Brian Armstrong says Base App's social features 'didn't quite work'; app pivots to trading

Coinbase/Coinbase Wallet

Coinbase's CEO said on a podcast that the social experiment in Base App had not worked and the app had become a trading-focused, self-custody version of the Coinbase app. Creator coins tied to posts had mostly lost their value.

• Jesse Pollak had announced a finance-first redesign in January 2026.
• The Farcaster-powered feed was removed in February 2026.
• Armstrong said token economics for social apps are not yet figured out.