- Base’s Zora token sparked $13M in trades but dropped 99% amid volatility concerns.
- Bots and a top wallet holding 25.6% triggered market manipulation fears.
- Base clarifies tokens are cultural, not financial—urges onchain content normalization.
A recent test post by the Base team on Zora automatically created an ERC-20 token, leading to immediate, wild price swings.
The event 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.
Posting on Zora automatically 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. Base quickly stated it wouldn’t sell these tokens and stressed they weren’t official Base or Coinbase tokens.
On Uniswap, trading volume surged past $13 million soon after the token appeared. Within four hours, a sharp price spike was immediately followed by an equally sharp crash, draining liquidity. The token lost over 99% of its value before a minor bounce.
Related: Coinbase CEO Leads Crypto’s Fight on Two Fronts: Global Users, US Rules
Why Did the Token Crash So Fast?
Blockchain observer Hantao pointed to bots driving trading activity, noting “volume bots” on the chart. He also found high ownership concentration: one wallet held 25.6% of the supply. This bot trading and concentrated ownership raised user concerns, with some calling the rapid price action a “pump and dump.”
A Base representative confirmed the token wasn’t official, pointing to a disclaimer on the Zora page. That disclaimer stated the token was “not an official…token for Base, Coinbase, or any other related product” and intended “solely for artistic and cultural purposes.”
What Exactly Are “Content Coins”?
Base founder Jesse Pollak later explained these “content coins” generated on Zora.
He described them as directly representing the content, stating, “The coin is the content and the content is the coin.” Pollak argued market speculation drives value swings, not the coin’s artistic purpose.
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