Coinbase CEO admits SocialFi functionality in the Base app "has not performed ideally".

PANews reported on March 4th that, according to The Block, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated in a podcast interview that the SocialFi feature tested in the Base app last year "didn't perform as well as expected." Armstrong said it was an experimental attempt that failed to meet expectations, and the Base app has now shifted its focus to trading functionality, becoming a self-custodied version of the Coinbase app.

The Base app heavily promoted its Creator Token feature, tokenizing social media posts and creator accounts. However, Coinbase has since scaled back this feature, shifting towards a "finance-first experience." While some well-known Creator Tokens briefly gained attention, almost all launched tokens failed to maintain their value. Armstrong believes SocialFi will ultimately succeed, but token economics is not yet fully resolved, and tokens need to be durable. The Base protocol itself is also undergoing significant changes, replacing its original OP Stack with custom components and considering launching a native token.