Base Abandons Social Focus as Robinhood Chain Gains Rapid Traction

Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network created by Coinbase, is shifting its focus from social products to trading, payments, and tokenized assets. This change comes after Base lost ground in several fast-growing financial categories, including tokenization and stablecoin payments.

Jesse Pollak, the creator of Base, acknowledged that the network's emphasis on social products had allowed it to fall behind in key areas. He stated that 'the entire social side of the market' had disintegrated completely.

Pollak is now concentrating on positioning Base as settlement infrastructure for global financial activity, while returning oversight of the consumer app to Coinbase. Jordan Fish, a crypto investor, will lead the development of the app.

In contrast, Robinhood's new blockchain, Robinhood Chain, has experienced an unusually fast start. The network was designed to support tokenized securities, lending, and decentralized exchanges, and has already attracted over 1 million monthly active addresses.