News from the token 2049 event continued! The creator of Base has just erected the blockchain industry in front of an uncomfortable mirror. Jesse Pollak did not pick up words during his lecture in Singapore: the cryptocurrency ecosystem has a serious problem with currency diversity. And no, it’s not about another Altcoin – it’s about something fundamentally more important.
Dollar hegemony in a world that was to be decentralized
Pollak hit the point when he stated directly: in the cryptocurrency space “there is a lack of all currencies other than dollar”. Sounds paradoxical? A bit like that. We have a technology that was supposed to democratize finances and free us from central systems, while 99% of Stablecoin are denominated in USD.
Let’s look at the numbers: USD accounts for about 60% of world foreign exchange reserves. Sounds impressive, right? But what about the remaining 40%? What about the euro, yen and even emerging markets currencies like Nigerian Nair? These currencies are served by billions of people and gigantic economies, but in cryptoeconomy they are practically absent. This is a huge infrastructure gap.
Local currencies, global possibilities
Pollak presented a vision that is as pragmatic as ambitious. Stablecoin based on local currencies can ensure real usability where it counts the most. Yes, in the everyday life of people.
If we have local currency onchain, we will allow people to do everyday things – payments, loans, loans – in the currency to which they are used to
– argued boss Base.
And here comes a key issue, i.e. adoption. You may have the best blockchain technology in the world, but if you make someone from Brazil, Turkey or Indonesia to convert each transaction through the dollar, you introduce unnecessary friction.
Pollak and Base focus on diversity and there are results
The numbers speak for themselves. Base recorded last month around 81 billion Stablecoin transactionswhich translates into a volume of the order USD 1.5 trillion. These are not numbers to disregard.
What’s more, the platform is already working. It is available on the base 12 local currency stableleinsincluding those based on the Indonesian rupe, Turkish lira, New Zealand dollars or Brazilian Real. And Coinbase and Base have just launched another two – based on Singapore and Australian dollars.
For contrast: the total supply of Stablecoin related to USD reached USD 284.4 billion – an increase from 2,72.3 billion at the beginning of September. The domination of USD is overwhelming, but it is slowly changing.
Base App – Supeppka with ambitions WEB2 to Web3
As if there were few local Stablecoin, Pollak revealed that Base intensively testing its superapplication – Base App (formerly Coinbase Wallet). The application, which is to combine social media, mini-caps, trading and instant payments in one place, is still in the beta phase, but the plans are specific: full availability in the coming months.
1.2 million users are already on the waiting list. Not bad for a product that has not yet officially entered the market.
Creators versus Web2 corporations – unequal fight
Pollak did not forget to hit the ills of the current Internet. The Web2 model (in his opinion) totally failed the creators. Large platforms capture about 95% of the value generated by the content, while the creators themselves get less than 5%.
When the creators bring their content to the closed gardens of the Web2 corporations, they do not earn money
He said sharply.
Solution? Onchain communities that reverse this dynamics. In the blockchain model, the creators are to control 95% of the value. Sounds like a utopia? Maybe. But with the right infrastructure and local stableleins it can be quite a real future.
Local Stablecoin is not a fad, it’s a necessity
Jesse Pollak made the matter clearly: if cryptocurrencies are really to revolutionize global economics, they cannot remain hostages of one Fiat currency. USD is power, but the world does not end in the United States.
Stablecoin based on local currencies is a bridge between global technology and local needs. This is the key to mass adoption in countries where the dollar is not a king. And if Base shows us something with its numbers, it is that the demand for such solutions is real and growing.
The question is: will the rest of the cryptocurrency industry keep up before it is too late? Base and Pollak’s approach, however, fill with optimism!
