Podcast Notes | Interview with Coinbase Senior Director: Can BASE Ignite an "L2 Summer"?
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Podcast Notes | Interview with Coinbase Senior Director: Can BASE Ignite an "L2 Summer"?
A Layer 2 bull market means Coinbase could bring thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of users and developers to Base.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompiled & Translated by TechFlow
Recently, tokens and projects on Base have seen significant price increases, attracting substantial capital and attention.
In a recent episode of Empire, the host invited Jesse Pollak, Senior Director of Retail Product Engineering at Coinbase, who has played a key role in the development of Base L2.
Base is carving out its space in the Layer 2 market without allowing its centralized backer, Coinbase, to hinder innovation. After DeFi Summer, can Base now become a driving force behind an "L2 Summer" and serve as a pivotal player? Let’s hear insights from an insider.
Below are the main highlights from the conversation, translated by TechFlow:
Host: From Bankless
Guest: Jesse Pollak, Senior Director of Retail Product Engineering at Coinbase
Video Credit: Bankless Podcast
Episode: Link
Release Date: July 27
The Relationship Between Coinbase, Base, and OP Stack
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Jesse Pollak is the Senior Director of Retail Product Engineering at Coinbase and leads Base development within Coinbase. However, his role indicates that Base is not merely a part of Coinbase;
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This means that although Base was initially developed inside Coinbase, Base is not a subsidiary or department of Coinbase. Instead, Base is an independent Layer 2 protocol with its own development team and governance structure.
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The Base development team may include some Coinbase employees, but their work on Base is independent of their responsibilities at Coinbase.
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Base could be a frontrunner in the upcoming "Layer 2 summer." A Layer 2 bull run would mean Coinbase could bring thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of users and developers onto Base.
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Coinbase is pushing the frontier of Layer 2 and contributing to the Layer 2 ecosystem through the Op Collective. Base is an OP Stack chain, making it part of the Op Collective.
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Although Coinbase is a centralized organization forking the OP Stack, it is also part of the Op Collective. The validator fees generated by Base—i.e., the revenue Coinbase earns from operating the Base chain—will go to the Op Collective.
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Coinbase allows Base to be governed by Optimism and contributes fees, becoming part of the public goods system that powers Optimism.
Characteristics, Challenges, and Solutions for Base L2
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Base has gained high acceptance, and developers are highly interested. Base aims to help bring the next million developers and billion users on-chain.
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Base's uniqueness lies in its intersection with Coinbase. Base will work with all wallets and DApps, but Coinbase provides a testing environment that simplifies user experience—from complex steps and infrastructure choices—to a "I want to do something, and it just happens" experience. This will help bring all Coinbase users and assets on-chain and provide a template for the next wave of users.
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Base faces three main challenges: a. Technology is still relatively early; b. Base was launched by a centralized company (Coinbase); c. We remain in an ambiguous policy and regulatory environment.
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Technology is still relatively early: Current Layer 2 technology remains in its early stages, with many rollups—including Base—in "Stage 0" or "Stage 1";
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To address this, extensive development and testing are required to ensure decentralization. Base is investing in technical development, including collaborating with Paradigm on a client called Breath and building open-source monitoring tools like Pessimism. They’ve also established a dedicated team for core OP Stack development.
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Base was launched by a centralized company: This presents a challenge because it requires transforming Base into a decentralized network while maintaining Coinbase as a publicly traded company.
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To solve this, Base has committed to neutrality standards, striving to ensure Base remains open and permissionless for all users and developers. They've also built a network where neither Coinbase nor the Base team acts as a single point of failure.
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Ambiguous policy and regulatory environment: This forces them to spend more time and resources on legal fees and policy advocacy rather than innovation. He describes this as a particularly difficult environment, especially for a company like Coinbase, which is at the forefront of policy efforts.
Base’s Vision and View on “Public Goods”
This could impact Base’s development and adoption. To address this, Base is creating sustainable funding mechanisms, including allocating a portion of its sequencer revenue to fund public goods via the Optimism Collective, and launching its own public goods funding program in August.
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Base’s vision is to help bring people worldwide on-chain. No matter where you are, you should be able to access the same financial services. The implications of equal opportunity and economic freedom are worth fighting for. This is Base’s core vision and primary focus.
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Jesse Pollak discussed how they collaborate with the decentralized OP Stack network and decided to allocate a portion of Base’s sequencer fees to public goods.
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He believes that if Coinbase benefits from these technologies, it should give back and fund their development. This reflects a sense of responsibility and commitment to public goods.
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This behavior positively impacts Base’s growth and adoption. Base is establishing sustainable funding mechanisms, including directing a share of sequencer revenue to fund public goods via the Optimism Collective and launching its own public goods funding initiative in August.
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Jesse shared his experience participating in a public goods fundraising round. He described promoting the fundraiser to their team via Twitter and encouraging participation. The team received contributions ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. Jesse views this method as an effective way to fund public goods.
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Jesse also emphasized the importance of public goods. He believes public goods are a vital component of the crypto community and deserve adequate financial support.
L2 Summer, Mainnet Launch Timeline, and Future Plans
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Jesse Pollak mentioned the idea of a "Layer 2 Summer." He said they’re looking forward to it and feel they’re gradually approaching this phase. He hopes to bring more people on-chain and build a new, upgraded system.
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Jesse revealed that Base’s mainnet is already open to developers, with plans to open it to all users by early August. They encourage developers to deploy their DApps during this window and are running an incentive program:
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If you deploy your DApp and verify your contract during this period, you’ll receive a Genesis Builder NFT—a commemorative NFT recognizing your deployment during this launch window.
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Jesse shared strategies for attracting more developers to on-chain development. They’ve launched Base Camp, a fully self-directed course teaching smart contract development.
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As you progress through the course, you earn small NFTs indicating your learning milestones. Additionally, they’re piloting a Base Boot Camp internally at Coinbase—a comprehensive training program helping Coinbase employees start building on-chain applications. They plan to open this boot camp to the public.
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Jesse also discussed their view on the term "on-chain." They hope "on-chain" becomes as commonplace as "online," seamlessly integrated into daily life.
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Jesse expressed long-term commitment. They plan to stay here for the foreseeable future, continuing to build, support developers and users, and ensure this on-chain economy brings meaningful positive change to the world.
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