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Base creator Jesse Pollak said the network made the wrong bet on onchain social and will refocus its strategy around trading, payments, and AI agents as it seeks to become infrastructure for global finance.
As part of the shift, Pollak has handed the Base App back to Coinbase, where crypto investor and entrepreneur Jordan Fish, better known as Cobie, will lead its next phase of development.
Coinbase strengthened its ties to Cobie last year through two deals totaling $400 million, including the $375 million acquisition of his onchain fundraising platform Echo and a separate $25 million purchase of an NFT linked to the revival of his UpOnly podcast.
lots of conversations about base over the last week. wanted to share my candid take after a week of listening and a lot of reflection over the last 6 months.
first off – in case it’s not obvious, the first quarter of 2026 was a punch in the face. I spent 2024 and 2025 making a…
— jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) July 15, 2026
Pollak said the first quarter of 2026 was a major setback after Base spent the previous two years betting that developers and new social experiences would drive the next wave of crypto adoption.
While developers helped expand stablecoins, perpetual markets, and prediction platforms, Pollak said social products including Farcaster, Zora, mini apps, and creator coins failed to become central drivers of growth.
“I was wrong,” Pollak wrote Wednesday, adding that it remains unclear whether the strategy was mistimed or fundamentally flawed.
Pollak said the failed push caused Base to fall behind competitors in several areas. Although the network supported trading platforms including Avantis and Limitless, their products remained smaller than competing platforms, while Base also had room to improve its tokenization and enterprise payment infrastructure.
The comments formalize a strategy shift that began earlier this year. In January, Pollak said the Base App would move toward a trading first experience after users criticized its focus on social features and limited selection of assets.
Pollak said he has since moved his attention away from the app and back toward the Base blockchain, where he has worked on upgrades including Azul, Beryl, B20, privacy features, and ledgers.
Base will now concentrate on becoming the blockchain for global finance, with three priorities for 2026: trading, payments, and agents.
The trading strategy will focus on bringing more assets onchain, including tokenized stocks, memes, and app tokens. Payments will center on making stablecoins usable globally for individuals and enterprises, while the agent strategy will provide financial infrastructure for AI systems and other software based economic actors.
Pollak previously described AI agents as a major opportunity for crypto payments because software based systems require programmable money that can move through APIs and smart contracts.
Builders will remain central to the network’s strategy through programs including Base Layer, Base Batches, the Base Ecosystem Fund, and distribution through Coinbase and the Base App.
Pollak said Base had recorded quarterly growth in decentralized exchange share and payment volume, though he did not provide figures in the post.
“We are going to build Base into the blockchain for global finance and do everything we can to be the place that the world’s money settles over the next century,” Pollak said.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Estefano Gomez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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