What’s the deal with Zora, Base, and content coins?

Coinbase-sponsored second layer blockchain Base caused a stir on Wednesday when, despite repeatedly claiming that it had no intention of launching a token, it launched a token.

Confusingly, however, depending on who you listen to, it either didn’t launch a token at all, or it has launched something called a “content coin.”

BASEISFOREVERYONE was announced by Base via an X post and was billed as being for “coiners, collectors, traders, builders, creators, artists, writers, musicians, visionaries, sports fans, podcasters, travelers, DeFi users, students, and so much more.”

Unfortunately, the memecoin crashed 88% within hours.

What’s peculiar, however, is that Coinbase itself is adamant that it didn’t actually launch a token or memecoin. This, it says, is due to the token launching on Zora.

Zora is a copy of Instagram that utilises Base’s layer 2 chain to tokenize every post users make, meaning they can subsequently be traded and sold.

A Coinbase spokesperson told Protos that “Zora is an onchain social media platform, where people can post, like, and share content. Posts on Zora are automatically tokenized.”

It said, “To be clear, Base did not launch a token, this is not an official Base token, and Base did not sell this token. Base posted on Zora, which automatically tokenizes content.”

Read more: Coinbase claims the token Base just launched isn’t actually a token at all

Base itself also tried to skirt around the token launch by claiming that it, and any future coins on Zora, “are not an official network or protocol token for Base, Coinbase, or any other related product.”

It claims they are “solely for artistic and cultural purposes as collectibles, not as investments or financial instruments.” It also says the post itself is similar to a post on X.

The only problem is, X isn’t turning every photo you upload into a tradable, financial instrument, despite the loophole Base’s disclaimer is trying to establish.

Base’s Jesse Pollak wants to reinvent the memecoin

As Base founder Jesse Pollak promoted Zora and Base’s freshly launched token, he also tried to reinvent the memecoin wheel.

Pollak dubbed Zora’s tokenised posts as “content coins” and claims that, unlike memecoins, content coins have “no expectations,” only have “singular value,” and are “one piece of content.”

But some aren’t impressed with the new coin. X user @Rhynotic pointed out that at least with NFTs, the funds went straight to the creator. In this case, there’s a chance the funds will go into the pockets of early buyers and potential insider traders as they dump their holdings on newcomers.

Indeed, sellers of BASEISFOREVERYONE crashed its price in the first two hours while three wallets were spotted buying large amounts of the token before its official endorsement from Base.

The price has since pumped upwards after this first major crash.

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Others called the content coin push “major gaslighting,” while others think Base must view memecoins “as a dirty word.” Even Pump Fun CEO Alon Cohen said now is not the time for Base’s strategy and that its move with Zora “has resulted in hurt.”

“I’m a huge advocate for the vision of ‘tokenizing everything’ but you can’t change current market realities — if you launch a coin AND have social influence, that comes with responsibility,” he reasoned.

Pump Fun popularised the memecoin trend and has made more than half a billion dollars in the process. Now, it’s spawned a whole host of copycats and trendchasers, including Justin Sun’s Sun Pump, Binance’s Four Meme, and now the Zora app built on Base.

After Protos reached out to Coinbase for comment, a spokesperson reiterated the disclaimer Base placed under its Zora post, stated again that “Base did not launch a token,” and quoted Base’s post yesterday.

It said, “Base is posting on Zora because we believe everyone should bring their content onchain, and use the tools that make it possible. Memes. Moments. Culture. If we want the future to be onchain, we have to be willing to experiment in public. That’s what we’re doing.”

“To be clear, Base will never sell these tokens, and these are not official network tokens for Base, Coinbase, or any other related product. The content we share is creative, and we’re going to keep bringing culture onchain.”