Base creator admits sharing ‘Base is for pimping’ art was a mistake

The creator of Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Base, Jesse Pollak, has apologized following backlash over posting digital artwork that controversially played on Base’s tagline, “Base is for everyone.”

Several social media users found the artwork offensive and inappropriate.

“It was a single phrase among many, but I’ll own this was a mistake and apologize,” Pollak said in an April 18 X post referring to his decision to reshare a GIF image that featured the phrase “Base is for…” followed by a rotating sequence of words, including both controversial terms like “pimping” and “squirting,” as well as more neutral ones like “art,” “minting,” and “ideas.”

Pollak says he appreciates “provocative art”

Pollak emphasized that the artwork was made by a creator, not him, and specifically apologized for the image featuring the phrase “Base is for pimping.”

Pollak said that while he wants to support artists building on Base and admits he appreciates “provocative art,” he recognizes the need to be mindful of his shared messages, especially when they appear to come directly from him.

It comes after criticism from several crypto industry participants who took to social media to voice their disappointment over Pollak’s endorsement of the image, calling out the use of the word “pimping.”

Crypto commentator “Kristel” said in an April 18 X post, “so we’re just casually platforming pimping now?” “I get pushing boundaries, but this isn’t it,” she said.

“This isn’t provocative and ‘edgy,” she added. Kanto Labs founder said it is an “absolute PR nightmare.”

Meanwhile, crypto commentator David Z. Morris said this “doesn’t just hurt Base, it hurts crypto.” Morris added:

“The specific allusion to sex trafficking (not “sex work,” pimping is pretty fundamentally exploitation) is specifically bad for a sector that needs to advance the narrative that open finance is a net social positive.”

However, many praised Pollak for the apology and his continued efforts to push boundaries in the crypto industry. “Love the honesty. We all make mistakes, but it’s about how we grow from them,” crypto commentator Zuri said.

Bankless co-founder David Hoffman said, “I respect the leadership here.” Milk Road co-founder Kyle Reidhead said, “Do and share whatever you want without apology.”

Base was at the center of controversy only days ago when the official X account shared a post promoting a memecoin with its marketing tagline, “Base is for everyone.” 

Related: Base creator Jesse Pollak to join Coinbase exec team and lead wallet charge

It also shared a link to a token of the same name on Zora, a social network where users can make posts into tokens for others to speculate on.

In just over an hour after it was created, the Base is for everyone token hit a peak market capitalization of $17.1 million — then dropped by nearly 90% over the next 20 minutes to a market value of $1.9 million, according to DEX Screener data.

A Coinbase spokeswoman distanced Base from the token, telling Cointelegraph on April 17, “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,” the spokeswoman said.

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