Jesse Pollak hands Base app to Cobie, shifts focus to global finance

Jesse Pollak, creator of the Base layer-2 network incubated by Coinbase, announced on July 15 that he is handing over the Base app to cobie, who will lead its development into “the best damn app for onchain.” Pollak admitted his earlier bet on social-driven adoption was wrong, stating that the “social side of the market” — including Farcaster, Zora, and creator coins — “disintegrated completely.”

Pollak said he will refocus his efforts on building Base into “the blockchain for global finance,” prioritizing trading, payments, and agents in 2026. He acknowledged that Base fell behind in key areas like perpetuals and prediction markets but noted progress with avantisfi and limitless. He also said he has been “writing code again” and shipping features such as Azul, Beryl, B20, privacy, and Ledger support.

Pollak’s candid thread comes after a week of public discourse about Base’s direction, with observers noting friction between building a decentralized network inside a public corporation. Pollak welcomed competition from Robinhood and Stripe, adding that Base’s goal is to “be the place that the world’s money settles over the next century.”