The Protocol

Jesse Pollak Discusses Base, Optimism, and the Evolving Landscape of Layer 2 Solutions

A Preview to ETH Denver, hosts delve into strategies aimed at democratizing Ethereum accessibility for all attendees, ensuring inclusivity across the community.

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ABOUT

This episode is sponsored by the Stellar Community Fund

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In this installment of "The Protocol," hosts Brad Keoun, the founding editor of The Protocol Newsletter, and tech journalists Sam Kessler and Margaux Nijkerk, welcome Jesse Pollak, the Creator of Base and Head of Protocols, as a guest host. Together, they delve into topics such as Decentralized Governance, Fraud Proofs, Security, and other relevant discussions leading up to ETH DENVER.

Takeaways |

  • Base has made significant progress in reducing fees and improving wallets and identity infrastructure.
  • The rise and fall of FriendTech showcased the challenges of building consumer social products on-chain.
  • The partnership with the Optimism Foundation has allowed Base to contribute to decentralized governance and receive OP tokens.
  • The launch of smart wallets aims to simplify the user experience and make on-chain transactions more accessible.

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EPISODE LINKS |

Base

L2 BEAT- Base

The Protocol: Friend.tech Fades as Crypto Craze, but Ethereum Is Scaling

Fintech Provider Portal Raises $34M Seed Round for Bitcoin-Based Decentralized Exchange

Jesse Pollak Creator; Head of Protocols Base; Coinbase


From Our Sponsor:

The Stellar Community Fund (SCF) is an open-application awards program that draws on community input to support developers and startups building on Stellar and Soroban. Accelerate your web3 project today.

Apply for Funding at communityfund.stellar.org


The Protocol has been produced and edited by senior producer Michele Musso and our executive producer is Jared Schwartz. Our theme song is “Take Me Back” by Strength To Last.

HOSTS

Margaux Nijkerk

Margaux Nijkerk reports on the Ethereum protocol and L2s. A graduate of Johns Hopkins and Emory universities, she has a masters in International Affairs & Economics. She holds BTC and ETH above CoinDesk's disclosure threshold of $1,000.

Margaux Nijkerk
Sam Kessler

Sam is CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocols. His reporting is focused on decentralized technology, infrastructure and governance. Sam holds a computer science degree from Harvard University, where he led the Harvard Political Review. He has a background in the technology industry and owns some ETH and BTC. Sam was part of the team that won a 2023 Gerald Loeb Award for CoinDesk's coverage of Sam Bankman-Fried and the FTX collapse.

Sam Kessler
Bradley Keoun

Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.

Bradley Keoun
Jesse Pollak Discusses Base, Optimism, and the Evolving Landscape of Layer 2 Solutions