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Jul 16, 2026Base 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 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.
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.
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.
Sources >> Jesse Pollak admits Base misstep, bets big on AI and trading