Base Creator Apologizes for Controversial Artwork

Jesse Pollak, the creator of Ethereum layer 2 blockchain Base, has issued an apology following a backlash over a digital artwork he shared. The artwork, which played on Base’s tagline “Base is for everyone,” included a rotating sequence of words, among which were controversial terms like “pimping” and “squirting,” as well as more neutral ones like “art,” “minting,” and “ideas.”

Pollak acknowledged the mistake in an April 18 post, stating, “It was a single phrase among many, but I’ll own this was a mistake and apologize.” He clarified that the artwork was created by an external artist and that he specifically apologized for the image featuring the phrase “Base is for pimping.”

Pollak emphasized his appreciation for “provocative art” and his support for artists building on Base. However, he recognized the need to be mindful of the messages he shares, especially when they appear to come directly from him. This incident underscores the importance of content moderation and the potential impact of shared material on public perception and community sentiment.

Several crypto industry participants voiced their disappointment over Pollak’s endorsement of the image, calling out the use of the word “pimping.” Crypto commentator “Kristel” expressed her disapproval, stating, “so we’re just casually platforming pimping now?” and “I get pushing boundaries, but this isn’t it.” Kanto Labs founder described the situation as an “absolute PR nightmare.”

David Z. Morris, a crypto commentator, highlighted the broader implications of the incident, stating that it “doesn’t just hurt Base, it hurts crypto.” He 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.”

Despite the criticism, many praised Pollak for his apology and his continued efforts to push boundaries in the crypto industry. Crypto commentator Zuri said, “Love the honesty. We all make mistakes, but it’s about how we grow from them.” Bankless co-founder David Hoffman expressed respect for Pollak’s leadership, while Milk Road co-founder Kyle Reidhead encouraged Pollak to “Do and share whatever you want without apology.”

This incident comes just days after Base was at the center of another controversy when the official account shared a post promoting a memecoin with the marketing tagline, “Base is for everyone.” The post included a link to a token of the same name on a social network where users can make posts into tokens for others to speculate on. The token hit a peak market capitalization of $17.1 million within an hour of its creation, but then dropped by nearly 90% over the next 20 minutes to a market value of $1.9 million. A spokeswoman distanced Base from the token, stating that it was not an official Base token and that Base did not sell the token.