Base Won’t ‘Pump’ Tokens: Jesse Pollak Slams Market Manipulation as ‘Illegal’
Tensions round market manipulation, meme tokens, and perceived favoritism have resurfaced on Coinbase-backed Layer 2 community Base, prompting its creator, Jesse Pollak, to publicly reject requires the staff to intervene in token costs.
In a publish on X, Pollak said the Base core staff wouldn’t “assist the chart behind the scenes,” immediately addressing neighborhood members who’ve urged the community to make use of inside capital to push particular tokens larger.
Pollak stated privately coordinating or deploying funds to drive the value of an asset towards a desired consequence would drawback different tokens, undermine belief within the ecosystem, violate Base’s dedication to free and open markets, and certain break the legislation.
He added that whereas the staff would proceed to enhance the way it drives visibility and distribution for functions and property constructed on Base, worth discovery should stay natural and clear.
Traders Question Base’s Missing “Flagship” Token
The feedback got here amid rising frustration amongst some merchants who argue that Base lacks a breakout token able to attracting sustained speculative curiosity.
A bunch of a preferred Base-focused livestream said the community didn’t have “what it takes” to push a challenge into the lots of of thousands and thousands in market capitalization and advised shifting consideration to the chains.
Other customers pushed again, saying the difficulty was not distinctive to Base however exhibits a broader downside throughout crypto, the place meme-driven hypothesis has change into a zero-sum recreation dominated by short-lived pumps.
Pollak’s response drew assist from components of the neighborhood, whereas others confirmed their disagreements over how networks ought to compete for consideration.
Other customers complained that Base had the choice to rally round a few of their tokens and failed to take action, citing examples of tasks they thought might have been used as flagship property.
Pollak acknowledged the frustrations however felt that in the long run it solely ends in recurring losses by manipulating costs, whereas truthful markets allow the contributors to be taught, to adapt, and in the end to prosper.
In his feedback, he famous that Base stays to serve creators, builders, functions, and meme tradition on the community, and the Base app is shifting in the direction of a extra trading-oriented expertise to focus on exercise all through the ecosystem.
At the identical time, he drew a transparent line between promotion and manipulation, saying that secret coordination to inflate costs is incompatible with Base’s position as open infrastructure and with Coinbase’s obligations as a U.S.-regulated public firm.
Earlier Meme Token Controversy Still Haunts Base
The debate additionally revived scrutiny of earlier incidents that formed perceptions of Base’s position in meme markets.
In 2025, Base faced backlash after its official X account posted “Base is for everybody,” adopted by a tokenized model of the publish minted on Zora.
@coinbase’s @base sparks controversy as a meme coin linked to its tweet surged to $17.1M earlier than crashing 90%, elevating questions on influencer accountability.#Memecoin #BaseNetworkhttps://t.co/LsdudfhlIz
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) April 17, 2025
Although Base stated the token was a inventive experiment and never an official product, the episode fueled accusations of implicit endorsement and intensified requires regulatory scrutiny.
More broadly, pump-and-dump activity has been a persistent difficulty on Base, the place low transaction prices and quick execution have made it simpler for unhealthy actors to deploy, hype, and exit tokens inside hours.
Research throughout peak meme intervals suggested {that a} important share of newly launched Base tokens had extreme safety flaws or malicious options, together with honeypot contracts and unlocked liquidity.
These dynamics have contributed to giant losses for retail merchants and bolstered calls for for clearer requirements.
Pollak’s statements seem geared toward distancing Base from these practices whereas leaving room for structured, clear incentives.
In replies to customers, he said open programs such as competitions or clearly outlined liquidity applications could possibly be explored if they’re applied publicly and pretty.
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