Coinbase has taken a major step toward bringing everyday users onchain with the launch of the Base App, a new product that combines trading, social media, payments, and app discovery into a single platform.
The announcement was made on July 16 during the company’s “A New Day One” livestream event, where it introduced the Base App as a rebrand and major expansion of its Coinbase Wallet. Built on the Base Layer 2 network, the new app will offer a seamless onchain experience centered around USD Coin (USDC) payments, social engagement, and decentralized apps.
Coinbase describes the Base App as a place where users can post, chat, send money, trade, and earn, all without leaving the interface. Social features are powered by Farcaster, allowing creators to publish content, earn income directly, and carry their identity across apps.
Every post is treated as a collectible asset, using Zora’s (ZORA) protocol, enabling users to support creators directly through tips and purchases.
The app also integrates Base Pay, a new checkout feature that lets users pay in USDC across supported platforms, starting with Shopify merchants. Coinbase claims the feature will bring near-instant, fee-free transactions, to turn USDC into a standard payment method for digital commerce.
Alongside these features, the Base App introduces a universal onchain identity through a “Base Account,” which replaces complex wallet setups with a single sign-in. Users can explore mini apps directly from their feed, ranging from games to prediction markets, with no extra downloads.
The Base App is now rolling out in beta to users on the waitlist. Coinbase is positioning it as a gateway for more people to access and use crypto in everyday life, without needing to switch between different tools or services. Coinbase’s move indicates a wider consumer push for Base, the Ethereum (ETH) Layer 2 it launched in 2023.
