Unchained Base Will Likely Have a Token: Why Now, Who Wins, and How Big It Gets - Ep. 904
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Sep 16, 2025 
Ryan Yi, a former Coinbase Ventures investor, and Ico Beast, a narrative merchant at Proof of Play, dive into Base's potential token launch. They discuss the surprising shift from 'no token' to exploring decentralization and governance strategies. Key insights include the impact of the Clarity Act on the rollout, fair token distribution, and how a Base-Solana bridge may reshape DeFi liquidity. The duo also touches on Mantle's innovative approach to combining traditional finance with web3.
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Base As Ethereum's U.S. Front Door
- Building on Ethereum aligns Base with the largest settlement layer and developer ecosystem.
- Base acts as a U.S.-centric retail and institutional front door to Ethereum.
Likely Large Coinbase Allocation
- Expect Coinbase to retain a significant token allocation to align incentives and capture sequencer revenue.
- Ryan estimates Coinbase might hold roughly 20–40% plus an independent treasury allocation around 20%.
Spinout Structure To Balance Control And Token Issuance
- Structure Base as an arm's-length token-native entity while keeping an onshore engineering team owning IP.
- Use an offshore token issuer with Coinbase managing distribution to navigate legal and operational realities.