Coinbase has appointed Jordan Fish, better known as Cobie, to lead Base App and Advanced Trading. Responding to criticism that erupted after the BRIAN memecoin controversy, he admitted that the exchange had gradually lost touch with its users over many years.
A Crisis of Trust
Cobie was asked how Base App plans to win back onchain users at a time when trust in Coinbase leadership and the Base network has been severely damaged. According to him, this is not something that can be fixed in a week or a month.
“We spent a long time somewhat in an ivory tower and disconnected from users, especially crypto-native users,” Cobie wrote.
He added that part of the community, including many long-time Base supporters, is now deeply frustrated with the company. By taking on this new role, Fish said he is prepared to share in the frustration that has built up around the team and refocus the product on the needs of users who are actively operating onchain.
What Triggered the Backlash
The latest wave of criticism was sparked by the BRIAN memecoin, which was created by the community using the image of Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. On July 16, Armstrong changed his profile picture on X to the token’s mascot, despite having no involvement in its creation.
The post received roughly 1.6 million views, and the token’s market capitalization surged within hours from under $1 million to about $30–37 million. The number of holders also climbed above 10,000.
On July 18, Armstrong switched his profile picture back to his CryptoPunk, and BRIAN collapsed by more than 90%, falling to roughly $1.3–1.5 million. Some analysts pointed to signs of insider trading, noting that certain wallets had begun accumulating the token before its explosive rally.
Rune said that more than 10,000 holders of assets on Base lost up to 99% of their investments after placing trust in the leadership of the exchange and the network. He described the team’s behavior as not merely detached, but actively harmful to users.
Other Complaints Against Coinbase
The discussion also highlighted the lack of a transparent support channel for developers who do not have personal contacts within the Base team.
Another X user pointed to the years-long delay in listing the Virtuals token, one of the largest projects in the Base ecosystem, while less successful assets were allegedly approved much more quickly. The same user also referenced the failed monetization of content through Zora and criticized posts from the Base account that were followed by sharp price spikes in certain tokens, only for those tokens to crash shortly afterward.
Base creator and head Jesse Pollak had previously acknowledged that the strategy built around Farcaster, Zora, mini-apps, and creator coins had failed.
“I hope we can finally stop talking about content coins now,” he wrote while announcing the leadership changes at Base App.
Later, Brian Armstrong confirmed that the company is abandoning the content-coin direction and will instead focus on trading, payments, and AI agents.