Base co-founder Jesse Pollak said the network’s push into onchain-native social products was the wrong strategic call over the past two years, arguing that areas such as Farcaster, Zora, miniapps and creator coins did not become the main driver of crypto adoption. He said that misstep left Base trailing some rivals in perpetuals, prediction markets, tokenization and payments. Pollak now wants Base to position itself as “the blockchain for global finance,” with its 2026 roadmap centered on three areas: trading, payments and AI agents. Trading will include tokenized stocks, meme coins and app tokens, while payments will focus on global stablecoin use cases for consumers and businesses. For AI agents, Pollak said crypto can function as a native currency for computers and support large-scale machine economy participants. He also said the Base app will be handed back to the Coinbase team, with Cobie taking over its development, and that the app may expand beyond the Base ecosystem. Base, he added, will continue supporting developers through Base Layer, Base Batches, its ecosystem fund and Coinbase distribution.
Base co-founder Jesse Pollak said the project’s bet on onchain-native social products over the past two years was a mistake, according to Odaily.
In his review of Base’s recent direction, Pollak said social-focused efforts including Farcaster, Zora, miniapps and creator coins did not become the core driver of crypto adoption. He said that left Base behind some competitors in perpetuals, prediction markets, tokenization and payments.
Base resets its position
Pollak said Base will now position itself as “the blockchain for global finance,” with its 2026 priorities focused on trading, payments and AI agents.
- Trading: tokenized stocks, meme coins and app tokens.
- Payments: global stablecoins for both individuals and businesses.
- AI agents: using cryptocurrency as a native currency for computers to serve future machine-economy participants at scale.
Base app to return to Coinbase team
Pollak also said the Base app will be handed back to the Coinbase team, with Cobie taking over development. He added that the app could expand beyond the Base ecosystem.
Base will also keep supporting developers through Base Layer, Base Batches, its ecosystem fund and Coinbase distribution resources.
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