Ethereum Surges 2.3% After Coinbase Exec's Tweet

In mid-April 2025, Jesse Pollak, the head of Coinbase’s Layer 2 network Base, posted a cryptic tweet that sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community. The tweet, which simply read “Never forget,” was widely interpreted as a reference to the recent controversial move of tokenizing tweets, an event that had significant implications for the crypto markets. This tweet triggered a series of events that culminated in a surprising surge in Ethereum's value.

The Base X official account had previously announced “Base is for everyone” and provided a link to the Zora platform, where content could be minted as tokens. This announcement led to the creation of the ERC-20 token Base is for Everyone. Despite the token's disclaimer that it had no official connection to Coinbase or Base, it quickly gained traction, reaching a market capitalization of $17 million within just a dozen hours. However, the token's value then plummeted by 94% before regaining $23 million.

The controversial launch of the token sparked intense discussions within the Ethereum community. Pollak’s tweet ignited widespread debate, leading to a 2.3% increase in Ethereum’s (ETH) value, rising from $3,380.45 to $3,456.78 within 24 hours. This surge was accompanied by a significant increase in user engagement and trading volume, with the Ethereum ecosystem seeing notable gains in tokens like Uniswap (UNI) and Chainlink (LINK), which climbed by 1.8% and 1.5% respectively.

The rapid market shift was evident as the BASE token value rose by 7.5% just fifteen minutes after the tweet, with trading volume increasing by 25% from its typical 10 million BASE to 12.5 million BASE. The BASE community responded swiftly, resulting in an 18% increase in active addresses to 23,500 and a 20% surge in transaction counts to 45,000. This activity directly influenced the Ethereum price, which jumped by 2.3% following the tweet’s ripple effect across the Base network.

Concerns about market manipulation and insider trading arose due to the dramatic fluctuations in the “Base is for everyone” token. Research analysts identified three leading wallets that held approximately 47% of the token supply, with one wallet owning 25.6%. This concentration of ownership led to significant selling actions, which heavily impacted the token's price variations.

Pollak defended the experimental project as an artistic effort to create a system that tokenizes content, emphasizing the importance of public experiments in driving on-chain cultural development. The event sparked discussions about the responsibilities of leading figures in the crypto space and the risks associated with their influence on market activities. While some supported the innovative approach to content tokenization, critics pointed out the lack of transparency and potential risks to retail investors.

Pollak’s tweet, titled “Never forget,” not only revitalized interest in the crypto market but also highlighted the substantial influence that high-level individuals can have on market movements. The incident underscored the need for thorough examination of tokenization practices, as they can have unforeseen effects that could be mitigated through transparent communication.