$DEGEN is the 3rd largest token on Base by wallet holders, after wETH and USDC. 

Started as a meme coin for tipping on Farcaster, it quickly became a cultural phenomenon and inspired a whole new meta of 'tipping tokens' on Base. 

On top of that, $DEGEN also launched Degen Chain L3 to enable experiments beyond just tipping. 

However, after an initial surge to a $750M market cap, $DEGEN plummeted to $195M. 

The lack of use cases beyond infinite tipping supply created perpetual selling pressure. 

Daily transactions on Degen Chain L3 plunged from 4,000,000 at peak to ~100,000 now.

Recognizing this issue, team leader @jacek has proposed the following solutions:

- Generating revenue to redistribute value
- Acquiring valuable projects/incentivizing top builders
- Doubling down on meme community building

With no blueprint for this token type, it'll be interesting to see how $DEGEN navigates the coming months. 

Can $DEGEN execute a sustainable model beyond meme coin status? 

Only time will tell.