Base just crossed its own Rubicon. After months of saying “no token,” Jesse Pollak now says Base must decentralize and is “exploring” a token. What changed?
On this episode, Proof of Play’s ICO Beast and former Coinbase Ventures investor Ryan Yi unpack why “exploring” is the operative word, how policy (the Clarity Act) could shape the rollout, and what a points-driven airdrop might look like.
We dig into governance realism (what Coinbase will and won’t give up), token utility and valuation math, and how a Base↔Solana bridge could ignite a fight for DeFi liquidity while Solana keeps winning Gen-Z consumers.
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Guests:
Ico Beast, Merchant of Narratives at Proof of Play
Ryan Yi, Ex Coinbase, Coinbase Ventures, and CoinFund
Links:
Unchained:
Base Starts to Explore a Native Token
LayerZero Fought the Sybils and Airdropped Its Token. Did the Team Win?
Why the War Over the USDH Ticker on Hyperliquid Is Bullish for Crypto
Timestamps:
🎬 0:00 Intro
😲 1:32 Why Ryan says this step feels right but is also “shocking”
🧐 3:21 Why Base announced it was exploring a token rather than just launching one
🛠️ 5:19 How Ryan views Base’s decision to stay committed to Ethereum
📊 7:43 What Ryan thinks a fair token allocation would look like
⚖️ 13:43 How the Clarity Act could shape a Base token rollout
🎁 16:23 Will Coinbase distribute through an ICO, an airdrop, or something else?
📈 23:32 Why ICO Beast has a different take on the right allocation
🛡️ 26:10 Why sybil filters will be critical for Base
💡 27:50 What the Base token’s utility could be—and how to value it
🌉 37:24 What the announced Base ↔ Solana bridge could mean
⚔️ 42:08 Whether Ethereum and Solana are heading for a DeFi liquidity war
🔥 45:25 How competition across crypto companies is heating up
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