Tanzeel Akhtar has been reporting on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology since 2015. Her work has appeared in leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CoinDesk, Bitcoin…
Xen Baynham-Herd, Head of Global Growth at Base at Coinbase, sees on-chain infrastructure not as a niche experiment but as the foundation of the next internet.
Speaking about Base, Coinbase’s Layer-2 network, Baynham-Herd explains what success really means for Base, how the builder environment is maturing, and why user experience — not grants or hype — will determine who wins.
What Success for Base Looks Like — and What Failure Would Mean
In an interview with CryptoNews, Baynham-Herd describes Base as a key piece in unlocking an on-chain future for the internet. In three to five years, success would mean that using on-chain applications feels as natural as using any app on a smartphone.
Users shouldn’t have to think about blockchain mechanics — they should simply experience speed, safety, and familiarity, while remaining fully in control of their digital lives.
Failure, by contrast, would be an inability to make on-chain experiences intuitive and democratic. If decentralised infrastructure cannot feel open, trustworthy, and seamless at scale, it risks remaining a niche rather than becoming the default digital layer of the internet.
Where Base Refuses to Compete in the L2 Arms Race
While many Layer-2 networks compete aggressively on fees and raw throughput, Baynham-Herd says Base’s differentiation lies elsewhere. Base already offers sub-second speeds and sub-cent fees, but performance alone is not the end goal.
Instead, Base prioritises user experience, distribution, and deep product integration. Its long-term success will be measured by trust, convenience, and scale — factors that matter far more to mainstream users than marginal fee reductions.
The Biggest Mistake Builders Make on Base
According to Baynham-Herd, the most common mistake founders make is failing to obsess over user experience. The strongest teams focus relentlessly on building products that attract and retain new users — not just crypto natives, but people entering the ecosystem for the first time.
He advises founders to ignore short-term noise and focus on creating applications that genuinely delight users. Sustainable growth, he argues, comes from solving real problems, not from chasing trends.
From Experimentation to Durable On-chain Products
Over the past 12 months, Baynham-Herd has seen a shift toward more serious teams committing to long-term development on Base. These builders are no longer just testing ideas — they are designing products meant to endure.
A key change is how teams think about wallets and identity. Wallets are evolving from simple key-management tools into representations of on-chain identity — spaces where participation, creation, and connection coexist. This shift is reshaping how products are designed and how users engage on-chain.
Why Regulation and Adoption Metrics Matter More Than Token Prices
Being closely linked to a regulated company like Coinbase is, in Baynham-Herd’s view, a strategic advantage rather than a limitation. Regulation provides transparency and consumer protection, which serious builders increasingly value as on-chain products reach mainstream audiences.
He also urges observers to look beyond token price movements when assessing adoption. Real traction, he says, is reflected in user growth and app engagement — not in whether a coin is going up or down. Durable on-chain businesses are built by teams whose users show up without incentives, driven by genuine belief in the product and its long-term value.
