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Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Ethereum layer-2 network Base, is stepping back from leading the Base App after admitting he made a "wrong bet" on social experiences driving crypto adoption. In a post on X, Pollak acknowledged that his focus on creator, content, and messaging apps caused Base to fall behind in critical areas like prediction markets and perpetual futures (perps). He stated that while Base had products in those spaces, they lagged behind scaled competitors. This admission marks a significant reversal in Base's growth strategy.
Pollak had initially bet that social applications would bring crypto to a billion users, leading Base to prioritize platforms like Farcaster, Zora, and mini-apps. However, the market for social crypto products "disintegrated completely," as Pollak put it. The shift was underscored by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who said last week that content coins "didn't work," prompting a pivot earlier this year. In February, Base sunset its Creator Rewards program and Farcaster-powered social feed to focus on tradable assets.
Data illustrates Base's lagging performance. According to Dune Analytics, Base-native prediction market Limitless accounted for just 0.5% of total monthly notional volume across prediction markets in July. Similarly, perpetual DEX Avantis ranked 18th by 30-day notional trading volume, per DefiLlama. These figures highlight the gap between Base's offerings and those of larger competitors in the prediction and perpetual markets.
The implications of this strategic pivot are significant for Base's ecosystem. Pollak now believes financial applications are the way forward, with emphasis on trading, payments, and AI agents. He is returning leadership of the Base App to Coinbase, under Jordan Fish (known as 'Cobie'), while focusing on the Base blockchain itself. This realignment aims to position Base as a hub for global finance.
Industry reactions have been mixed. Pollak's candid admission has drawn attention to the challenges of predicting crypto adoption trends. Some observers note that Base's initial social bet was ambitious but ultimately misaligned with market demand. The pivot to financial use cases aligns with broader trends in the crypto space, where DeFi and stablecoins continue to dominate.
Looking ahead, Base is investing in infrastructure for stablecoins and AI agents. Last week, Base activated its B20 token standard for stablecoins and tokenized assets. In May, it launched Base MCP, enabling users to manage crypto from AI chat interfaces. The 2026 roadmap highlights tokenization, stablecoins, and prediction markets as key growth areas. Pollak declared, "We're going to build Base into the blockchain for global finance," aiming to become the settlement layer for the world's money over the next century.
