Coinbase said Wednesday that Base, the company’s Ethereum layer-2 network, will narrow its latest startup accelerator cohort to 10 teams, with each selected company receiving a $100,000 investment upfront.
Applications for Base Batches 004 are open through September 9, according to Coinbase. The eight-week virtual program will wrap up with a Demo Day in New York in November.
Base shifts to a smaller cohort
Daniel Bronheim, Base Ecosystem Fund Lead, told Decrypt that the team is moving away from broad cohorts and putting more attention on a tighter group of startups.
「We've learned that the best results come from going deeper with a smaller, more focused group of exceptional builders,」 Bronheim said. 「For Batches 004, we are shifting away from broad cohorts and zeroing in on high-signal teams, then offering hands-on support and deep Base ecosystem integration.」
The program is looking for pre-seed startups focused on trading, payments, financing, and AI agents. That includes products using stablecoins for agent-driven shopping, trading, and payments, as well as infrastructure tied to lending, e-commerce, and decentralized AI.
AI agents and stablecoin payments are a core target
Bronheim said Base sees blockchains as the native financial rails for AI and expects agents to account for far more onchain activity than humans in the near future.
「Blockchains are the native financial rails for AI, and agents will soon drive much, much more onchain activity than humans do,」 he said. 「Given our focus on stablecoins and real-time programmable payments, Base is the ideal environment for that work. We’re hoping this next cohort includes several very strong builders in this arena.」
Teams can support multiple blockchains, but Base must be their primary network.
Base also said it is looking for founders with fintech backgrounds who can bring new financial products to the network.
Selected teams get capital, advisors, and investor exposure
Alongside the $100,000 investment, selected teams will join an eight-week virtual program, work with a dedicated advisor, receive weekly support, get help building visibility across the Base ecosystem, and present to investors at a Demo Day in New York in November.
Coinbase is already building agent payment tools on Base
The announcement comes as Coinbase and other crypto firms, including MoonPay, are building projects designed to let AI agents hold and spend money.
In February, Coinbase launched Agentic Wallets on Base, allowing AI agents to hold USDC and make payments using the x402 protocol. In June, the company followed that with Coinbase for Agents, which connects AI agents directly to user accounts.
Bronheim added: 「The explosion of regional fintechs quietly building on Base is one of the most exciting trends in our ecosystem, and we believe it is going to unlock massive global value.」