Did Coinbase’s Base network steal art for its NFT? One artist says yes.

The controversy began when Chris Biron, an artist involved in the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) space, publicly challenged Base, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution incubated by Coinbase, for allegedly copying his artwork without permission or attribution.

An artist has accused Base, an Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution incubated by Coinbase, of copying his artwork without permission or attribution for an NFT celebrating one billion transactions on the Base network. The NFT, sold by Base, generated over $36,000 in profit.

The artist, Chris Biron, who is also involved in the NFT space, expressed his disappointment in a post on X (formerly Twitter). He stated that the incident made the experience “less fun,” especially considering Base's goal of onboarding billions of people to the blockchain. Biron highlighted his own contributions to the ecosystem through his work.

Biron's Tweet reads:

“I usually like it when someone recreates/remixes my work. But when a 76 billion dollar corporation copies it, sells it, and gets 36k+ in profit without attributing me at all, it feels less fun. Thanks for supporting people in the space @base”

Base Responded Swiftly to the Allegations

Following the artist's public statement, Base responded swiftly to the allegations. Jesse Pollak, head of protocols at Coinbase, issued an apology on X, stating that all proceeds from the sale of the NFT will be redirected to the artist. Pollak also mentioned that they will be refining their process to ensure that such incidents do not occur again.

In a statement released by Base, they acknowledged the unintentional mirroring of Biron's work and stated that they will be sending 100% of the proceeds to the artist. The statement also mentioned that creativity often draws from a pool of shared inspiration.

The statement reads:

“Creativity often draws from a pool of shared inspiration, and while designing this piece we unintentionally mirrored the work of another artist without attribution. We’re sorry, and we’ll be sending 100% of the proceeds to @biron_io + improving our process to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Biron Responded to Base's Apology on X

Biron appeared to accept Base's apology, responding on X with appreciation for the apology and stating that he understands there was no bad intent from the Base team. Biron also expressed his support for Pollak and the collective goal of advancing the project.

Biron's Tweet reads:

“Much respect and thanks for the apology @jessepollak. I completely understand there was no bad intent from your team. You’re a great leader for @base. Onwards and upwards, together”