At BaseCamp 2025, Coinbase’s annual event held in Stowe, Vermont, Jesse Pollak, Head of Base, confirmed for the first time that Base is actively exploring issuing a native or network token for its Ethereum layer-2 network. Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, then reiterated this change in stance through an X post, adding that a new token could help in ”accelerating decentralization.”
Base officials emphasised that they will build “in the open” and involve the community and that the project is in very early phases. here are no finalized details on the token design, supply, governance mechanics, or launch timeline. However they said that exploring a token might help advance or accelerate its mission, including better aligning incentives among builders, validators, participants, and perhaps governance.
There is no indication yet that Base’s token would replace or negatively affect COIN (Coinbase’s public stock) yet. If Base grows with strong tokenomics, it could enhance Coinbase’s value proposition, possibly viewed favorably by markets. However, a new token could draw scrutiny from regulators concerned about securities law, token distribution, or overlap with existing tokens or securities.
Unlike ETH, which is Ethereum’s native token, the Base token would likely serve different or additional roles.These could include governance, staking/validation incentives, subsidizing gas or fees, aligning ecosystem rewards, possibly bridging or protocol incentives. It would be specific to Base, though likely highly interoperable with Ethereum, as Base is built on the OP Stack and is intended to remain tightly connected with the Ethereum ecosystem.
For investors and the crypto community, this is worth watching closely as the design, timing, governance, and regulatory stance will matter heavily.