App delays and launch sniping: Base co-founder’s token issuance sparks community dissatisfaction

Author: Chloe, ChainCatcher

Yesterday, Base co-founder Jesse Pollak launched the jesse token, with the release time set for November 21 at 1:00 (UTC+8). Before the token launch, Jesse tweeted that the token would debut on the Base App, emphasizing that this was to test and promote the creator coin feature of the Base App, allowing users to directly participate in minting and trading through the App. He also promised there would be no presale, internal allocation, or any unfair mechanisms.

However, there was a strong reaction from the community. Many users waited on the Base App but were unable to buy in time due to app crashes and delays. Eventually, Jesse posted the contract address on X, while the Base App update was delayed by about 17-20 minutes, causing retail investors to miss out on low-price opportunities. The community complained about being toyed with, calling it "the most failed fair launch in Base history." Some users even spent hours obtaining App invitation codes but to no avail.

In addition, according to Arkham tracking data, the token was immediately sniped upon launch, with a total of 26% of the supply (about 261.7 million tokens) bought in the same block, mainly through the Flashblocks mechanism on the Base network. Snipers paid high priority fees to compete, with the top two snipers earning approximately $707,700 and $619,600 respectively, for a total arbitrage of $1.3 million. The community called this a "scientist battlefield," with retail investors having almost no chance to participate.

Currently, the price of jesse is $0.01705, with a market cap of $17.05 million.

Jesse's Vision to Return Rights to All Creators

Jesse insists that this is not a meme coin, but a "creator coin," a lasting asset deeply tied to his personal brand and influence. The emergence of creator tokens, combined with "content coins," aims to return ownership and profits to creators and fans.

As early as this April, Base had already sparked controversy over content coins. At that time, the official Base account posted the slogan "Base is for everyone" on Zora, and the post was automatically minted into a tradable token. Base then shared the post on X. The resulting token's market cap soared to $17 million within an hour, but then plummeted by 90%.

This incident triggered much controversy in the community. Many users believed this was a meme coin endorsed by Base. On the other hand, on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain revealed that three crypto wallets bought the "Base is for everyone" token before the official announcement and quickly sold after the news, making a combined profit of $666,000. After these whales sold, the token's market cap dropped below $2 million, causing latecomers to become victims and raising suspicions of insider trading.

The "Base is for everyone" token was essentially endorsed by Base at the time, severely damaging community trust. In response to the controversy over Base allegedly launching tokens to "cut leeks," Base explained that the token was automatically minted by the Zora platform and that Base had only posted a message on the platform.

According to a report by CCN, Jesse later admitted that he personally approved the post and stated that it was an experiment, while denying allegations of market manipulation. Since then, he has continued to mint "content coins" on Zora.

Celebrity Coins Are Highly Likely to End in Failure

Although Jesse emphasizes the differentiation of content/creator coins, such token launches tied to celebrities or creators themselves often end in failure.

A study by CoinWire found that among 1,567 meme coins promoted by 377 X platform celebrities, 86% lost at least 90% of their value within three months of endorsement.

Even relatively successful projects like the tokens of Trump and singer Iggy Azalea, which maintained market cap and trading volume over a longer period, are unlikely to reach their previous highs again.

Whether meme coins or content/creator coins, they are so-called attention economy games. Even if retail investors have a chance to taste high returns, their value is often hard to sustain. Moreover, with mainstream altcoins underperforming, Jesse's timing for launching a token may not be well received by the market.