Base App Ends Farcaster Talk Feed as It Refocuses on Trading

On Tuesday, the Creator Rewards program by Coinbase’s Base App will be terminated, and the Farcaster social feed will be eliminated as the company focuses on tradable assets. The company stated that the decision was strategic in nature and was aimed at simplifying the app and enhancing 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 is not aligned with the app’s long-term strategy.

The company stated that the program is successful in distributing $450,000 to almost 17,000 creators. The average reward was about $26. The program will be terminated on Sunday, with the last reward being paid out on Feb. 18.

Base App Narrows Scope Toward Trading

According to Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base App, the app’s focus was too broad. He stated that the app needs to be more focused and that its main aim is to trade. He stated that the app’s focus will be better by narrowing the scope.

The app will also eliminate the Farcaster talk feed. According to Pollak, the creator of Base, the app’s interface does not allow Farcaster to shine. He stated that the app’s interface will be better for the user when they return to the main Farcaster app.

Pollak admitted that the Base App is not the best Farcaster client. However, he is expecting most users to return to the Farcaster platform. According to him, the change will be for the greater benefit of the Farcaster ecosystem.

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The updated direction by Coinbase is in line with their plan to 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 tools.

Creator Coins Stay Active Despite Program Changes

The Base App was launched to the public in December after a series of tests. The app is a self-custody wallet. In addition, the app offers a unified interface for trading on supported networks.

Coinbase has previously made hints about the Base token’s potential. However, there is no confirmation of the plan currently. Brian Armstrong, the Coinbase CEO, and Pollak have not given any updates on the plan.

The shutdown does not impact 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 is not the only change happening in the Farcaster ecosystem. Neynar, a developer platform, acquired the Farcaster protocol. Farcaster will return $180 million to investors and will continue to function.

The Farcaster co-founders, Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, have joined Tempo, a stablecoin project. Their departure signals a shift toward distributed stewardship across the ecosystem.

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