Who will be eligible for the Base airdrop?

At BaseCamp 2025, Jesse Pollak, Base founder, surprised the community by announcing that Base has begun “exploring a network token”.

This revelation ignited massive excitement since Base is currently one of the most popular Ethereum Layer 2s, backed by Coinbase and boasting a large user base. The community now speculates that $BASE could become one of the largest airdrops in crypto history.

So the question is: Who will be eligible to receive $BASE? Let’s dive into this article.

What is Base?   

Base is a Layer 2 (L2) blockchain designed to supercharge Ethereum by making it faster, cheaper, and more accessible. As an optimistic rollup built on the OP Stack, Base bundles transactions off-chain and settles them on Ethereum’s mainnet, reducing costs while preserving security and decentralization.

Launched in August 2023, Base has grown rapidly, hitting over 20M monthly active addresses and integrating innovations like an open-source bridge to Solana.

Base's ecosystem is a vibrant tapestry of DeFi, NFTs, and SocialFi. Protocols like Aerodrome dominates liquidity provision with $1.032B in 24-hour volume, while Zora powers NFT minting with billions in secondary sales. Events like Onchain Summer have minted millions of NFTs and engaged thousands of creators, turning Base into a cultural hub. 

Why did Base start exploring the token?

Looking back Base’s Journey 

Early 2023, Base began as a testnet and quickly transitioned to mainnet. Adoption skyrocketed thanks to seamless integration with Coinbase Wallet and exchange products. In 2025, Base processed billions of transactions, secured around $5 billion in TVL, and supported thriving protocols such as Aerodrome, Avantis, and Zora. 

Coinbase has poured significant resources into Base to compete with other Layer 2s like Arbitrum and Linea. Yet, Coinbase has avoided positioning itself as the “owner.” Instead, Base joined the Optimism Superchain and committed to the “Law of Chains” emphasizing neutrality, openness, and decentralization.

For years, Base deliberately avoided launching a token to sidestep regulatory risks from the SEC. Instead, Coinbase shared sequencer revenue with the Optimism Collective, demonstrating collaboration over exclusivity. 

Current Challenge

Despite many impressive numbers, Base faces a serious problem: money outflows. Since the beginning of 2025, more than $6.4B has flowed out of Base, mostly back to Ethereum.

This trend suggests that while Base attracts users during hype cycles (e.g., memecoins, SocialFi), many treat it as a low-cost transfer station rather than a long-term home. Competitors like Arbitrum and Optimism, however, have retained liquidity by using native tokens as economic glue.

$BASE, Why now? 

Looking at Optimism and Arbitrum, both ecosystems saw major growth after launching their tokens. For example, Optimism’s TVL surged 430% within two months after $OP launch in mid-2022, peaking at $1.15B. 

Base already surpasses other L2 in many metrics such as TVL, TVS, and transaction volume. Backed by Coinbase and launched during a more favorable regulatory environment under the Trump administration, the timing is ideal.

Thus, $BASE can serve as the missing piece, transforming temporary “tourists” into long-term “residents”, anchoring money flow and creating a closed-loop economy.

Read more: Base Price Prediction: How High Could $BASE Go?

Base start exploring the token 

Within the above context, a token launch appears not just inevitable but strategically necessary. The $BASE token is more than a speculative asset, it could play a pivotal role in Base’s long-term roadmap:

1. Capital Retention: A native token incentivizes users to stay committed to the ecosystem. Rather than being mere participants, users become stakeholders who benefit directly from Base’s growth.
2. Developer Magnet: A token with meaningful incentives could attract top developers and new projects.
3. Maturity of the Network: With billions in TVL and millions of users, Base has reached the level of decentralization needed to safely launch a governance and utility token, even though Coinbase still controls the sequencer.
4. Beyond the Coinbase Brand: While Coinbase’s reputation gave Base a strong launchpad, branding alone is not enough. A token acts as an additional growth catalyst to deepen user loyalty.
5. Favorable Macro Environment: Under the pro-crypto Trump administration, regulatory conditions are currently more supportive, giving Coinbase confidence to experiment with tokenization in compliance with U.S. law.

Who will be eligible for the Base airdrop? 

1. Active Onchain Users

This is the broadest and most likely group. Users who actively bridged assets, swapped tokens, provided liquidity, borrowed/lent, or staked on Base will likely qualify. 

Base will want to reward organic growth, not bots, so wallets with more than 500 transactions, multi-chain activity, and no sybil patterns might see their spot in allocations.   

Most believe that if Base launches an airdrop, onchainscore criteria will be central to eligibility. Users can follow this criteria to build a history onchain for their wallet. 

Read more: Base Airdrop 2025 - Everything You Need to Know

2. Content Creators & Social Contributors

Creators are a top priority, as Base has explicitly called out rewarding those who "create on Base." Base explicitly emphasizes rewarding creators. Artists, musicians, writers, and community builders on platforms like Farcaster and Zora could receive allocations, especially if they onboarded others.

3. Builders and Developers

Devs are another core focus. Base has stressed "build on Base" as a key criterion. This targets those contributing to the tech side, even if not full-time pros.

Base aims to decentralize and incentivize innovation, so things like app development, Superchain activity (e.g., on Optimism, Worldchain), or even testnet deployments count. This group could see the largest individual drops, especially if tied to verifiable contributions. 

4. OG NFT Holders  

The crypto market is very community-oriented, so many projects would airdrop to the community when native token TGE, represented here are NFTs. Holders of iconic Base-native NFTs may qualify as early adopters.

5. Coinbase Wallet Users 

Base currently contributes less than 1% to Coinbase’s revenue. However, a fully diluted valuation of $BASE could run into hundreds of billions of dollars. By issuing a token, Coinbase transforms small operating revenue into a massive ecosystem asset. Early Base Wallet users could be tied into distribution.

Exclusions to Avoid: Spam transactions and pure farming will almost certainly be filtered out through sybil-checking. The focus will be on diverse, long-term engagement.

Conclusion  

$BASE airdrop has the potential to become one of the largest in crypto history. With Coinbase backing, billions in organic TVL, and an expanding ecosystem of DeFi, NFTs, and SocialFi, the stage is set. While exact criteria remain undisclosed, active onchain users, builders, creators, and community supporters are the most likely to get it.

For now, the best move is simple: stay active on Base. Bridge assets, use dApps, create, and contribute. When $BASE arrives, wallet onchain reflects loyalty and consistent participation will be rewarded.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only, not investment advice, and Whales Market is not responsible for any of your investment decisions.

FAQs

Q1: When will Base launch its token?

No timeline has been announced. The team only confirmed that they are “exploring” the idea. Please follow official updates from the Base team for more information.

Q2: Will Base definitely have an airdrop?

Not confirmed, but given L2 precedents and recent hints, it is highly possible. 

Q3: What is the Base native token? 

The token, potentially called $BASE, is designed to support Base’s network by enabling decentralization, governance, staking, and incentives for builders and creators, fostering a stronger on-chain economy.

Q4: What is the price of $BASE today?

$BASE does not yet have an official market price since it has not been listed. However, you will soon be able to trade it on the leading pre-market platform, Whales Market. Here, you can buy more $BASE or sell to take profit before it is officially listed on CEXs like Binance or Bybit.

Q5: What is the $BASE pre-market price?

As of October 1st 2025, $BASE does not yet have a pre-market price. However, you will soon be able to trade it on Whales Market.

Q6: What is the $BASE tokenomics?

There is no official information from the Base team regarding tokenomics yet. Please follow the official Base channels for future updates.