Decentralized social platform Zora has shifted its focus from Base to Solana, launching a new product called “attention markets” that enables users to trade tokens tied to internet trends, memes, and cultural moments. The feature, unveiled on February 17, represents a significant pivot for the on-chain protocol, which built its reputation on non-fungible tokens and creator-focused applications.
The attention markets product allows anyone to create a new market for 1 SOL. Once launched, users can buy and sell positions on whether a topic will gain or lose traction across social media platforms.
Rather than wagering on traditional outcomes like elections or macroeconomic data, traders speculate on online buzz itself including hashtags, viral narratives, and themes such as “AI girlfriend” or “bitcoin.”
Solana’s technical infrastructure makes it well-suited for this type of application. The blockchain’s fast block times and low transaction costs support rapid price updates and frequent trading, both essential features for markets built around fleeting online momentum.
Initial activity on the attention markets platform has been modest. The primary “attentionmarkets” token briefly reached approximately $70,000 in market capitalization, with around $200,000 in trading volume during its first day.
Most other trend markets struggled to attract meaningful liquidity, with few crossing the $10,000 mark on launch day. Price swings were sharp, though largely driven by thin order books rather than sustained trader demand.
The move marks a departure from Zora’s previous strategy on Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, Base. The protocol had become one of Base’s breakout applications, launching its ZORA token there in April 2025.
Later, in July, Zora rolled out Creator Coins tied to Base profiles, a feature that briefly helped Base overtake Solana in daily token creation volumes.
Creator coins are tokens tied to an individual creator’s online profile, brand or community. They function as tradable “shares” in a person’s internet presence. On platforms like Zora and Base, creator coins can be automatically generated from a user’s profile. Fans can purchase the coin to signal support, gain social clout, or speculate that the creator’s popularity will increase. As more people buy in, the token price could rise, and as interest fades, it could fall.
Some members of the Base community perceived the new attention markets product as a strategic pivot away from the creator coin momentum that had gained traction on Base earlier in 2025.
See also: What Makes a Crypto Project Worth Investing In? A Checklist
Recently, various blockchain networks have continued to compete for developer attention and user activity by offering unique features and advantages. Solana’s emphasis on speed and low costs has attracted applications focused on high-frequency trading and real-time data updates.
Zora’s attention markets concept reflects a growing trend in cryptocurrency applications that gamify social media engagement and cultural moments.
Since it now allows its users to create and trade markets around any topic, the platform opens possibilities for speculation on internet culture itself, a novel use case that differs from traditional financial markets or prediction markets focused on discrete events.
The platform’s launch on Solana rather than Base may indicate that protocol developers increasingly view different blockchain networks as better suited for different applications.
Layer 2 solutions like Base offer other advantages, but Solana’s design philosophy prioritizes throughput and cost efficiency, making it potentially more suitable for applications requiring constant trading and price updates.
As attention markets gain traction, the success of the product will likely depend on whether it can attract sustained liquidity and user participation beyond the initial launch period. The shallow trading volumes and low market capitalizations of most trend markets on day one suggest that building a viable, liquid marketplace around ephemeral internet trends remains a significant challenge.
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