Coinbase's Jesse Pollak on Base's Breakout Year (And Its Future)

There is no arguing against the fact it's been an absolutely massive year for the leading Ethereum Layer-2 in Base.

Whether its Base onchain active addresses, which have surged more than 1,300% this year, or total value locked, which has come to surpass all other Layer-2s in just months since launching at the end of 2023 — by any metric it's been an incredible year. But what comes next, how does the project fit into Coinbase's broader goals, and can the project shrug off concerns of being too closely linked with the exchange?

Base's first builder and new Coinbase executive team member Jesse Pollak joined Coinage exclusively to discuss what comes next as part of our Crypto Project of the Year celebration. Our members will vote on which one of the 16 nominated projects will win the crown (and unlock patronage dividends in the process.) Head to Coinage's Snapshot to vote — ( you'll need a Coinage Caucus or Network NFT.)

From its launch, Base’s mission was clear: enable builders, creators, and users to thrive in a global onchain economy. Pollak highlighted Base's meteoric rise, noting, "We’re leaving the year as the largest L2 in the world... rapidly emerging as the best place for developers to build on-chain." The platform’s ethos of enabling builders first has fueled a network effect: more apps, more users, and a faster-growing ecosystem.

That “builders first” mantra has permeated Base’s culture. "We are giving developers the tools to build great apps," Pollak emphasized, pointing to initiatives like Base Names, smart wallets, and OnchainKit, which simplify app development and remove barriers like gas fees.

Pollak also spotlighted Base’s growing role in real-world applications, particularly in stablecoin payments. After witnessing adoption in regions like Argentina, he sees on-chain stablecoin payments as inevitable. "The fastest, cheapest, easiest way to get paid or pay someone is on-chain," he said.

Decentralization and Long-Term Vision

Amid industry debates over L2 centralization, Pollak reaffirmed Base’s commitment to decentralization. "Base has prioritized decentralization from the beginning," he asserted, referencing milestones like launching fault proofs and goals of decentralizing Base’s sequencer. “The only way to build a global economy is if you build it on a decentralized platform.”

But could there eventually come a point where what's best for Base's users clash with what's best for Coinbase? Pollak pushed back on the idea that those might be as different as they seem. Mainly, when presented with the argument made recently by Base and Ethereum Layer-2 detractors, Pollak quashed any doubts.

"I definitely don't think Base is vampire attacking Ethereum. I mean, this is the Ethereum strategy. It's scaling via rollups and Base has brought billions of dollars into the onchain economy on Ethereum," he said, adding that if it becomes so cheap and easy to use that Coinbase has no choice but to move user assets to Base — that would be a win for both.

"I expect that we will see many, many more assets coming onchain onto Base and I expect that Coinbase is going to continue to replatform significant parts of the business onchain on Base because like, that's the future because it's going to be faster, cheaper and easier, and it's going to be easier to build experiences that everyone, everywhere can use."

As of the beginning of December, Base had close to $4 billion in total value locked on the chain. Customer assets safeguarded by Coinbase broke $330 billion earlier this year. There is a case to be made that the FTX debacle proves storing user balances onchain might in theory be better for everyone.

Pollak also dismissed speculation about Base becoming a closed ecosystem. "Base is a bridge, not an island," he said, emphasizing interoperability with other L1s and L2s. Base’s open-source code, open standards, and transparent development process reinforce its commitment to openness, Pollak said.

As Coinage experienced firsthand with our onchain trivia experience, which gave away nearly 1 ETH to people who played our game, Base's Onchain Summer activation once again powered a massive wave of onboarding new crypto users. As Pollak proved last year before by becoming the first person to mint a Coinage NFT live on our show, he actually is out here in the trenches helping builders — and it's hard not to respect that.

Looking Ahead to 2025

With Base firing on all cylinders, Pollak outlined four strategic priorities for the coming year:

1. Global Accessibility: Expanding fiat on- and off-ramps and launching every major currency onchain.

2. Developer Empowerment: Enhancing development tools to make Base the easiest place to build.

3. Creator-Centric Economy: Supporting creators with sovereign monetization models free from centralized platform restrictions.

4. Scalability and Decentralization: Continuing to scale while reinforcing Base’s decentralized foundation.

As Pollak concluded, "We are just getting started." With a track record of delivering on promises and redefining industry expectations, Base’s trajectory into 2025 is set to be as groundbreaking as its past year — perhaps making a repeat nomination as "Crypto Project of the Year" a foregone conclusion. But first, there's this year to worry about:

Coinage NFT holders can vote to advance Base or Sui in our celebration of the top projects in crypto when voting opens. (If you haven't registered to join the Coinage DAO, do so first to unlock the ability to vote.)

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