Base Faces Backlash Over Token Drop and Priorities

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Creator First? Base Faces Backlash Over Token Drop and Priorities

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: April 23, 2025

Key Takeaways

A Base token experiment briefly hit $16.9 million before crashing 92%, which sparked backlash over the platform’s creative-first approach;
Alon Cohen argued that traders are essential, claiming creative projects cannot survive without strong market demand;
Jesse Pollak defended Base’s focus on creators and developers, saying they are the network’s top priority—not traders.

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Creator First? Base Faces Backlash Over Token Drop and Priorities

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Coinbase’s $2.57B Layer-2 blockchain, Base, is facing criticism after a recent token experiment sparked a debate about who the network is really built for.

The discussion was triggered by Jesse Pollak, the lead behind Base, who defended its focus on creators and developers, rather than traders, after a one-day token minting event caused prices to spike and then collapse.

The event involved Base’s X post on April 17 being created into a tradable token using Zora, a minting protocol. The token briefly reached a market value of $16.9 million before quickly falling by 92%. This raised concerns that the campaign encouraged hype without considering market stability.

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Alon Cohen, co-founder of Pump.fun, stated in a post on X, "Traders are easily the most important user group in crypto". Cohen added that without market demand, creative efforts cannot last, since creators need a strong trading base to support their work.

However, Pollak stated that the project’s main focus is supporting people who build things on the platform.

In a separate post on X, he also said that he appreciates traders but sees them as part of a larger system that depends on creativity. He added that his focus will remain on helping creators and developers succeed.

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