Jesse Pollak said Base is moving away from social products to focus on blockchain financial infrastructure. Base will prioritize trading, stablecoin payments, and AI agents as its core growth
Base founder Jesse Pollak said he has changed the blockchain's direction after reassessing its performance during 2026. According to Pollak, months of reflection and community feedback led him to move away from social products and refocus Base on trading, payments and AI agents, while handing the Base App back to Coinbase under Cobie's leadership.
According to Pollak, Base entered 2026 believing builders and social experiences would drive the next wave of crypto adoption. However, he said builders succeeded while social products, including creator coins, Farcaster, Zora and miniapps, failed to deliver the expected growth.
He acknowledged that the strategy left Base behind in several important markets. Notably, he said competitors moved ahead in perpetual futures, prediction markets, tokenization and payment infrastructure.
Pollak added that the experience damaged confidence in Base and exposed weaknesses in its priorities. As a result, he shifted his attention from the Base App back to the blockchain itself and resumed writing code.
The strategic shift also changes leadership responsibilities. According to Pollak, Cobie will now lead development of the Base App within Coinbase, while Pollak concentrates entirely on Base's blockchain infrastructure.
He argued that crypto adoption no longer depends on social applications. Instead, he believes stablecoins, prediction markets, perpetuals and tokenization provide stronger paths toward broader blockchain adoption.
Pollak also said Base intends to become infrastructure for global finance rather than focusing on consumer social experiences.
Looking ahead, Pollak identified trading, payments and AI agents as Base's three priorities for 2026. Trading will cover tokenized stocks, meme tokens, app coins and other digital assets.
Meanwhile, payments will focus on expanding global stablecoin transactions for consumers and businesses. He also said AI agents represent another major priority because crypto-native payments can support automated economic activity.
Alongside those efforts, Pollak reaffirmed support for developers through programs including Base Layer, Base Batches and the Base Ecosystem Fund. He added that builders remain the foundation of Base and said his attention is now fully dedicated to supporting projects developing on the blockchain.
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