZORA token, issued by the Zora protocol on Base, has rallied more than 83% over the past week. At the time of this publication, it is trading at $0.078 with a market capitalization of about $251 million, 63% over the valuation recorded on July 23.

$ZORA’s price has moved north of 800% from July 9-30, according to data from Coingecko. But after counting weeks of gains, the upward acceleration has seemingly cooled off, and analysts have predicted a short-term bearish momentum building in the short term, with a potential 30% correction targeting the $0.060 range. 

Market watchers noted that late short positions may be vulnerable to liquidations before any meaningful support structure breaks. Despite the warnings, no clear resistance levels have been identified above current prices.

Zora creator coin value debate

Zora’s launchpad activity and its native token’s recent price rally started a debate in crypto circles about the fundamental value of creator coins. Jesse Pollak, who leads development on Coinbase’s Base network, believes creator tokens differ significantly from anonymously launched coins on platforms like Pump.fun.

Pollak referenced specific creator tokens like $rasmr and $gainzy, arguing that they are tied to identifiable individuals and creative output. “It’s myopic to say that all these are the same,” he said in a July 27 X post, responding to naysayers questioning the legitimacy of these assets.

That’s not the only way tokens can be fundamentally differentiated.
For example, by tying the coin to a creator’s identity/art instead of just a meme it’s an incentive to develop a positive reputation instead of instadump and farm.

— ruz.eth ♢ he/they (@RuzhyoX) July 27, 2025

The developer also explained that “the content itself is fundamentally valuable,” likening the worth of a creator token to that of a painting, where the value is upheld even if no admission fees are charged.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, however, bashed Pollak’s assertions, claiming that unless creator tokens gave holders claims to future cash flows or tangible off-chain assets, they are objectively “speculative instruments.”

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