Base Creator Jesse Pollak to Lead Coinbase Wallet Team

TLDR

• Jesse Pollak, creator of Base, will lead Coinbase Wallet and join the executive team
• Base and Coinbase Wallet share a mission to bring more users and builders on-chain
• Base will maintain its core values while collaborating more closely with Coinbase Wallet
• Coinbase Wallet allows users to manage assets across blockchains and use dApps
• Base has surpassed $2.24 billion in total value locked

Jesse Pollak, the architect behind Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain Base, has announced he will be taking on leadership of Coinbase Wallet while also joining the company’s executive team.

This move, announced on October 1, 2024, marks a significant shift in Pollak’s role within the cryptocurrency exchange giant.

Pollak, who has been with Coinbase for over seven years, shared the news via social media. He emphasized the shared mission between Base and Coinbase Wallet, stating their goal is “bringing a billion people and a million builders on-chain.” This alignment in objectives appears to be a key factor in Pollak’s new appointment.

“Base and Coinbase Wallet share the same north star: make it dead simple for the world to come on-chain,” Pollak explained in his announcement.

This statement underscores the strategic thinking behind combining leadership of these two Coinbase products.

hey everyone – some news: in addition to leading the @base team, i’ll be stepping up to lead @coinbasewallet and joining the @coinbase exec team.

i’m really excited to take on this new mandate and to accelerate our mission of bringing a billion people and a million builders…

— jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) September 30, 2024

Coinbase Wallet, launched in 2017 for mobile and expanded to desktop in 2021, is a self-custody crypto wallet. It allows users to manage their digital assets across multiple blockchains and interact with decentralized applications (dApps).

The wallet has been gaining popularity, climbing the rankings of free finance apps in Apple’s App Store throughout 2024.

While taking on this new role, Pollak assured that Base would continue to uphold its core values. These include being open to everyone, bridging communities, and maintaining a decentralized framework.

He stated that under his leadership, Coinbase Wallet would “continue to serve the entire on-chain ecosystem” while beginning to integrate the open-source principles and accessibility ethos that Base embodies.

Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, has rapidly established itself in the blockchain space since its inception.

As of October 2024, it has surpassed $2.24 billion in total value locked, according to data from DefiLlama. This growth demonstrates the platform’s increasing adoption and utility within the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

In August 2024, Base further expanded its offerings by launching a wrapped version of bitcoin on the protocol, showcasing its commitment to innovation and interoperability within the blockchain space.

Pollak’s journey with Coinbase has been marked by steady progression through various roles. He has led engineering teams for the company’s retail products, including Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, before spearheading the creation and scaling of Base.

The integration of Base and Coinbase Wallet under Pollak’s leadership is expected to bring the teams closer together. However, Pollak emphasized that this collaboration would not compromise Base’s fundamental principles.

As part of his new responsibilities, Pollak will be joining Coinbase’s executive team, though his exact title in this capacity has not been specified.

This elevation to the executive level suggests Coinbase’s strategic focus on integrating its various blockchain and wallet offerings.

Coinbase, as a publicly listed cryptocurrency exchange, continues to evolve its product offerings and leadership structure in response to the rapidly changing digital asset landscape.

The appointment of Pollak to lead Coinbase Wallet while maintaining his involvement with Base indicates a move towards greater synergy between Coinbase’s various blockchain initiatives.