Base Co-Founder Draws Fire After Backing Soulja Boy’s Token Despite Repeated Scam Claims
Base co-founder Jesse Pollak is dealing with mounting criticism after publicly participating with and backing exercise linked to a meme token related to rapper Soulja Boy.
The case revives long-running issues about celebrity-driven crypto promotions and the accountability of senior ecosystem figures.
The controversy unfolded over a sequence of posts on X in mid-December.
On December 13, Soulja Boy shared a comparability of creator payout schedules throughout main platforms, arguing that newer purposes supplied quicker entry to earnings than conventional social networks.
On-Chain Research Rekindles Concerns Over Celebrity Crypto Promotions
Pollak amplified the dialogue whereas framing Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 community, instead monetization layer for creators.
In a direct reply to Soulja Boy, Pollak said he had simply backed the rapper on Base and had “immediately earned,” describing the interplay for instance of “new web” conduct enabled by on-chain instruments.
Although Pollak didn’t title or explicitly promote a particular token, many customers interpreted the change as an endorsement of a Soulja Boy-linked meme token that had simply launched on Base.
Developers, merchants, and researchers questioned why a senior determine at a Coinbase-backed community would publicly have interaction with a celeb whose crypto historical past has drawn repeated scrutiny.
The criticism rapidly shifted from the token itself to broader concerns about belief, repute, and exhibiting inside the Base ecosystem, which has positioned itself as a compliant, mainstream-friendly Layer-2 community.
The debate intensified after on-chain investigator ZachXBT publicly challenged Pollak’s determination to work together with Soulja Boy.
He pointed to analysis he printed in April 2023 documenting what he described as a protracted sample of exploitative crypto promotions tied to the rapper.
ZachXBT Details Pattern of Abandoned Crypto Projects Linked to Soulja Boy
According to that analysis, Soulja Boy was concerned in not less than 73 token promotions and 16 NFT launches, a lot of which later collapsed or have been deserted.
ZachXBT outlined a number of examples from previous market cycles, together with meme tokens corresponding to RapDoge, which was promoted in July 2021 earlier than rapidly rug-pulling, and tasks like Orion and The Life Token, which used charitable narratives earlier than collapsing.
Beyond tokens, the investigator mentioned Soulja Boy launched a number of NFT collections, a few of which marketed future utility that by no means materialized.
He additionally referenced prior regulatory and authorized points, together with SEC charges related to Tron promotions and a lawsuit linked to SafeMoon.
Growing Scrutiny Follows Base’s Rapid Rise within the Layer-2 Market
Against that backdrop, critics argued that visibility from distinguished builders features as implicit validation, significantly for brand spanking new customers who is probably not conversant in a promoter’s historical past.
Supporters of open, permissionless networks countered that public blockchains don’t limit who can deploy tokens or take part, and that engagement doesn’t essentially equate to endorsement.
The episode arrives at a delicate second for Base.
According to L2beat knowledge, Base is at the moment the second-largest Layer-2 community by complete worth locked, with roughly $12.66 billion, trailing solely Arbitrum.
Its fast progress has positioned it as one of the seen scaling layers within the Ethereum ecosystem, growing scrutiny round how senior figures talk publicly.
The backlash additionally displays a broader sample in crypto discourse.
In latest months, ZachXBT has repeatedly surfaced in high-profile circumstances involving alleged misconduct, together with claims tied to superstar NFT launches, suspected large-scale hacks, and the publicity of organized fraud networks.
These episodes have fueled recurring debates about due diligence, accountability, and the position of affect in shaping on-chain conduct.
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