Coinbase introduced the Base App earlier this month. The New Day One launch event featured insights from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Base creator Jesse Pollak, outlining a vision for a more open, accessible internet that enhances economic freedom.
What was once the Coinbase Wallet has now become an ambitious “everything app.” It brings together social networking, messaging, payments, and trading in one place.
In a recent X post, BMX (@BMXDeFi) — an all-in-one DeFi platform built on Base — explained that this move aims to welcome a billion people into the onchain economy. Whether you’re an institutional investor, a retail crypto fan, a financial regulator, a tech professional, or someone just getting started, the Base App shows us a future built on decentralization and user control.
Today’s piece forays into everything about this flashy, next-gen decentralized app by Coinbase and its implications for the crypto community and market at large.
Coinbase App Delivers at Speed
At its core, the Base App runs on the Base Layer 2 network — an Ethereum-based system supercharged with “flash blocks” designed to speed things up. According to Base documentation, these mini-blocks appear every 200 milliseconds. That means transactions confirm almost instantly. By contrast, Solana’s blocks land about every 400 milliseconds. In simple terms, Base feels twice as fast. That speed makes a real difference when scrolling a social feed or sending money. No more waiting or watching a spinner.
Beyond speed, Base equips you with open protocols. Farcaster powers your decentralized social posts. Zora lets you sell or collect tokenized content. XMTP keeps your chats private and secure. Together, these tools put you in control of your identity and data — unlike old-school platforms that lock you in.
With a single Base Account, you can sign in everywhere without wrestling with multiple wallets, as noted in CNBC coverage. It’s a big step up from Coinbase’s 2022 Ledger hardware integration, which first showed the company cared about making Web3 simple and safe.
Coinbase CEO Armstrong has long spoken about digital assets freeing people financially. In a Disruption Banking interview back in 2022, he said crypto could expand economic freedom. At Base’s launch, he asked: “How can we start to assemble these building blocks into a new app that creates the onchain economy for a billion people?”
Chintan Turakhia, Head of Engineering, added: “The days of the closed internet are over.” Between them, they point to a clear goal — a web everyone can own.
Coinbase App Cuts E-Commerce Costs
Base Pay has teamed up with Shopify to let millions of merchants accept $USDC stablecoins. This initiative, part of Shopify’s Commerce Payments Protocol, addresses e-commerce complexities. The result? Faster transactions and huge savings.
Research from a16z that looks at stablecoin and more conventional types of payment suggests that a Base transaction could cost as little as $0.01. Compare that to credit cards, which charge 2-3% plus a $0.30 fee per transaction. On a $2 credit card purchase therefore, you’d pay up to $0.36 in fees. That’s a big win for small businesses and shoppers on tight budgets.
Furthermore, industry experts at a16z say networks like Base that accept stablecoins could trim payment commissions down by almost a third to 1.5%. And Coinbase isn’t just talking big — it has picked Apex Group for digital fund administration, a move Disruption Banking reported in May this year. It shows they’re serious about building the infrastructure to handle fast growth.
For merchants, that means more predictable costs and faster settlements. For customers, it means lower prices and smoother checkouts.
Base App Tokens
Creators get a boost, too. Through Farcaster and Zora, you can tokenize posts or digital art and earn directly from your community. Take Pplpleasr’s Emmy-nominated film, crowdfunded on Base, as an example, as cited in the BMX’s article on X. Instead of relying on ad revenue or middlemen, creators can connect with fans one-to-one. That kind of direct model was only a dream before. Now it’s live on Base.
Still, the path isn’t without bumps. Regulations around stablecoins and token sales can be murky. And some users worry about security — especially since Base is non-custodial. That means you hold your own private keys. It’s powerful, but you must keep them safe. Coinbase’s May 2025 entry into the S&P 500 shows Wall Street’s confidence. Yet a Disruption Banking report just last month pointed out lingering safety questions. Success will depend on clear rules and user trust.
Base Beats the Competition
Flash blocks give Base a clear technical edge. Pair that with a Shopify partnership, and Base Pay outshines rivals like MetaMask when it comes to real-world commerce. But big ambitions bring big tests. Scaling to a billion users will push any network to its limits. And regulators around the world are still figuring out how to handle crypto at scale.
On the bright side, the Genius Act and the Clarity Act recently passed by the US Congress during the recent ”Crypto Week” mean things are beginning to look up for stablecoins in general with regards to regulatory clarity.
Coinbase: Web3 Pioneer
With the new app, Coinbase stakes its claim as a Web3 pioneer. You get speed, decentralization, and cheaper payments all in one place. That’s rare.
For investors, it’s a chance to ride the next wave of digital finance. For regulators, it’s a test case in keeping markets safe and fair. For everyday users, it’s an opportunity to own your digital life, not rent it.
If Base can overcome regulatory hurdles and educate the masses, it could spark a new era of economic freedom — just as Coinbase chief Armstrong envisioned.
#Crypto #DigitalAssets #DeFi #Web3 #tokenization
Author: Ayanfe Fakunle
The editorial team at #DisruptionBanking has taken all precautions to ensure that no persons or organizations have been adversely affected or offered any sort of financial advice in this article. This article is most definitely not financial advice.
See Also:
Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong on the virtues of digital assets | Disruption Banking
Crypto Week Triumph: Stablecoin Era Begins in US | Disruption Banking
