Base, the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum layer 2, is abandoning its social-focused strategy after founder Jesse Pollak admitted the bet was “wrong.” The network will pivot to trading, payments, and AI agents, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledging that content coins “didn’t work.” The shift comes as rival Robinhood Chain aggressively targets memecoin trading, recording $800 million in 24-hour DEX volume versus Base’s $880 million. Weekly volumes stand at $5 billion for Robinhood and $6 billion for Base, raising questions about whether Robinhood will surpass Base as the third-largest speculative chain.
Base, a Coinbase-incubated Ethereum layer 2 (L2), has announced it will abandon its initial social push. Founder Jesse Pollak called the social vision a “wrong” bet, stating the network will focus on trading, payments, and AI agents.
“In my opinion, we made the right bet on builders, but obviously the wrong bet on social,” Pollak said. He noted that on-chain social experiences and creator coins failed to materialize as expected over the past two years.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong echoed the criticism, saying, “Agree with the first part and your point on content coins. They didn’t work, and we pivoted early this year. We messed up, time to turn the page.” As part of the pivot, Pollak will remain Base’s leader, but the Base app will be steered by crypto investor Jordan Fish, known as Cobie.
Pollak outlined the new direction: “We’re going to build Base into the blockchain for global finance. In 2026, this concretely means three things: winning trading, payments, and agents.” The pivot follows the debut of Robinhood Chain, another Ethereum L2 that has embraced memecoin trading and is now rivaling Base on DEX volumes.
In the past 24 hours, Robinhood Chain recorded $800 million in volume while Base had $880 million. Weekly activity shows $5 billion and $6 billion, respectively. Analyst Jonah questioned the timing, asking, “Base is showing weakness just as Robinhood Chain is taking off. Why would Base do this?”
Every major crypto platform is integrating trading, tokenization, and payments in pursuit of a super-app model. It remains to be seen whether Base’s pivot will delay Robinhood Chain from surpassing it in DEX volume.
