Coinbase Executive Cobie Says Company Lost Touch With Crypto Users
Coinbase product executive Jordan Fish, widely known as Cobie, says the company has become too disconnected from the crypto-native community.
His comments came after growing criticism around the Base ecosystem and questions about whether the platform can rebuild trust with users.
Cobie recently took responsibility for the Base App and Coinbase’s trading products. However, he made it clear that he does not control the Base blockchain itself.
Base founder Jesse Pollak confirmed the leadership change, saying he handed over the app’s leadership to Cobie so he could focus more on developing the Base network.
Community Questions Base’s Ability to Rebuild Trust
Crypto commentator Rune recently questioned how Base plans to attract more onchain users while some community members feel disappointed by past decisions.
Rune said Base has strong technology and infrastructure but questioned whether users would join if they continue to lose confidence in the team behind the project.
Cobie responded by acknowledging the criticism. He said Coinbase had, in some ways, operated from an “ivory tower” and had become too far removed from crypto-native users.
He admitted that Coinbase and Base had lost a significant amount of trust because of mistakes that could have been avoided.
Cobie Says Fixing Trust Will Take Time
Cobie said rebuilding the relationship with users will not happen overnight.
He explained that the company cannot solve these issues in just a few weeks. Instead, he plans to spend more time listening to onchain users and creating a stronger connection between product teams and the people using Coinbase’s services.
His goal is to make products that better match what crypto users actually want.
Base Changes Its Product Direction
The leadership shift comes as Base is changing its focus.
Previously, Base invested heavily in social features and content-related products, but those efforts did not create the growth the team expected.
Now, the network is focusing more on trading, payments, and artificial intelligence-related applications.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong also admitted that Base made mistakes with content coins and said the company needed to adjust its approach.
Base Has Faced Technical Challenges
Base has also dealt with some technical issues recently.
In June, the network experienced a nearly two-hour pause in block production after an invalid block caused a problem with its system.
Although user funds remained safe, Jesse Pollak called the outage unacceptable for a network designed to support financial activity at all times.
Despite these challenges, Base continues expanding its technology. The network recently introduced the B20 token standard, allowing developers to create stablecoins and tokenized assets with built-in controls.
Cobie’s Bigger Role at Coinbase
Cobie joined Coinbase after the company acquired Echo, the onchain fundraising platform he founded. Coinbase announced the $375 million acquisition in October 2025.
His new role gives him more influence over Coinbase’s trading products and the Base App as the company tries to reconnect with crypto-native users.
While Base still has strong technology and a growing ecosystem, Cobie believes the company needs to listen more closely to users and rebuild trust through better communication and better products.
