Back in 2024, it all seemed so promising. Coinbase would use its app called Base, built around its blockchain of the same name, to build a decentralized trading and social media platform. It didn’t work out that way. The original vision for Base is in tatters and much of the project now looks like a costly distraction that has embittered numerous users, and forced Coinbase to play catch-up to ascendant crypto powerhouses like Hyperliquid and Robinhood.
How did this happen? In a remarkably candid X post, the Coinbase executive who leads Base, Jesse Pollak, admitted that trying to turn the app into a social media forum—one where everyone sold “creator coins” tied to the content they posted—was a mistake. It turned out few people wanted to drop X and Instagram for a crypto-based alternative.
