Coinbase’s Blockchain Base and the guy who built it, Jesse Pollak

Cryptocurrencies can seem stale these days as the same names talk about the same old things. That’s why it’s refreshing to meet Jesse Pollak, the Coinbase engineer who created the company’s popular Base blockchain. Pollak stands out because, unlike the recent influx of people from Wall Street and Washington, D.C., looking to make money, he feels like he’s come from a frontier era of cryptocurrencies, when the industry was dominated by real believers.

Pollak is the subject of this fascinating feature by Niamh Rowe describing how Coinbase’s engineering whiz felt restless and almost abandoned but, after failing to convince senior executives to turn the company into a DAO, he finally hit on Base’s idea. The name describes a low-cost layer 2 blockchain that sits on top of Ethereum and has already produced a number of popular apps, particularly in the finance and social media sectors. Notably, Base brought in $56 million in revenue last quarter for Coinbase, an important development as it shows that the company has finally found a way to earn money beyond trading fees and interest on stablecoins.

Pollak himself is also a refreshing figure who aspires to remain humble and put the Quaker values ​​of his childhood into what he builds. Cryptocurrencies could use more of these types. Pollak is also open to experimentation, as I discovered when he asked if we could sell the article on Base to make it available to those who didn’t have a Fortune subscription.

We went ahead and did just that and, already, hundreds of people have gone ahead and purchased a blockchain version of the item. (You can do the same Here using Metamask or another crypto wallet). This raises an interesting question about whether this could be a viable model for the media industry in a broader way, involving allowing cryptocurrency users to purchase items à la carte.

I still think of conventional luck subscription is the best solution for most people, also because it provides access to wonderful business features such as This about the gruesome accident that proved to be the undoing of GM’s driverless car ambitions, or This about the cult of Costco. But for others, especially those deeply involved in blockchain, it makes sense for publishers to publish stories crypto-natively. It helps that these people already have a wallet connected and will appreciate the convenience of paying this way.

For now, transacting on a blockchain still requires some technical know-how, and the user interface is not yet comparable to Amazon’s. But it’s not crazy to imagine, five years from now, that services like Base become more mainstream and sell access to cryptocurrency-related media bundles in a similar package to Apple News. I have no idea if Base will be successful in the long term or if it will just be yet another hyped crypto project that didn’t pan out. But it’s refreshing to see true believers like Pollak try new things.

Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts

DECENTRALIZED NEWS

President Joe Biden vetoed it a bipartisan bill that would have repealed SEC accounting guidelines that currently require banks to hold customers’ cryptocurrencies as liabilities on their balance sheet. (The block)

A proposed update to The Bitcoin code called OP_CAT, which would add smart contracts and be the first change since 2021, is gaining momentum. (Bloomberg)

Hackers stole 4,500 bitcoins from Japanese exchange DMM, the eighth largest cryptocurrency hack ever. (Reuters)

Hong Kong Regulators say 11 cryptocurrency exchanges, including Crypto.com and Bullish, are close to getting official permits to operate. (Bloomberg)

The imminent arrival of Ethereum ETF has led to fewer Ether in circulation, and speculation about shortages could lead to prices rising. (Cointelegraph)

MEME OF THE MOMENT

Will they notice the difference?

This is the web version of Fortune Crypto, a daily newsletter about the coins, companies and people shaping the world of cryptocurrencies. Registration free.

Fuente