What you need to know:
- Base App is ending Creator Rewards and scrapping Farcaster feeds as Coinbase shifts its focus to trading.
- The program paid $450,000 to 17,000 creators, but Coinbase says it no longer fits the app’s strategy.
- The changes at Farcaster follow the acquisition of Neynar and the leadership shift towards decentralized growth.
On Tuesday, Coinbase’s Base App Creator Rewards program will end and Farcaster’s social feed will be eliminated as the company focuses on tradable assets. The company stated that the decision was strategic in nature and focused on simplifying the app and increasing the quality of the app’s core function.
The Creator Rewards program was introduced in July and was intended to reward the app’s social activity. The program does not fit in with the long-term strategy of the app.
The company stated that the program has been successful in distributing $450,000 to nearly 17,000 creators. The average reward was about $26. The program ends on Sunday, with the last reward paid out on February 18.
Basic app reduces the scope for trade
According to Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base App, the focus of the app was too broad. He declared that the app should be more focused and its main purpose is for trading. He stated that the app’s focus will be better by narrowing its scope.
The app also eliminates the Farcaster talk feed. According to Pollak, the creator of Base, the app’s interface doesn’t let Farcaster excel. He stated that the app’s interface will be better for the user if they return to the main Farcaster app.
Pollak admitted that the Base app isn’t the best Farcaster client. However, he expects most users to return to the Farcaster platform. According to him, the change will benefit the Farcaster ecosystem.
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Coinbase’s updated direction is in line with their plan create an “Everything App” that will focus on trading. The roadmap includes spot markets, derivatives, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. The roadmap also includes infrastructure for prediction markets and emerging financial instruments.
Creator Coins remain active despite program changes
The Basic app was launched to the public in December after a series of tests. The app is a self-custody wallet. Additionally, the app provides a unified interface for trading on supported networks.
Coinbase has previously hinted at the potential of the Base token. However, there is currently no confirmation of the plan. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Pollak did not provide any updates on the plan.
The closure will not affect Creator Coins. Users can generate ERC-20 tokens associated with their base app profiles. The option is integrated with the decentralized media platform Zora.
The shutdown isn’t the only change taking place in the Farcaster ecosystem. Neynar, a developer platform, has adopted the Farcaster protocol. Farcaster will return $180 million to investors and will continue to operate.
Farcaster co-founders Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan have done just that connected Tempo, a stablecoin project. Their departure signals a shift toward distributed stewardship across the ecosystem.
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