Replying to @mrtdlgc
thank you for writing this up - thought this was a good (albeit long) post. i love this closing at the end. and i think that your broad point is true: too often, memes (and other things) on base seek validation from me/the core base team/some perceived 'cabal' that doesn't really exist and if it did, wouldn't contribute to making a meme successful. the best version of memes on base is one where memes succeed in and of themselves. because they are funny. because they onboard people. because they make fun. because they piss people off. whatever. but because *they* do it, not because I or someone else says "this is a good meme." if i look at some of the oldest, best memes on base historically - toshi, tybg, chad, dickbutt, etc - i think you see this is a pattern. i'm excited to see the base trenches continue to grow and evolve and the memes that are meant to, go viral.

Sep 14, 2026 · 3:06 AM UTC

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Replying to @jessepollak
thanks for taking the time to read it man. and yeah, unless we change that perception, we won't be able to revive the base trenches. always love that you are actually listening, that is something. but people bidding just cause you or base leadership endorses is what's killing the culture. might be a gud discussion topic at your weekly call this week. base is for everyone, it will always be.💙
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Go viral and Go bruhhh!
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go viral and go
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helmet stays on, jesse
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ridiculous you say… man is cookin’
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yes sure but also important to keep in mind that you’re also a user, you’re also “one of us”, and by consequence, you also can say what you like and don’t like in equal measure, otherwise reading this places a distance gap between “corporate” and “usere” that actually shouldn’t be there to begin with, which is what I think vlad has done remarkably well
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Based Jesse
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great write up by @mrtdlgc 🔵. the OGs memes remind me of this write up below and embody that ethos
1/ i'm excited to announce The Based Institute, an independent research organization i’m creating to study based culture. warpcast.com/basedinstitute/…
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Your constant seeking of what will bring base to the masses diluted the chain. Could have just stuck with og memes and won.
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Toshi team is pretty open about how terrible of a job you guys have done. All I'm getting out of this post is that I should avoid base tokens because they will be 100% ignored by the top brass regardless of pa.
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I’m excited for Toshi, one day it will be billions Also like the tech that is coming out in base Base nouns just out out a banger chip works! Also istonk is absolute gas so many things to look forward too
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my response to this is

ALT Be True Love Myself GIF

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Base is a dead chain and the only reason there’s any attraction to it is because it’s bottomed out and can rotated into. Once that’s used up it’s back to being a dead and corny chain
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I wonder if you understand that the resolution of the Base's memetic crisis is the symbolic death of Jesse as the chain's leader and symbol? It's a classic girardian scapegoat story.
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Why did you list Basecat so quickly?
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did he just said base:0x2d57c47bc5d2432feeedf2c9150162a9862d3ccf ? @dickbuttcto
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Ser you guys pushed Zora & creator coins on everyone while CT was screaming not to for this exact reason lol
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Mfer thought this was the Solana Foundation 😂
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make it viral, make it based
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Sir CB just needs to giga pump DRB to BILLIONS and flip the likes of PEPE/SHIB/DOGE it’s really that simple
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truth is probably in the middle. memes win on merit sometimes, and sometimes because they're well connected. distribution is a real multiplier either way. whether base should provide it is up to your values, but your endorsement gives a meme a much better shot at surviving.
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toshi was funny?
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A viral TikTok dance succeeds when the algorithm picks it up, not when the creator waits for approval
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The biggest hurdle for memes succeeding on their own merits on base is the wider perception people have of base. As a result the only people here are chasing fleeting hype or married to one thing or another, which makes it an uphill battle to build something long lasting that can actually grow at a reasonable pace. With $CHAD we spent an entire year on the cusp of a supply shock and no one would bridge bc they were protesting the zora push. We onboarded countless people from stocktwits, instagram, tiktok - literally everywhere that even the murad cult memes failed to find people, but the entire time were fighting the friction of people leaving in protest over the chain itself. The price held better than every other memecoin on base over 2025 but in the end one of the biggest holders got sick of everyone being so adamantly against base that he realised a >90% loss and left crypto altogether. That wasn't a failing of the meme or of the community, it was the wider perception of base hamstringing the entire process of what would have been a huge win for the network, and would have driven a lot of attention and people to it. The best marketing is green candles and we spend a whole year edging at it only to be ignored for zora coins. It is what it is, and we'll always keep trying to innovate and continue pushing, but there are instances where a nudge from the base team actually makes sense because that's how the market is increasingly skewed. Until that changes (which will be difficult) the market needs to essentially be told what their options are bc no one seems to know what's on base, they assume everything but basecat is dead. I think coinbase knows these nudges are needed as well bc basecat needed that to be relevant at all in the first place.
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Base for the win!! $RAWR
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Cheers @jessepollak all the og's known you appreciate the culture!!!
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$drb has potential to be the biggest meme for @base . “Grok has Money 💰 “
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$toby a globally loved meme but also more than
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Not because @brian_armstrong hoodwinks the Base faithful by changing his PFP to base:0xb2000000000000000000007bf6d5cbb0e24cb301 for a bit and then changes it back and give a slap in the face big FU slap dick apology to us nah not that! FIX IT!!! There’s still time!
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Poor Jesse, suffering from Dementia, he has completely forgotten Zora and his pushing of certain other projects. I pity the fool.
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You don’t get it buddy you about to lose the plot fully Even Vlad accepted that meme is the only thing that matters in 2026, look where robinhood is now! Bigger than ever! I feel like you guys detaching yourselves fully from what brings you back to the map. Basecat needs you!
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Iykyk and if you don't you will. $TOBY 🔵🌀
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