Base Automatically Created an ERC-20 Token, Leading to Immediate, Wild Price Swings

A recent test post by the Base team on Zora automatically created an ERC-20 token, leading to immediate, wild price swings.

A recent test post by the Base team on Zora has generated an ERC-20 token, which is quickly being sold on Uniswap for huge gains and losses.

The event has raised questions about onchain content value and how users see these new "content coins."

The token saw huge gains and losses within hours, sparking debate about market speculation, bots, and the need for clearer standards.

Base is posting on Zora because we believe everyone should bring their content onchain, and use the tools that make it possible.Memes. Moments. Culture.If we want the future to be onchain, we have to be willing to experiment in public. That’s what we’re doing.To be clear, we are not selling any tokens. These are not official Base or Coinbase tokens.

To clarify, posting on Zora generates an ERC-20 token, part of Zora’s way to tokenize content. Following Zora’s standard process, Base received 10 million tokens (1% of the total supply) for the post.

The token appeared on Uniswap, where trading volume quickly surged past $13 million.

After about four hours, the token experienced a sharp price spike, which was immediately followed by an equally sharp crash that drained liquidity and saw the token lose over 99% of its value. It has since seen a minor bounce.

Those who bought the token early and sold at the height of the surge experienced massive gains, while those who entered later faced significant losses as the token plummeted.

The rapid price action and large volume trades fueled speculation about market manipulation, with some users suspecting a "pump and dump" scheme.

Let me get this straight> base tweets a token on their main account> Top 3 holders had 47% of the supply (sold a lot)> Jesse defends it> Posts 2 more tokens> "This is culture" > Rugs 2500 holders (potentially new base users) https://t.co/95o03E9K9v

A Base representative confirmed that the token wasn't official, directing users to a disclaimer on the Zora page.

The disclaimer stated that the token was "not an official ... token for Base, Coinbase, or any other related product or service" and was intended "solely for artistic and cultural purposes."

These "content coins" are generated on Zora, where anyone can post content like images, videos, or articles, and the post will automatically mint an ERC-20 token.

The tokens are meant to be a way to collect value for creators and a standard for onchain culture.

Base founder Jesse Pollak later explained these “content coins.” He described them as directly representing the content, stating, “The coin is the content and the content is the coin.”

According to Pollak, market speculation is what drives the vast swings in the coin’s price, not the coin’s artistic purpose or cultural meaning.