Degen Chain stands out with its unique utilization of Degen as the native gas token, diverging from the traditional approach of Ethereum (ETH) for gas fees. This ERC-20 token, hosted on Base, originated from the Degen channel on Farcaster in January 2024, showcasing the platform's dedication to innovation and experimental exploration.

Despite broader network disruptions impacting Degen Chain, the on-chain activities of the Degen token on Base continue to function seamlessly, undeterred by the ongoing challenges. This remarkable resilience underscores the strength of the underlying infrastructure supporting the token's operations amid the network-wide issues.

However, Degen Chain, a Layer 3 Ethereum-based blockchain tailored for the Degen meme token, has recently faced a significant operational setback, resulting in an extended period of downtime that has severely impacted its core functionalities and related services.

The unforeseen disruption unfolded abruptly, leading to a cessation in the production of new blocks and verification of incoming transactions for over 11 hours, as reflected by data from the block explorer. The network encountered a halt at block #15524774 around 4:15 p.m. ET on a Sunday, causing disruptions across decentralized applications and bridges reliant on Degen Chain, including Relay bridge, DegenSwap, Mint Club, and Frogswap, rendering these platforms nonoperational and inhibiting users from executing transactions or accessing vital services.

In response to the crisis, the team working on Degen Chain has collaborated with Conduit, a leading rollup infrastructure platform, to address the downtime. Despite concerted efforts, details regarding the root cause of the outage and an estimated timeline for complete restoration remain undisclosed at present.

Leveraging the Arbitrum Orbit tech stack and predominantly operating on Base, Degen Chain implements the AnyTrust protocol to ensure robust data availability and integrity, showcasing a commitment to maintaining a secure environment for its users.

Introduced under the umbrella of Syndicate, a reputable Web3 service provider, Degen Chain made its debut in late March, attracting considerable interest within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. As indicated by data from DeFiLlama, the platform presently boasts a total value locked (TVL) of $2.6 million, underscoring its rising prominence and increasing user adoption despite the recent operational challenges.