Jesse Pollak of Base Joins Coinbase Leadership

Announcement on X

On October 1, Pollak announced via his X account that he would be taking on this dual role, joining Coinbase’s eight-member executive team while continuing to lead Base (BASE). He emphasized the alignment of goals between Base and Coinbase:

• Both entities share the same “north star.”
• Closer collaboration will facilitate achieving their common goal of making it “dead simple for the world to come onchain.”

Pollak expressed his excitement about this new mandate, stating, “I’m really excited to take on this new mandate and to accelerate our mission of bringing a billion people and a million builders onchain.”

Commitment to Decentralization

In his post, Pollak assured that Base would continue to uphold its core values as a fully decentralized, open-source protocol “for everyone.” He plans to incorporate these democratic values into his work with the Coinbase Wallet team.

Industry Reaction

The news of Pollak’s promotion has garnered positive reactions from various industry players and analysts. Pseudonymous crypto analyst Altcoin Psycho shared his optimism on X, noting that Coinbase’s appointment of Pollak bodes well for mainstream adoption of cryptocurrency.

Transition at Coinbase

According to a post by Coinbase’s President and COO Emillie Choi, former Engineering VP Manish Gupta left the company to “start a new chapter.” Pollak will be stepping into Gupta’s role.

Previous Experience

Jesse Pollak has a rich history at Coinbase, having led the consumer and retail engineering teams from January 2018 to September 2021. He played a significant role in the development of Coinbase Pro and Coinbase Wallet.

About Base

76/On August 9, 2023, Coinbase launched Base, a new layer-2 blockchain network designed to enhance Ethereum’s capacity for decentralized applications. The protocol aims to improve user interfaces and reduce transaction costs.

Impressive Growth

As of now, data from L2Beat indicates that Base’s total value locked has surpassed $7.2 billion, showcasing its significant impact in the blockchain ecosystem.