GM. This is Milk Road Degen, the newsletter that just found the Konami code for crypto gains. (Up, Up, Down, Left, $BNKR, $MAMO…)

Here’s what we got for you today:

• ✍️ Base just gave us a cheat code

• 🍪 HyperLiquid now earns 35% of all onchain revenue

BASE JUST GAVE US A CHEAT CODE (P1) 💰

My goodness, degen.

What a run we’ve been on.

We called:

• $BNKR at $35M -> it hit $100M.

• $MAMO at $17M -> it hit $63M.

• $TIBBIR at $86M -> it hit $160M.

What’s the through line here?

All of these tokens live on Base. And the first two? They just got listed on Coinbase.

This is no coincidence. Despite the meme war raging on Solana, I think the best alpha right now is sitting right in front of us on the biggest L2 from the biggest exchange in the world.

So today let’s talk about Base's rise, why its tokens are ripping, and what I think pops next.

WTF is Base anyway?

Base is Coinbase’s official Layer 2, launched exactly two years ago during its first “Onchain Summer” campaign. Back then it looked like a fun little NFT minting playground - cheap, fast, friendly UX. A beta test of greater things to come, if you will. 

But the breadcrumbs were there: a Coinbase-backed chain, designed for retail use in the long term, focused on bringing in devs looking for that institutional security (and support).

Fast forward to now:

• 5th highest L2 by bridged TVL

• 1.5M active users

• Birthplace of Virtuals (AI agents), Farcaster (SocialFi), and Zora (“ContentFi”?)

• And most importantly: the Coinbase app is literally becoming “Base App”

This isn’t stealth anymore. Base is Coinbase’s onchain empire play. They’re putting it front and center.

BASE JUST GAVE US A CHEAT CODE (P2) 💰

The proof: $BNKR and $MAMO

I’ve been screaming about these for months.

Banker ($BNKR) filled a gaping hole on Base. It’s a DEX built by an absolute tank of a dev, 0xdeployer, who cranks out features like tweet-to-trade and limit orders (a rarity on Base). It rallied a diehard community, launched NFTs, and turned into a cult. Coinbase noticed, and the token ran to $100M once it opened for trading.

Mamo ($MAMO) came from MoonWell, a $300M DeFi app built by ex-CB devs. They kicked off with an airdrop to Virtuals stakers and Aerodrome LPs, then doubled down with juicy staking rewards (17% APR). Trading on Coinbase goes live TODAY, and the token wants that all time high real bad.

Both followed the same playbook: build infrastructure Base needs, make it dead simple, ship relentlessly, and plug into the Coinbase orbit.

What’s next?

If there’s a roadmap for the next Base winners, it’s right there. Tokens like $SANTA, $NATIVE, $VEIL, and $I are early-stage plays with the same DNA: infra tools, strong ties to Base, and teams that ship.

$SANTA is especially interesting - it started as a Virtuals airdrop but has since been acquired by QuestFlow. It’s now tied into Base’s AI stack, quietly sitting on a $3M cap with a chunk of supply still under dev control. Even Nansen shows it as the #2 token held by smart money traders on Base.

$NATIVE is building an AI “village” layer. The dev has been friendly with CB since launch. It’s early, but it screams “Base-native infra”.

And $VEIL? Think Tornado Cash for Base, except with staking and steady progress behind the scenes. This one will come back into the spotlight when the Tornado Cash case makes headlines again.

Even Indexy ($I) is worth noting - an onchain “indexes for traders” platform. You’ll be able to buy an index token that tracks someone like 0xwives’ portfolio. Token utility goes live soon.

None of these are household names yet. But neither were $BNKR or $MAMO when we first called them.

Wrapping up

Base is Coinbase’s golden goose, and they’re making sure it wins. 

Memes will keep cooking on Solana, but Base is where exchange-backed tokens get the rocket fuel.

Strap it, degen.

PS: Milk Road Degen has been rollin for about 2 months now and I’d love to know what you think of the newsletter content so far. Not because I’m starved for compliments (maybe just a little) but because I want to make sure the content I make is ACTUALLY helpful. So go ahead and rate today’s edition and leave me a note. I read them all!

BITE-SIZED COOKIES FOR THE ROAD 🍪

PumpFun tokens are flying this week. Big announcements are expected soon on the recently-quiet platform.

Azuki is teasing a massive brand collaboration. $ANIME and Azuki NFTs have not moved…yet.

HyperLiquid currently earns 35% of all onchain revenue. More than Solana and Bitcoin combined.

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