Jesse Pollak admits Base misstep, bets big on AI and trading

Base creator Jesse Pollak has acknowledged that the network’s multi-year bet on onchain social products did not deliver the expected growth and has redirected Base toward trading, payments, and AI-powered financial infrastructure.

Base returns to infrastructure after social experiment falls short

According to a post published by Jesse Pollak on Wednesday, the first quarter of 2026 became a turning point after Base spent nearly two years betting that developers and social applications would drive the next stage of crypto adoption.

While developers helped expand sectors such as stablecoins, perpetual futures, and prediction markets, Pollak said products including Farcaster, Zora, mini apps, and creator coins did not become the growth engines Base had expected.

Accepting responsibility for the outcome, Pollak wrote that he had been wrong about the strategy, while adding that it remains uncertain whether the approach failed because of poor timing or because the underlying thesis was incorrect.

The reassessment also came with organizational changes. Pollak said he has handed responsibility for the Base App back to Coinbase so he can concentrate on developing the Base blockchain itself. Crypto investor Jordan Fish, better known as Cobie, will oversee the app’s next phase within Coinbase.

Coinbase strengthened its relationship with Cobie last year through two transactions worth $400 million. Those deals included the $375 million acquisition of Echo, his onchain fundraising platform, along with a separate $25 million purchase of an NFT tied to the return of his UpOnly podcast.

Pollak also acknowledged that Base lost ground in several product categories while focusing heavily on social experiences. Although the network supported trading applications such as Avantis and Limitless, he said those platforms remained smaller than competing services, while Base also needed stronger tokenization tools and enterprise payment infrastructure.

Trading, payments and AI become Base’s priorities

Having stepped away from daily work on the Base App, Pollak said his attention has returned to the blockchain itself, where he has worked on upgrades including Azul, Beryl, B20, privacy improvements, and ledger development.

Looking ahead, Pollak said Base will concentrate on three priorities throughout 2026: trading, payments, and AI agents. Under the trading strategy, the network plans to support more onchain assets, including tokenized stocks, meme tokens, and application tokens.

Payments will focus on expanding stablecoin use for consumers and businesses, while AI infrastructure will target software-based economic systems that require programmable digital money.

Pollak has previously argued that AI agents represent an important use case for crypto because autonomous software can move funds through APIs and smart contracts without traditional payment systems. He added that developers will continue receiving support through initiatives including Base Layer, Base Batches, the Base Ecosystem Fund, and distribution across Coinbase and the Base App.

Pollak also said Base has recorded quarterly growth in decentralized exchange market share and payment volume, although he did not disclose supporting figures.

The renewed focus on payments comes as stablecoin economics face increasing competitive pressure across the industry. As crypto.news previously reported, JPMorgan lowered its earnings forecasts for Coinbase and Circle after a revised USDC revenue-sharing agreement with Hyperliquid.

According to the bank, the agreement could reduce the long-term profitability of the stablecoin business because issuers may have to share a larger portion of reserve income with distribution partners to expand adoption. Although separate from Base’s product roadmap, the development highlights the increasingly competitive environment surrounding blockchain payment infrastructure.

Closing his update, Pollak said Base intends to become the blockchain where global financial activity settles over the coming decades, describing that objective as the network’s long-term direction.