Base’s Creator Coin Experiment Meets Resistance After Shirley Launch

Coinbase's Layer-2 network, Base, is facing pushback from traders and builders regarding its creator token experiment, highlighted by YouTuber Nick Shirley's recent token launch on Zora. Shirley's token briefly reached a $9 million fully diluted valuation based on his online fame before dropping to $3 million, with most volume coming from existing traders, not new users. Critics, like trader notthreadguy, argue that if Shirley couldn't make the model work, no creator coin will, suggesting a lack of sustained demand beyond speculative trading. This skepticism grows as other Zora-linked experiments on Base show sharp volatility without lasting engagement, despite projections for the SocialFi market to exceed $10 billion by 2033. Builders are also concerned that high-profile creator coin promotions, including internal team tokens, create perceptions of favoritism, potentially disincentivizing general development on Base. In response to the mounting pressure, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong acknowledged the feedback, stating he had a "great chat" with notthreadguy.

(Source：Cointelegraph)