Coinbase Distances Itself from Token Frenzy Following Base Promotion Backlash

The world of blockchain and cryptocurrency is no stranger to sudden market surges, public scrutiny, and the delicate balancing act between innovation and perception. Coinbase, one of the most prominent crypto exchanges, recently found itself at the center of a fast-moving controversy involving its blockchain network, Base, and a token that spiraled from prominence to notoriety in the span of an hour. What began as a promotional push by Base to celebrate decentralization and interactive content creation took a sharp and unexpected turn, triggering a backlash that forced Coinbase to issue clarifications and halt misinformation before the narrative ran away from them.

On April 16, Base’s official X (formerly Twitter) account posted what appeared to be a benign celebration of its ethos. Accompanied by the tagline “Base is for everyone,” the post included a link to a token of the same name hosted on Zora — a decentralized social network where users can mint and trade posts as tokens. The idea nods to a futuristic vision where online content is tokenized and tradable, effectively merging creativity with decentralized finance. But what happened next veered far from idealistic enthusiasm.

Within barely over an hour of its creation, the “Base is for everyone” token skyrocketed to a shocking market capitalization of $17.1 million, only to suffer a dramatic collapse of nearly 90% in the subsequent 20 minutes, plummeting to about $1.9 million. Although it recovered slightly, trading around $7.7 million at the time of publication, the highly speculative rollercoaster ride had already ignited deep concerns in the community. DEX Screener data chronicled the rapid rise and fall, illuminating the volatile nature of combining memecoins with social engagement.

Amid the chaos, Coinbase quickly sought to disentangle itself from the fray. A spokeswoman told “Base did not launch a token.” She went on to clarify that Zora automatically tokenizes content published on its platform. As such, the creation and trading of the “Base is for everyone” token were not deliberate product launches or sales conducted by Base or Coinbase.

To reinforce this position, the spokeswoman pointed to a legal disclaimer on the token’s Zora page. This statement advised viewers that Base’s posts on the platform mirrored those already shared on X, explicitly warning users not to expect returns or profits. Furthermore, it declared that there would be no future development or action to increase the token’s value.

Despite this discouragement, the token attracted intense speculation. Interestingly, Base was slated to receive 10 million tokens — 1% of the one billion total supply — which it pledged never to sell. The project stated that revenues generated from fees would fund developer grants on the Base network. Nonetheless, the community was not placated. At the time of reporting, Zora data showed that Base had earned over $61,000 in token-related activity, with the overall trading volume crossing the $26 million mark.

The backlash was swift and unforgiving. Hundreds of posts flooded X, many expressing skepticism over the legitimacy and intent underlying the token. One user remarked, “Any credibility this chain had is now gone.” Well-known voices echoed the discontent. Pierre Rochard, formerly of Riot Platforms, denounced the token as “terrible for the industry, very short-term transactional extraction.” Others, like Abhishek Pawa, founder of AP Collective, had a more nuanced take. He noted that although Base attempted to reframe memecoins as “contentcoins,” it had disastrously mishandled the launch, presentation, and management of expectations.

“The core innovation actually has potential,” Pawa admitted. “But Base utterly fumbled execution, optics, and trader expectations, resulting in justified backlash.”

Amid growing criticism, Jesse Pollack, Base’s creator, stepped in to defend the intent behind the initiative. Known for his proactive experimentation on Zora, where he has minted dozens of tokens over the past two months, Pollack argued that someone needed to normalize bringing all types of online content onto the blockchain. In his view, tokenizing content and sharing it in public forums was not just a gimmick, but a glimpse into the future of decentralized economies.

“I’m not afraid for it to be us,” Pollack wrote on X. He further described the act of creating tokens from online content as a potential cornerstone of a new economy where creators can monetize their creativity. Unlocking such value, he acknowledged, would require a complete reimagining of product experiences and user behavior — an overhaul of the mental models users bring to Web3 platforms.

An Uneven Launch: Sniping and Volatility Plague Efforts

While the original token’s crash was dramatic, deeper scrutiny soon revealed more troubling details. Harrison Leggio, co-founder of crypto startup g8keep and also known on X as “Pop Punk,” pointed out that the launch had been “HORRIFICALLY sniped.” Two wallets were able to buy up 21% of the token supply for 2 Ether — roughly $3,200 — almost immediately after the drop. These wallets then transferred their tokens and liquidated them for a combined profit of around $300,000.

This incident highlighted an all-too-familiar issue in the crypto space: whales or bots exploiting nascent markets for quick gains, which can have destabilizing effects on digital assets and the reputations tied to them. Although sniping is not a new phenomenon, its presence in a pseudo-official launch magnified concerns about the platform’s preparedness and the mechanisms in place to foster fairness and transparency.

In less than an hour and a half after the first token’s launch, Base posted another message on Zora, this time promoting their involvement in the upcoming FarCon 2025 event in New York. As expected, a new token followed, titled “Base @ FarCon 2025.” However, the market euphoria had clearly waned. This token reached a modest peak valuation of $987,570 in the minute after its launch, only to shed 77% of its worth moments later, stabilizing around $230,000.

All considered, the series of events surrounding Base’s token experimentation underscores the high-stakes nature of blockchain innovation. On one hand, it speaks to the potential of blending social interaction and tokenomics — an opportunity to imagine new creator economies untethered from traditional models. On the other, it shines a harsh light on the volatility, opportunism, and perception risks that still plague this evolving ecosystem.

As Coinbase and Base navigate the fallout, one thing is clear: the desire to create a more participatory, decentralized internet remains compelling, but the execution must rise to meet the ideals lest the vision be lost in the noise.