Jesse Pollak, the creator of the Base Layer 2 network, has a clear view of what comes next for crypto. He expects tokenized equities and non-dollar stablecoins to lead what he calls the “tokenization supercycle,” and he thinks most of the market is looking the wrong way.
Equities First, Then Local Currencies
Speaking to The Block at Token2049 Singapore, Pollak argued that crypto has already finished the dollar chapter. Next up, he said, are U.S. and global equities, followed by currencies beyond the dollar. “People are really sleeping on non-dollar currencies,” he said.
The numbers back up the gap. More than 99% of stablecoin supply is pegged to the U.S. dollar, but The Block’s data show yen- and sterling-pegged tokens gaining share among non-dollar stablecoins. South Korea, Hong Kong and Brazil are all pushing local-currency initiatives. Base already offers 32 stablecoins across 21 currencies, including the euro, Canadian dollar, Nigerian naira and Indonesian rupiah.
Pollak’s logic is simple. The dollar will stay in high demand, but countries remain sovereign and people keep spending in their own currency. He sees local fintechs gradually moving onto stablecoin rails as their backend, without users needing to notice. Still, he expects non-dollar stablecoins to grow more slowly than tokenized equities.
Tokenized Stocks Are Already Moving
Coinbase launched tokenized stocks on Base six weeks ago. According to Pollak, they now see $70 million to $100 million in daily trading volume, with 50 stocks listed and 250 expected by month-end. He cited an eightfold jump in circulating supply, from roughly $400 million in September 2025 to $3.3 billion last month.
His pitch to traders: tokenized stocks trade around the clock, can be sold instantly and can be sent to anyone, a “clearly better experience” than regular trading that also opens equities to global users.
Trading, Payments and Financing
Base has stopped selling generic blockspace and now specializes in three areas. In 2027, Pollak said, trading work will focus on easier routing through a simple interface or API and better onchain support for DEXs, PropMMs and CLOBs. On payments, Base is targeting machine payments and is working with Cloudflare to build capacity for a million transactions per second. For financing, he called it “the fastest growing financing market in the world” and promised easier APIs and more efficient infrastructure.
Cutting across all three is agentic payments. Pollak expects finance to become agent-driven within one to two years, and wants Base to be where that happens.
Blast and Abstract Shut Down
Not every Layer 2 is making it. Blast announced on Oct. 2 that it will wind down because costs exceed revenue, with users told to leave by Oct. 26. Days later, the Pudgy Penguins-backed Abstract said it will shut on Dec. 15, after parent company Igloo lost “tens of millions of dollars” over 18 months.
Pollak said that doesn’t end L2 experimentation. A chain needs a differentiated product and a distribution strategy, he said, and some will fail. “Chains are businesses in lots of ways,” he said.
What to Watch
The equity numbers are early and come from Pollak himself, so they’re worth tracking against independent data. But the direction is clear: Base is betting on stocks, local currencies and AI agents, while weaker chains close.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The author’s views are personal and may not reflect the views of Chain Rant. Before making any investment decisions, you should always conduct your own research. Chain Rantis not responsible for any financial losses.
