Base Token Exploration Advances, Zora Expands with Live Streaming Amidst Market Volatility

Executive Summary

The Base ecosystem, backed by Coinbase, is progressing in its exploration of a native token, signaling a strategic shift from previous denials. This development has generated significant market anticipation, particularly regarding a potential token generation event (TGE) and subsequent airdrops. Concurrently, Zora, a leading platform operating on Base, has introduced a new live streaming feature, further enhancing its creator economy offerings. Zora recently experienced substantial market activity, including a notable price surge following its listing on Robinhood, alongside sustained trading volume. However, the market is also observing an impending token unlock for Zora, which could introduce additional supply into the ecosystem.

The Event in Detail

Base Token Exploration and Strategic Rationale

Base has confirmed its exploration of a native network token, a notable change from earlier statements denying such plans. This shift, announced in September 2025 by Base creator Jesse Pollak and reaffirmed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, indicates a move towards decentralization and community governance. While no definitive launch date or tokenomic details have been finalized, the community broadly anticipates a token airdrop. Potential use cases for a Base token include facilitating governance, incentivizing ecosystem growth, and aligning community interests, rather than serving as a gas fee token.

Eligibility criteria for a prospective Base airdrop are speculated to favor active on-chain users, including those who have bridged assets, swapped tokens, provided liquidity, or engaged in staking. Wallets demonstrating extensive transaction history, multi-chain activity, and an absence of sybil patterns are considered more likely candidates. Additionally, holders of early Base-native NFTs and users of Coinbase Wallet who interacted with the network may also be considered. The timing of any token launch remains contingent on regulatory approvals, prevailing market conditions, and Coinbase's final design decisions.

Zora's Platform Evolution and Market Performance

Zora has evolved from an NFT marketplace into a comprehensive Web3 social platform, emphasizing a "content-as-coins" model. This model enables creators to mint each piece of content as an ERC-20 token, with a fixed supply of 1 billion units. Creators receive 10 million tokens upon posting, and 50% of trading fees from these tokens are directly remitted to the creator, fostering a direct monetization pathway. The platform has successfully integrated with Coinbase's Base blockchain, expanding its reach within crypto-native communities.

Recently, Zora launched a live streaming feature, aiming to revitalize the "content as token" narrative and enhance engagement within the creator economy. This development follows a period of significant market momentum for Zora. The token experienced an approximate 1,500% gain from its June floor of $0.00777 and an overnight rally of 55% to reach a high of $0.1409. Its listing on Robinhood on October 9th further propelled its price, with an immediate 59% uptick to $0.89. Despite subsequent price fluctuations, Zora has recorded a 276% increase since its April 2025 launch, with a 24-hour trading volume of approximately $282 million. This performance has drawn institutional interest and whale accumulation.

Market Implications

The ongoing developments surrounding Base and Zora carry significant implications for the broader Web3 ecosystem. Base's exploration of a native token, if realized, could further solidify its position as a leading Layer-2 solution, potentially driving increased activity and investment into its ecosystem. This move aligns with a trend observed across other Layer-2 networks to enhance decentralization and provide incentives for community participation.

Zora's successful transition and the introduction of its live streaming feature signal a growing maturity in the decentralized creator economy. Its "content-as-coins" model offers an alternative to traditional Web2 monetization strategies, potentially influencing how content is valued and distributed in the future. The integration with major platforms like Robinhood indicates a bridging of the gap between decentralized finance and mainstream retail investors, which could catalyze broader adoption of Web3 social and creator tokens. The collective trajectory of Base and Zora illustrates ongoing innovation in blockchain scalability and creator-centric economic models.

Expert Commentary

While market sentiment surrounding Base's potential token and Zora's growth remains optimistic, several factors warrant careful consideration. A significant event for Zora is the upcoming token unlock scheduled for October 23rd. Approximately 166.67 million ZORA tokens, representing 4.76% of the circulating supply, are set to be released to Treasury, Investor, and Team wallets. This substantial influx of tokens could introduce dilution pressure, particularly if user growth and ecosystem activity do not commensurately expand to absorb the increased supply. Analysts indicate that ZORA has recently been in a downtrend, and a stagnation in user engagement could reinforce a bearish outlook following the unlock.

For Base, the exploration of a native token is not yet a committed launch. Details regarding tokenomics, distribution, and timing remain unconfirmed, introducing an element of uncertainty. Furthermore, while Zora's overall performance has been robust, liquidity for many individual creator tokens on the platform remains low, posing a potential risk. Broader market conditions and evolving regulatory landscapes for digital assets could also influence the trajectory of both Base and Zora in the coming months.