Jesse Pollak, the architect of the L2 network Base, has publicly acknowledged the collapse of his initial strategy, which was exclusively focused on social applications and services for content creators. This statement effectively admits that betting on Farcaster, Zora, and creator tokens did not lead to the expected influx of mass users. Now, the reins of the project are being handed over to its parent company, Coinbase.
Admission of Mistakes and Revision of Priorities
Pollak, after spending six months in reflection, called the first quarter of 2026 a "punch in the face." He admitted that the ecosystem of social products has "completely fallen apart." While the prediction market, perpetual futures, stablecoins, and asset tokenization experienced explosive growth, Base found itself on the sidelines of these trends.
Solutions already existed on the network, such as the perp-DEX Avantis and the betting platform Limitless, but both projects, according to Pollak, are "noticeably losing to competitors." Data from July confirms this: Limitless accounted for only 0.5% of the total prediction market volume, and Avantis ranked only 18th in trading turnover. This is a clear example of how an incorrect strategic focus can cost a project leadership in key segments.
New Course: Finance, Payments, and AI
In response to the failure of the social strategy, Pollak announced a radical pivot. Now, Base will position itself as a blockchain for global finance. Key directions include trading tokenized real-world assets (RWA), stablecoin-based payments, and solutions for AI agents. The project intends to compete directly with giants like Robinhood and Stripe.
This move is already backed by concrete actions: in July, the B20 standard for launching stablecoins and RWAs was activated, and in May, the Base MCP tool was introduced, giving AI assistants direct access to on-chain operations.
Leadership Change and Technological Upgrade
Further development of the Base application is being transferred under the control of the Coinbase team, led by crypto investor Jordan Fish. The service is expected to become a multi-chain platform, expanding beyond the current ecosystem. Earlier this year, Base already made an important technological step by abandoning the Optimism stack in favor of its own architecture and integrating ZK-proofs to enhance transaction security and speed.
Expert Opinion. Pollak's admission is a rare case of honesty in the crypto industry, but it also highlights a systemic problem: many projects try to "fit" technology to an ideology, ignoring real market signals. Base's reorientation towards financial services and AI is not just a change of course, but an attempt to catch a departing train. However, with Coinbase's resources and a focus on real use cases, the project has every chance not only to survive but to become a key player in the new financial infrastructure.