The Controversies Around Zora And Base, Explained
Jesse Pollak, the CEO of Base, has been saying for weeks: 'coin everything." And it couldn't get away without facing a mixed response, especially after the incident involving a screenshot of a conversation on Hinge. What started as a joke referring to Pollak's viral video 'Do you want to go onchain?', opened a Pandora's box of comments protecting the woman's image of a person. While the X post has been deleted, the bad aftertaste will be left onchain. At the epicenter of this controversy is Zora–a decentralized platform for publishing and monetizing digital content, which emerged as a central part of Base's strategy to build a vibrant onchain creator ecosystem.
That vision was quickly tested on April 16, 2025, when the 'Base is for everyone' meme token launched through Zora collapsed by 95% shortly after its release, wiping out millions of dollars in value. As reported by crypto.news, insider wallets were heavily involved, raising concerns regarding transparency.
Although Base later attempted to distance itself from the project, the damage to public perception had already been done.
Zora's reputation continued to face pressure with the rollout of content coins, intended to offer a fungible, creator-driven alternative to NFTs. The example of tokenization of a Hinge conversation trivialized the concept, reinforcing public doubts. Many users failed to see a distinction between content coins and traditional NFTs; Zora's communication strategy did little to clarify this confusion, leaving the platform vulnerable to criticism that it was simply repackaging speculative assets.
Since then, Zora has managed to regain activity, largely driven by an airdrop program that has quickly become a meme in its own right.
Most memes depict the high hopes users had for their $ZORA airdrop and the disappointment they felt once the actual rewards arrived. While the tone is light, the meme reflects a real tension: users are engaging, but not always because they believe in the long-term vision.
Furthermore, airdrops often serve as a quick fix, which can also be related to the concept of token burn, driving short-term attention rather than durable, sustained growth. Of course, that is one strong perspective; others might see these early incentives as necessary experiments to bootstrap new forms of creator economies.
Still, the challenge of content coins leaning heavily on airdrop farming is valid, although people are now getting paid. There is limited evidence of sustained demand rooted in the actual value of tokenized content. While creator payouts have increased, they may reflect a temporary reward loop rather than long-term viability.
From a durability perspective, Zora must demonstrate that these tokens can carry cultural or utility-based weight and survive in the competitive attention economy. Especially if what people are dealing with are content coins being called 'rebranded NFTs'.
Even though the sentiment has greatly improved and crypto feeds are now filled with people being paid for their posts, the time will verify Zora, similarly to how we could observe the coming and going trends around Mirror or Lens Protocol.
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