Pollak stated that while he values provocative art, posting such a piece publicly was a mistake, especially considering his role and visibility in the crypto ecosystem.

Critics Slam the Message

The GIF in question rotated through words like “art”, “ideas”, and controversial ones like “pimping” and “squirting.”

Crypto figure Kristel wrote: “So we’re just casually platforming pimping now? This isn’t it.”

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Kanto Labs called it a “PR nightmare,” and David Z. Morris warned: “This hurts crypto’s image — especially when we’re trying to frame open finance as a social good.”

Pollak’s Apology Welcomed by Some

Despite the backlash, some praised Pollak for owning up.

“We all make mistakes, what matters is how we grow from them,” said Zuri.

David Hoffman of Bankless commented, “This is leadership.”

Others, like Kyle Reidhead, encouraged boldness: “Do and share whatever you want — no apology needed.”

Base Also Caught in Token Controversy

Just days prior, Base drew attention after posting about a memecoin on Zora using the slogan “Base is for everyone.”

The platform’s system automatically tokenized the content, which quickly hit a $17.1M market cap — then crashed to $1.9M in 20 minutes.

A Coinbase spokesperson clarified: “Base did not launch or sell any token. This is not an official Base token.”

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On April 18, Pollak addressed the situation on X, saying, “It was just one phrase among many, but I recognize it was a mistake and I apologize.” He emphasized that the artwork was not created by him, yet acknowledged that sharing it was the wrong decision.

“I Appreciate Provocative Art, But I Have a Responsibility”

Pollak stated that while he supports provocative artistic expression, he must be more careful about the messages he amplifies — especially when they appear to be coming directly from him. He admitted that the phrase “Base is for pimping” caused a misunderstanding and took responsibility for that.

This statement came at a time when several voices from the crypto industry criticized Pollak’s post. Some users argued that such content damages not only the reputation of Base but also the broader crypto ecosystem.

“This Hurts Not Only Base, But All of Crypto”

Crypto analyst David Z. Morris noted that the issue affects more than just one platform. “This isn’t about ‘sex work’ — the term pimping fundamentally refers to exploitation. For a sector that aims to show open finance as a force for social good, this is a serious misstep,” he stated.

Another user commented, “This isn’t creative or boundary-pushing. It’s just a PR disaster.”

Some Also Showed Support

Despite the backlash, some community members voiced their support for Pollak. Crypto content creator Zuri said, “We all make mistakes. What matters is how we learn from them.” Another user added, “This is what leadership looks like. I respect the honesty.”

Base Recently Faced Another Controversy Over a Memecoin Post

Just days prior, Base was once again in the spotlight after its official social media account shared a link to a memecoin created on the Zora platform, along with the tagline “Base is for everyone.” The token quickly reached a market cap of $17.1 million within its first hour — only to crash by nearly 90% within 20 minutes, dropping to around $1.9 million.

Shortly afterward, Base clarified that it had no involvement with the token, stating:
“Base has not launched a token. This content was posted on Zora, which automatically tokenizes posts.”

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Bringing Facebook’s Ad Model Onchain

Base creator Jesse Pollak said in a Jan. 31 X post that Spindl’s founder, Antonio García Martínez, was part of the team that built Facebook’s original ads platform. This platform played a crucial role in helping small businesses and other users go viral.

Pollak explained that Spindl aims to replicate this success onchain. Built entirely using smart contracts, Spindl is designed to help builders gain traction and reach more users.

You Might Be Interested In: Elon Musk Talks About the Name of a New Memecoin!

Coinbase Head of Business Development Shan Aggarwal emphasized that Spindl’s advertising protocol will allow projects to find their ideal audience while helping users discover engaging onchain activities.

Pushing Advertising to the Next Level

Heracles Capital investor Eric Seufert shared that he first met Antonio García Martínez when he appeared on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Seufert was impressed by Spindl’s vision for onchain attribution and measurement, which led him to invest in the project.

Seufert believes this acquisition will push onchain advertising forward and enhance its impact in the crypto ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Coinbase is also considering offering tokenized shares of its stock on the Base network. Jesse Pollak stated on Jan. 3 that while COIN shares are already accessible to non-U.S. users through platforms like Backed, making them available to U.S. investors is something the company is actively exploring.

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The post Coinbase Acquires Onchain Ads Platform Spindl appeared first on Coin Engineer.

This achievement highlights how far Base has come since January when it averaged only 4 TPS. Base’s founder, Jesse Pollak, emphasized that TPS has increased by 28% since November 23.

According to L2BEAT data, Base now holds $10.68 billion in TVL, ranking second among Ethereum layer-2 solutions. It trails only Arbitrum One, which has $18.3 billion in TVL. Base secured this position in June after overtaking OP Mainnet.

The total TVL across Ethereum layer-2 networks currently stands at $49.3 billion.

Base has also reached a significant milestone in transaction volume. The network surpassed 1 billion transactions, driven largely by the memecoin frenzy during this bull cycle. However, the surge in memecoin activity has also attracted scammers. Between January and March, losses from phishing attacks on the network increased 18-fold.

While addressing these challenges, Base is making strides toward decentralization. In October, the implementation of fault proofs marked an important step in making the network more decentralized.

Base’s rise is seen as a challenge to fast blockchain solutions like Solana. StarkWare CEO Eli Ben Sasson noted that solutions like Base will increase competition, predicting significant TPS improvements in the coming months.

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Aiming to make it easy for customers to go onchain and link to web3 apps across the ecosystem, Pollak stated late Monday that Base and Coinbase Wallet “share the same north star”. Working even more closely with the wallet team and continuing to lead the Base team excites him, he remarked. “We will be able to cooperate more closely now to enable this.”

The Coinbase protocols lead said, “Base will continue to uphold its core values of being for everyone, a bridge not an island, and decentralized and open source. Coinbase Wallet will continue to work across the entire onchain economy; we will start the work of embodying the other Base values in even more ways,” he said.

Launched in August 2023, Base is an optimistic roll-up that reduces costs by processing transactions off the main Ethereum blockchain and only occasionally releases transaction data on-chain, hence boosting throughput. Base’s total value locked last week passed $2 billion for the first time, ranking second among all the optimistic roll-ups by deposits following Arbitrum.

Originally known as Toshi when it first debuted in 2017, Coinbase Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet enabling customers handle and keep their digital assets on their own. Originally concentrated on the Ethereum environment, it has lately grown to include Bitcoin, Solana, and BNB Chain among several blockchain systems.

Additionally joining Coinbase’s executive team is Pollak, who confirmed on Monday. “I’m really excited to take on this new mandate and to accelerate our mission of bringing a billion people and a million builders onchain,” he stated.

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