Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base network and a senior executive at Coinbase, is launching a personal token named JESSE. He is framing the project not as a speculative memecoin but as a “creator coin,” an asset tied directly to his personal brand and influence.

According to Pollak, this new token is designed to complement his “content coins”—social media posts he mints on the Zora protocol, which are then traded as tokens. The JESSE token is scheduled for a November launch, with a promise of no pre-sale or insider allocations to ensure a fair distribution.

A Controversial Track Record

This isn’t Pollak’s first venture into the volatile world of social tokens. In April 2024, the official Base account on Zora minted a post with the slogan “Base is for everyone,” which automatically created a tradable token with the ticker BASE. The token’s market capitalization soared to $17 million within an hour before crashing by 90% just as quickly.

The incident sparked significant controversy, with many community members viewing it as an implicit endorsement of a memecoin by the official Base project. Critics argued it fueled speculation about a potential utility token for the Layer 2 network. Pollak later acknowledged that he personally approved the post, defending it as an experiment while dismissing allegations of market manipulation.

The Troubled History of Influencer Tokens

While advocates believe creator coins can offer a new model for monetizing influence, the history of such tokens is overwhelmingly negative. A 2024 study of 1,567 memecoins promoted by X influencers found that 86% lost over 90% of their value within three months.

The market is filled with examples of celebrity-endorsed tokens that saw a brief surge of interest before fading into obscurity, from Kanye West’s YZY to Ronaldinho’s STAR10. Even more resilient projects, such as Iggy Azalea’s MOTHER token, have struggled to maintain momentum after their initial hype cycle.

Pollak’s entry into this space raises questions about the appropriateness of a key architect behind Coinbase’s Layer 2 network engaging in such speculative ventures. His prominent role lends a degree of credibility to the project, blurring the lines between a personal experiment and the activities of a major industry leader.