- Coinbase denies launching the Base-linked token that surged to $17M before crashing nearly 90%.
- Two wallets sniped 21% of the token supply, earning $300K before the price collapsed.
- A second Base token tied to an event dropped 77% in minutes after peaking below $1M.
Coinbase has denied any connection to a memecoin tied to Base, its Layer 2 network, after the token rose to a $17 million market cap and then fell by almost 90% within 20 minutes. This sharp fall came after Base’s official X account shared a post that included a link to the token, igniting backlash and confusion about the role of the platform.
The X post, which included the slogan “Base is for everyone,” linked to a tokenized version of the message on Zora, a social platform that allows users to turn content into tradable tokens. The token, which had the same name, immediately started trading and was quickly sniped by early buyers before undergoing a severe market correction. Coinbase responded by saying that the token was not officially launched or endorsed by Base.
Base Statement Distances Itself From the Token
The post on Zora, according to Coinbase, was not intended to launch a cryptocurrency. A spokesperson told Cointelegraph that Base did not launch or sell any token and insisted that the token was not official. Coinbase further clarified that Zora platform converts shared content into tokens automatically, which is what happened in this instance.
A disclaimer on the Zora page for the token also insisted that the post should not be taken as an investment, stating that no development or effort would be made to increase the token’s value. Despite this, Base was allocated 10 million tokens from the 1 billion total supply. The network pledged not to sell these tokens and indicated that any revenue generated from trading fees would go toward developer grants.
The token’s total trading volume exceeded $26 million, with Base earning more than $61,000 in fees. At its lowest point, the token’s market cap dropped to $1.9 million before partially recovering to approximately $7.7 million.
This rapid price fluctuation of the token triggered heavy online criticism. X users accused Base of eroding its credibility by promoting speculative assets. Pierre Rochard, former Riot Platforms researcher termed the incident “terrible for the industry,” while Abhishek Pawa who is the AP Collective founder said that Base handled poorly the execution and public messaging.
Snipers Profited as Price Collapsed; Second Token Also Crashed
Investigations further revealed that opportunistic traders have been after the token. Two addresses purchased 21% of the token’s supply for just 2ETH which is roughly $3,200 according to Harrison Leggio, co-founder of crypto firm g8keep, who also claimed that these addresses later sold the tokens for about $300,000 profit. Leggio described the token as having been “horrifically sniped.”
Roughly 75 minutes after the original post, Base published another Zora token titled “Base @ FarCon 2025,” tied to an event next month in New York. This second token briefly reached a market cap of $987,570 but quickly lost 77% of its value, dropping to around $230,000 within minutes of launch.
Jesse Pollack, Base’s creator, defended this move despite the backlash. According to him in an X post, the goal is to tokenize all forms of internet content, as part of wider efforts to restructure the digital economies. In the case of quitting centralized platforms, Pollack argued that it could provide a way to create tradable content to support creators, away from reliance on centralized platforms in favor of original work.
