Most Influential: Jesse Pollak

Tech Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Most Influential: Jesse Pollak Base, the layer-2 network incubated by Coinbase, exploded in popularity this year. By Margaux Nijkerk | Edited by Cheyenne Ligon Dec 12, 2025, 3:00 p.m. Jesse Pollak, best known as the creator behind American crypto exchange Coinbase’s layer-2 network Base, has been seen as the person largely responsible for the network’s growth in popularity this year. Pollak, who began at Coinbase in 2017, launched Base in 2023. Designed to make onchain activity cheaper and easier and to support a new wave of decentralized applications, Base represented the first time a major crypto exchange had launched its own layer-2 network. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the The Protocol Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This year, Base saw significant growth: crossing $15 billion in total value locked (TVL) in January and becoming one of the largest L2s by $10 billion (Arbitrum is the only layer-2 network larger than Base). The rise of Base’s popularity is not only due to how low transaction costs are — well under a cent —, but also because of the growing DeFi applications available in its ecosystem, as well as social applications and memecoins that drew growth over the past year. (Pollak’s rising stardom was slightly dimmed when he faced heavy backlash over his $JESSE memecoin launch in November, after what many users claim that bots grabbed much of the supply and the token siphoned liquidity from other Base projects.) In 2025, several projects on Coinbase’s Base network have broken out as major ecosystem drivers, with projects like decentralized exchange Aerodrome Finance, which surged to more than $1 billion in TVL in January 2025 and a core liquidity hub for the chain. Zora, a decentralized social network, also emerged as a standout, launching its token in April and riding Base’s growing onchain creator-economy trend. More broadly, Base itself has seen explosive growth across DeFi, social, and meme-driven applications, creating a feedback loop that amplifies demand for native protocols as the network positions itself as a home for this type of onchain culture and experimentation. As for what the chain has next in store: Pollak hinted that there could be a native token coming to Base, creating much anticipation among users who are already driving activity. Read more: Base Explores Issuing Native Token, Says Creator Jesse Pollak Coinbase Base Jesse pollak CoinDesk Most Influential 2025 More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B. View Full Report More For You Coinbase Expands Reach of Stablecoin-Based AI Agent Payments Tool By Ian Allison | Edited by Stephen Alpher 19 hours ago The updated protocol, x402 V2, allows developers to combine payments, enable secure wallet access, and add new features via a clean, modular design. What to know : Coinbase has released the latest version of its stablecoin-based payments protocol for AI agents, making it easier to extend and plug in the autonomous payments system. The new version adds wallet-based identity, automatic API discovery, dynamic payment recipients, and support for more chains and fiat. 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