@jesse.base.eth  is a prominent figure in the world of crypto and blockchain, widely recognized as the creator of Base, an Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution incubated by Coinbase. He also serves as the Head of Protocols at Coinbase, where he focuses on Ethereum L1, L2, and new onchain efforts.

Early Journey and Career
Before his role at Coinbase, Jesse Pollak had an interesting background in technology and digital identity. He started his career with an entrepreneurial spirit:

Clef: Jesse founded and ran Clef for five years. Clef was a company focused on passwordless identity solutions, particularly for crypto companies. His experience at Clef gave him a deep understanding of the challenges of identity and security in the digital space.

Early Career at Coinbase: Jesse joined Coinbase in 2017 through the acquisition of Clef. Initially, he served as an Engineering Manager, leading the team that built Coinbase.com. He quickly rose through the ranks, and from early 2017 to mid-2021, he led all consumer-facing engineering at Coinbase. This included the development and enhancement of key products like Coinbase, Coinbase Pro, and Coinbase Wallet.

Jesse also frequently discusses the idea of "content coins" as a way to bring more content and value onchain, which can benefit creators, collectors, and traders.

Current Role and Philosophy at Coinbase
Currently, in addition to being the creator of Base, Jesse Pollak is the Head of Protocols at Coinbase and is part of the Coinbase Executive Team. He also leads Coinbase Wallet. He believes that Base and Coinbase Wallet share a common goal: making it easier for people to get onchain and connect to web3 applications across the ecosystem.

Jesse's philosophy in building Base and his contributions to the crypto ecosystem encompass several core principles:

For Everyone: Base is designed to be accessible to anyone.

A Bridge, Not an Island: Base aims to be a bridge connecting different parts of the crypto ecosystem, rather than an isolated entity.

Decentralized and Open-Source: Jesse strongly emphasizes the importance of decentralization and the open-source nature of Base.

User-Centric: Jesse's approach is very user-centric, striving to create intuitive and easy-to-use products.

The Creation of Base and the "Onchain" Vision
Jesse Pollak's most recognized contribution is his role as the creator of Base. Base is an Ethereum Layer 2 network designed to provide a secure, low-cost, and builder-friendly way for anyone to build onchain applications.

The process of building Base was not without its challenges. Jesse Pollak has openly spoken about the intense pressure during its initial ideation and the physical and emotional toll during its launch. He even came close to giving up, losing a significant amount of weight due to stress, and credits his wife for helping him through those difficult times.

Despite these struggles, Jesse has an ambitious vision for an onchain future, predicting that "everything will be onchain in 5 years." This vision drives him to build platforms that can transform how billions of people interact with the digital world.