A quiet Base code update has put the network's long-discussed token plans back under spotlight.
The code was flagged by X user @stanisloou in a May 25 post that shared a GitHub link and an excerpt showing token-related functions.
The GitHub link points to a benchmark file, submitted by Coinbase senior engineering manager Eric Liu, which tests how quickly and reliably the token features run. Its first line says it benchmarks "Base-native token and token-factory precompile logic," referring to token tools built closer to Base's core network system.
The code seems to be testing whether a token can have a name and ticker, show how many tokens exist and show a wallet balance.
It also tests features that let a token set a supply limit, allow another wallet to spend tokens, move tokens between wallets, create new tokens, destroy tokens and temporarily pause transfers.
Base token "would be a mistake"
The test token is named "BaseToken" and uses the symbol "BASE," though these may be placeholders since the same file also seems to be testing a broader token system for regular tokens, stablecoins and security-style tokens.
Pantera Capital junior partner Mason Nystrom said in an X post on May 26 that launching a Base token "would be a mistake" because Coinbase would likely need to direct Base sequencer revenue to the token, which could take revenue away from the exchange itself and make the company's stock harder for investors to value.
- The update comes eight months after Base changed its public stance on a token. At BaseCamp 2025 in September last year, Base announced it had begun exploring a network token. The team said it was making the shift public early as part of its plan to build in the open.
- That marked a change from Base's launch-era message. In 2023, Base wrote in a blog post that it didn't plan to issue a new network token and would use Ethereum as its gas token.