Coinbase and its Ethereum Layer 2 base are facing resistance from traders and developers who argue that the creator token experiment has did not convert a viral social media moment into sustained on-chain activity.
The backlash got here after YouTuber Nick Shirley launched a token on YouTuber platform Zora. Shirley's token briefly increased its online fame to a totally diluted value of about $9 million before slipping to $3 million. Most of the amount got here from existing traders and never recent users.
In a widespread criticism, retailer and content creator notthreadguy argued that if Shirley couldn't make the model work, nobody would make it.
“If there was ever a time when these content coins, these creator coins, were going to work, it was Nick Shirley, right here, immediately, on this moment. And it just didn't work,” he said, adding that there was no demand for trading content coins aside from “moat for moat.”
His comments got here amid other Zora-related experiments on Base which have seen sharp rises and falls with none signs of sustained demand.
Shirley recently found himself at the middle of the political crisis after his unconfirmed allegations of daycare fraud were amplified by figures like Elon Musk and senior Trump administration officials. The claims became a part of broader discussions cited by the administration when it announced a freeze on Minnesota's child care advantages.
SocialFi stats versus on-chain reality
Base is increasingly being marketed as a decentralized social platform, because of previous experiments like Friend.tech, followed by successors like Farcaster and Zora attracting creator activity.
According to reports, the SocialFi market will reach greater than $10 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% from 2025 to 2033. Still, even high-profile platforms like Friend.tech saw each day lively user peaks of nearly 80,000 before falling back below the ten,000 mark.
Increasing pressure on Base's strategy
The gap between headline growth and stickiness is fueling discontent amongst grassroots farmers.
Nick Shirley's Token Raises Questions About SocialFi on Base | on source: AvgJoesCrypto
Developers and community members have complained that quite a few high-profile creator coins promoted through official channels, including internal “team” tokens and Zora launches, have created a perception of favoritism while leaving retail participants in danger if liquidity dries up.
“If you're not a part of the popular narrative, you're effectively non-existent. At that time, what's the inducement to construct on Base?” questioned a base builder.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong then began reaching out to community members, posting that he had a “great conversation” with notthreadguy and received “quite a lot of good ideas.”
