Coinbase’s Upcoming BASE Token Isn’t Just Another Airdrop – It’s a Shareholder Strategy in Disguise

Base developer Jesse Pollak has opened submissions for proposals shaping the design of its upcoming BASE ￰0￱ the airdrop isn’t about traders or liquidity. Instead, it is about shareholder value and sustainable engagement, according to Messari’s ￰1￱ Token Airdrop AJC’s analysis centers on an important ￰2￱ the first time, a publicly traded company, Coinbase, will be behind a token generation event (TGE). This structural distinction, he argues , changes everything about the game theory of token distribution, incentives, and long-term value creation. Typically, TGEs and airdrops serve as liquidity events for venture investors and team members, and are designed to maximize the token’s market ￰3￱ launches often focus on short-term price gains and exchange listings, sometimes at the expense of sustainable ecosystem ￰4￱ AJC suggests that this model does not apply to ￰5￱ Coinbase’s shareholders are the ultimate stakeholders, any issuance of BASE must be justified by how it improves shareholder value, not just token ￰6￱ logic behind BASE’s distribution is not about rewarding early adopters or driving speculative hype; it’s about advancing Coinbase’s corporate ￰7￱ insight reframes the entire purpose of a potential ￰8￱ of functioning primarily as a reward mechanism for users, the BASE airdrop would act as a strategic tool to increase the overall worth of Coinbase’s ￰9￱ Both Shareholders and Users The challenge, AJC says, lies in designing an allocation model that satisfies both shareholders and community ￰10￱ ideal solution would boost Coinbase’s long-term value while at the same time incentivizing meaningful user engagement within the Base ￰11￱ that context, AJC believes the most valuable user actions won’t be the typical on-chain performance metrics like total value locked (TVL), transaction volume, or trading ￰12￱ already leads many of its Layer 2 peers across those categories.

Instead, Coinbase’s real opportunity lies in boosting “social and consumer experiences.” This includes activities that drive stickiness, organic adoption, and network ￰13￱ such as experimenting with creator coins, using the Base app, or participating in community-facing projects could better align with Coinbase’s ￰14￱ are the behaviors that create durable, non-mercenary growth. “Ultimately, the shareholder dynamic completely reshapes how a TGE or airdrop should be designed, and understanding that is key to positioning yourself for the BASE launch.”