Base’s endorsement of creator coins, primarily through its strong partnership with NFT marketplace Zora, has sparked increasing criticism from community members who argue that this approach is sidelining projects that contributed to the network’s initial growth.
In recent months, Base has emerged as a key hub for “creator coins,” which are tokens linked to specific creators, posts, or content, with Zora at the forefront of this trend.
Proponents claim that this model provides a novel on-chain revenue stream for creators and serves as a cultural entry point to crypto. On-chain data also shows significant activity, with daily token mints on Base surpassing those on Solana in August of this year.
Nevertheless, discontent is rising within the Base community on X. Builders express concerns that Base is promoting a limited, favored ecosystem, neglecting other Base-native projects that have established communities and proven track records.
Jacek, who leads the degen token ecosystem on Base, shared his frustrations on X in a post reflecting a shift in sentiment.
He contended that Base’s marketing and social support has become more selective, prioritizing Zora-linked projects while overlooking initiatives that have significantly contributed to growth and liquidity for the chain.
“I’m truly disheartened by @base’s enforced focus on creator coins,” he remarked. “We still can’t even get the official Base X account to follow us, let alone recognize launches with a retweet or mention. It’s not just us. Many other projects feel similarly: if you’re not part of the chosen narrative, you essentially don’t exist. At this point, what incentive is there to build on Base?”
Jacek noted that when degen transitioned to Solana, they received prompt support from the official Solana X account and Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius.
This backlash underscores a broader challenge for Base as it navigates the need for increasing adoption while keeping a positive sentiment among those developing apps or tokens on the platform.
In the short term, Base appears stable, averaging over 10 million transactions daily, according to Basescan. However, declining sentiment could lead to a migration to other chains like Solana or Sui.
Whether Base will adapt to the evolving sentiment remains uncertain, but competing blockchains will be poised to take advantage if the prevailing mood among Base builders continues to worsen.
